Did you have a good garden this year? Would you like to grow some of the same vegetables next year? You can save your own seed, but you would only want to put your effort into collecting if the seed is viable to produce again next year. You need to collect heirloom seeds.
What is an heirloom seed? It is an open-pollinated heritage plant, an old-time variety. Typically, they have been around a minimum of 40 years and are passed down within a family. Their characteristics would include adaptability to the local climate and resistance to local pests. Heirloom seeds produce plants that allow you to grow the same crop next year from the seeds saved from this year’s harvest.
Heirloom does not reflect how it is grown, so all heirloom seeds are not grown organically, and organically grown vegetables are not necessarily heirloom.
Some seeds are hybrid and not heirloom. The heirloom plants are open-pollinated and any character changes happen naturally over time. Hybrids have been modified by man to meet a specific purpose: early harvest or resistance to a particular disease, for example. Hybrids are the result of a cross-breeding of plants. They can not produce seed that is viable for next year’s garden. You need to know what you are growing before collecting seed from it.
To further define plant alterations, I quote from gmoanswers.com: “This is the principle difference between cross-pollination, which just occurs naturally between sexually compatible plants; cross-breeding, which is a human-facilitated process by which humans do this; and GMO technology, where in a laboratory we’re able to move one trait with precision to confer some new quality or some new trait onto a plant product . . . taking away 50 years of breeding time.”
If you know that you have heirloom species growing, definitely save seed from some of the crop’s best specimens. Tomatoes, peppers, beans and peas are the easiest vegetables from which to start saving seed. If you are saving beans and peas for next year, allow the pods to stay on the plant until they are dry and rattle inside. Often, this can take a month longer than your harvest. Remove the pods from the plants and continue drying indoors for at least two weeks. They can be stored in the pod or shelled for storage. Glass jars are ideal storage containers.
Peppers and tomato seed can be dried on paper towels. Leave the peppers on the plant until they start to wrinkle. Then remove the seeds from the plant and spread out to dry on paper towels. Be sure to mark the paper towels with the name of the seeds drying on it. When dry, place into storage. As tomato seed is in the pulpy part of the tomato, the seed does need to be separated from the pulp. I will slice open a ripe tomato and begin the separation of seed with a knife and my nails. Often, the seed will need to be picked off the paper towel after dried.
Tomato seed savers also use a wet method for separation of seed. You can scoop out the seeds and the surrounding gel from a ripe tomato and put it all in a jar of water. You need to swirl or stir the mixture once a day for five days. Pour off the liquid, rinse the seeds and then spread them on a paper towel to dry.
At the heirloom seed expo in September, I was made aware of world efforts to save the heirloom seeds of their areas. A Japanese heirloom seed business began in the 1930s. The South African heirloom seed company started with a boy’s dream 30 years ago. I got some useful shelf life info from their literature. Their US website is theseedstead.com and I share some of their seed-saving advice. First, be sure to label what you are drying and storing. Secondly, carefully choose the storage location.
You need the storage area to have a stable temperature and stable humidity. Use the Rule of 100 for seed storage. Add the temperature in Fahrenheit to the humidity percentage. If the sum is under 100, you have a good seed storage spot.
Of course, you can freeze seed as well. When removing from the freezer, allow the units to get to room temperature before opening the containers. This should reduce condensation on the seed.
Properly prepared seed in a carefully selected home storage space does have viability life spans. It does get extended in controlled environments when stored correctly. Beans typically have a three-year storage life before viability is challenged. Peas can be stored for four years. Peppers have a two- to five-year storage life and you can expect tomatoes to last up to 10 years. Be sure to mark your seeds with their name and the year harvested and dried.
Seed storage is not limited to vegetables.
If you do decide to grow a vegetable or herb from another location, be vigilant in monitoring its adaptation. It can become invasive. The plants could naturalize, which means they grow fine but offer little to nothing for the continued life cycle of native plant and animal species (think kudzu).
There is a Master Gardener presentation on the RC Farmers Market Education Series YouTube channel entitled “Saving and Organizing Seeds,” given by Marilyn Rogan. Although the presentation was done several years ago, the information is still relevant. You may want to subscribe!
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Ongoing Education
Classes at the Ag Center on John R. Rice Boulevard are held on Farmer’s Market days, Tuesday and Friday, at 9 a.m. They are free and open to all. Typically, classes last about one hour. The market and the classes do end this month. Find out more at rutherford.tennessee.edu.
Oct. 4 – Pruning
Oct. 8 – Trees and Shrubs
Oct. 11 – What is a Master Gardener?
Oct. 15 – Money Habitudes
Oct. 18 – Managing Your Money
Oct. 22 – Seasonal Eating
Oct. 25 – Preparing Livestock for Winter
Oct. 29 – Seasonal Eating
Oct. 5 is the monthly presentation at the Linebaugh Library, given by the RC Master Gardeners. This month’s topic is Soils 101. It begins at 9 a.m. that Saturday. Please call the library at 615-893-4131 to pre-register.
4-H is having an open house on Oct. 15 from 6–7:30 p.m. at the Lane Agri-Park Community Center. Sign up for the after-school project groups which are open to all students in the 4th–12th grades.
The 6th Annual Chili and Soup Fundraisers will be held at the Farmer’s Market on Oct. 18 and 25.
