Over the past century, we’ve lost 75% of our crop diversity.1 This highlights the importance of seed saving, a time-honored practice that not only preserves our agricultural heritage but also holds the key to a more sustainable and resilient future.
By collecting and preserving seeds from our best-performing plants, we can create gardens that adapt to local conditions, promote biodiversity, and ensure food security for generations to come.
Why Save Seeds?
Saving seeds offers a multitude of advantages for both gardeners and the environment:
- Preserving Biodiversity: By saving seeds from a diverse range of plant varieties, you contribute to maintaining genetic diversity. This diversity is crucial for the resilience of our food systems, as it allows plants to adapt to changing environmental conditions, pests, and diseases.
- Adapting to Local Conditions: When you save seeds from plants that thrive in your specific climate and soil, you gradually develop varieties that are perfectly suited to your unique growing conditions. This leads to better yields, improved disease resistance, and more flavorful produce.
- Saving Money: Purchasing new seeds every season can add up quickly. By saving your own seeds, you can significantly reduce your gardening expenses and invest in other areas of your garden.
- Promoting Self-Sufficiency: Seed saving empowers you to take control of your food supply. By preserving your own seeds, you reduce your reliance on commercial seed companies and ensure a consistent supply of your favorite varieties.
- Connecting with Heritage: Many heirloom varieties have fascinating histories and cultural significance. By saving and sharing these seeds, you help preserve the stories and traditions associated with them, connecting you to a rich agricultural heritage.
Getting Started with Seed Saving
To begin seed saving, start with easy, self-pollinating crops like tomatoes, beans, peas, and lettuce. These plants have flowers that contain both male and female parts, making them less likely to cross-pollinate with other varieties.
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When selecting plants for seed saving, choose the healthiest, most vigorous specimens that exemplify the traits you want to preserve. Wait until the fruits are fully ripe or the pods have dried before harvesting the seeds.
For tomatoes, scoop out the seeds and pulp, ferment them for a few days, then rinse and dry the seeds before storing. For beans and peas, allow the pods to dry completely on the plant before shelling.
Storing & Labeling Your Seeds
Proper storage is essential to maintaining seed viability. Store your seeds in airtight containers, such as glass jars or envelopes, in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight. Aim for a storage temperature of around 41°F with low humidity (25-30%).
Adding a desiccant packet can help absorb excess moisture and prolong seed life.
Be sure to label your seeds with the plant name, variety, and date harvested. Most seeds remain viable for several years when stored correctly, but germination rates may decline over time. Use your saved seeds within one to two years for best results.
Avoiding Cross-Pollination
To ensure your saved seeds remain true to type, it’s crucial to prevent cross-pollination between different varieties of the same species. Crops like corn, squash, and brassicas are particularly prone to cross-pollination due to their wind or insect-pollinated flowers.
To minimize cross-pollination, plant only one variety of each species or separate varieties by large distances (100 yards or more). You can also use physical barriers like row covers or hand-pollinate flowers and bag them to prevent unwanted pollen transfer.
Engaging Your Community
One of the most rewarding aspects of seed saving is sharing your bounty with others. Participate in local seed swaps, contribute to community seed libraries, and exchange your favorite varieties with fellow gardeners. By sharing seeds and knowledge, you help foster a vibrant and resilient gardening community.
Seed saving also presents an opportunity to learn from and support Indigenous seed keepers who have been stewarding seeds for generations. Seek out Indigenous-led seed-saving initiatives, such as the Indigenous Seedkeepers Network, to learn from their wisdom and support their efforts to preserve cultural heritage.
Seed saving is a powerful tool for promoting biodiversity, self-sufficiency, and community resilience. By preserving the genetic diversity of our food crops, adapting varieties to local conditions, and sharing seeds with others, you become part of a global movement to create a more sustainable and vibrant food system.
Source:
Nancy has been a plant person from an early age. That interest blossomed into a bachelor’s in biology from Elmira College and a master’s degree in horticulture and communications from the University of Kentucky. Nancy worked in plant taxonomy at the University of Florida and the L. H. Bailey Hortorium at Cornell University, and wrote and edited gardening books at Rodale Press in Emmaus, PA. Her interests are plant identification, gardening, hiking, and reading.