Grow Your Own Seeds

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

POPULATION SIZE

Many novice seed savers collect seed from just a couple of plants, Unfortunately, this practice tends to narrow genetic variation in the variety, and over a number of generations, it can cause a variety to change and eventually lose some of the unique traits that made it special in the first place.

The population size for cross-pollinated crops is even more important than for selfers. Genetic variation from plant to plant in any particular crosser is considerably greater than in most selfers. This means that no one plant in a stand of crosser plants contains all of the particular traits (and the genes determining those traits) that comprise that variety. Crossers "openly pollinate" with other plants of their variety, sharing their genes with any other plant in that group each time they reproduce. The chart on Pages 60 and 61 tells you the recommended number of plants for seed collecting.

HARVESTING

Seeds harvested before they reach maturity will have a low germination rate and any resulting seedlings may lack vigor and may be more susceptible to disease, especially under stressful conditions.

Dry-seeded crops like beans, peas, Southern peas, radishes and arugula make seed in pods that signal when the crop is ready to harvest. Collect pods when they have completely dried, turned beige or light brown in color, and are crisp and easy to crack open.

When pods look and feel ready, harvest them quickly or risk losing them to either too much moisture or a lack of it. Wetness from rain and dew encourages rot; overly dry conditions leave the pods susceptible to splitting open (shattering) and spilling their seeds on the ground.

To harvest pod-bearing seed crops, cut the entire plant near its base. Lay out cut plants a single layer deep on a tarp in the sun. If rain is forecast or if wind is excessive, place the plants on a cement or wooden floor inside a warm, airy structure. After several days, "thresh" the seeds from the pods by picking up a few plants at a time and whacking them against the bottom of a large container, such as a wheelbarrow, that has sides at least a foot high. This works well with crops like arugula and mustard, which have pods that easily release their seeds, but many bean and pea plants are not so easily threshed. They can be shelled out by hand or you can "dance" gently on cloth bags filled with these plants to get the pods to shatter. Take care not to overdo it: Any damage to the seed itself can destroy its ability to germinate or shorten its storage life considerably.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print