Hello Friends!
I said I was going to be saving seeds this week, and boy have I!
My father in law mowed down he majority of our garden to help prepare it for planting rye. Another relative told us they have used rye as a cover crop and it has done well the past few years, so we are going to give it a try. We may be too late in planting it, but we have some extra from the guys planting it in the field and decided to give it a shot.
That being said, I needed to get out to the garden and gather what seeds I was hoping to save before he mowed it all down.
For the past few years I have been saving purple podded pole beans. This year I also saved some good mother stallard beans along with some rattlesnake pole beans and some other random ones that volunteered from last year.
The key to saving bean seeds is to make sure they are really dry. I quickly gathered a gallon size bag of seed pods and left the bag open, that way I don’t have to worry about any potential moisture ruining those seeds. When I have a chance I will take the seeds out of the pods and either store in a envelope or a glass jar.
Another easy seed to gather quickly is flower seeds. I grabbed some zinnia, sunflower, bachelor button, calendula and cosmos seeds.
What I was looking for when saving those seeds is really dry flower heads. The seeds practically fall off the heads. I like to store these seeds in envelopes with the name of the flower, date and color.
Tomato seeds are a easy one. Simply put your seeds, preferably from your favorite varieties, in a jar with some cool water. Cover with cheesecloth or coffee filter, then give it a little swirl every day for 2-3 days. At that point you can stain the liquid and place seeds on paper towel to fully dry. I found if you get a piece of tape and write the date and variety on it , then put it on your tray or plate with your seeds you will be able to always know what seeds they are. After a week, they should be good and try. At this point you can transfer your seeds to an envelope and write all your important info on the cover.
A final seed saving tips. If you are wanting to save pumpkin seeds it’s best to rinse them real well. Then place on a tray or plate with a paper towel right away. You don’t want to leave them in water like the tomato seeds. They will start to smell like rotting food (ask me how I know this lol). Don’t forget to get your tape put and write any important information you want about the seeds and stick it to your paper towel.
Every day or so gently move the seeds around. This will help them from sticking to the paper and ensuring they probably dry. After about a week, they should be nice and dry and ready to store until next spring. I hope you find this helpful and it encourages you to save some seeds.
If you are up for a good movie. Seed:The Untold Story is a great one. Saving seeds and trading/ sharing was normal. Somewhere along the way (my guess is around the industrial revolution) people stopped saving seeds and started relying on seed companies to have all the seeds we needed.
One result of that is that 94 percent of seeds have disappeared since 1983. If we don’t start saving what seeds we do have, what will be left for our children and grandchildren?
Did you know that “Today, four corporations — Bayer, Corteva, ChemChina and Limagrain — control more than 50% of the world’s seeds. These staggering monopolies dominate the global food supply. ” “Seeds are ultimately what feed us and the animals we eat,” Jack Kloppenburg, a rural sociologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said. “Control over seeds is, in many ways, control over the food supply. The question of who produces new plant varieties is absolutely critical for the future of all of us.” “https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.dw.com/en/agriculture-seeds-seed-laws-agribusinesses-climate-change-food-security-seed-sovereignty-bayer/a-57118595
While the winter is upon us now, we need to start thinking of ways to be proactive in our efforts for saving seeds and ultimately our food.
Please take some time this winter and do your own research, as you flip through those seed catalogs, and come up with a game plan on how you are going to save seeds the coming year.
Until Next Time,
Julie