SEED SAVING 101Seed Savers Exchange

Grant Olson

Our mission is to save North America’s diverse, but endangered, garden heritage for future generations by building a network of people committed to collecting, conserving, and sharing heirloom seeds and plants, while educating people about the value of genetic and cultural diversity.

Seed saving is the process of saving seeds from open-pollinated fruits, vegetables, grains, flowers & herbs.

Open-pollinated varieties are maintained by allowing pollen to flow only between plantsof the same variety.

When pollen flows between different varieties within the same species, this is known as cross-pollination.

Intentional, controlled cross-pollination is used to create hybrid seeds.

Hybrids will only exhibit reliable characteristics in their first generation. Seeds harvested from hybrid plants will not likely grow up to look or taste like their parent.

To save seed, you must start with open-pollinated seeds and plants.

choosing to save seeds

things to know as a seed saver:

1. know your variety2. know the lifecycle of your plants3. know how your plants pollinate4. know how to isolate your plants5. know how many plants to grow6. know your environment7. know when to harvest your seeds8. know how to prep your seeds for

storage9. know how to store your seeds10. know how to share

know your variety

Kingdom: PlantaeDivision: MagnoliophytaClass: MagnoliopsidaOrder: Fabales

common name: beanbinomial name: Phaseolus vulgaris

Family: FabaceaeGenus: PhaseolusSpecies: vulgaris

P. vulgaris will only cross with other P. vulgaris beans. It will not cross with runner beans (P. coccineus), lima beans (P. lunatus), or fava beans (Vicia faba).

What is my plant’s Species?

common names can be misleading

crop types can contain multiple species

species can contain multipe crop types

vegetables may have ‘weedy’ relatives

know the lifecycle of your plants

why flowers exist

annuals

biennials

know how your plants pollinate

(flower structure)

anther produces pollen

seeds form in ovaryafter fertilization

stigmareceives pollen

selfers

keel

fusedanthers

potential outcrossers

likely outcrossers

obligate outcrossers

know how to isolate your plants

grow only one variety

distance

time

barriers

barriers

know how many plants to grow

Population Size

Strongly OutbreedingEx. Brassicas

Strongly InbreedingEx. tomato

Generally InbreedingEx. pepper

Generally OutbreedingEx. Squash

know your environment

know when to harvest

know how to prepare your seeds for storage

dry seeds

threshing

winnowing

wet seeds

(fermenting)

rinsing

drying

dry

too wet

know how to store your seeds

know how to share

traits of a good seed saver:

observantorganizedinquisitive

for more information:

Seed to Seed, Suzanne Ashworth

A Seed Saving Guide for Gardeners and Farmers, OSAwww.seedalliance.org/publications

SSE Webinarswww.seedsavers.org/webinars

The old varieties are threatened today, not because of any deficiencies, but because they are not suitable for factory farmers and the food processing industry. As long as food crops are being bred for machines and large commercial growers, the needs of the home gardener will be of marginal importance. The old varieties will survive and flourish only if they continue to be grown by backyard gardeners and sold by local farmers markets, organic food co-ops, and CSAs.

Suzanne AshworthSeed to Seed