Saving Vegetable Seeds

Transcription

1 Why Organic? It has been more than half a century since Rachel Carson wrote her powerful, ground-breaking book Silent Spring (1962). Carson warned about the dangers of herbicides and pesticides, and while her message has done considerable good, we have a long way to go to live greener, more sustainable lives. John Bede Harrison refers to several problems associated with pesticides and herbicides in his book Growing Food Organically (1993). Besides stating that pesticides are ineffective at hitting their target pests and also cause environmental damage, Harrison points out some health concerns. Unfortunately, pesticides may accumulate in our bodies and injure us years later or affect our genetic cells and produce mutations in our children, our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren. 1/5

2 Harrison also cites the frightening capabilities of herbicides. Herbicides have the awful capacity to change the genetic pattern of some living organisms, including humans. Growing organic food and saving some of the seeds for future planting results in nutritious food that is inexpensive and eco-friendly. Why Heirloom? Heirloom vegetables grow in a particular area for generations. The plants are open-pollinated, meaning they breed true (the same characteristics are passed on from generation to generation). These vegetables also tend to be particularly flavorful and some would argue more nutritious. Keeping the seeds from heirloom varieties of vegetables is not only a fun and economical activity, it is also important for preserving heirloom strains. Protecting genetic diversity is very important. Many heirloom varieties of seeds have been around for well over a hundred years. Unfortunately, many varieties have been lost forever and with hybrid seeds being popular, the future of seed diversity is threatened. Another reason to produce and save these seeds is because over time the plants become well-suited to your particular growing conditions. In his book Saving Seeds: The Gardener s Guide to Growing and Storing Vegetable and Flower Seeds (1990), Marc Rogers points out some of these benefits. If you raise and save seed, you are producing seed for your garden, and, by careful selection over several generations of plants, you can produce plants best suited to your climate and your gardening conditions. No one else but you can do this. Flavor, pest and disease resistance, early bearing, and size are among the many characteristics that can be enhanced by judicious selection over a period of years. Saving and Collecting Seeds Saving and collecting seeds is not difficult to do. It also saves you money and makes you more selfsufficient. Just make sure that you use open-pollinated seeds. Seeds saved from hybrid plants will produce plants that are different from the parent plants. The plants that you grow should also be adapted to your area and growing conditions. 2/5

3 Each year I collect the seeds of several varieties of tomatoes and beans, along with other plants such as cucumbers and snow peas. The first step involves gathering vegetables from several plants. I have saved seeds from the beautiful Dutch heirloom bean Dragon s Tongue for approximately 20 years. This bush bean can be used as a snap bean when it is young or as a shelled, dry bean when fully mature. The striking, long flat beans are yellow with bright-purple stripes. Saving beans is easy. Wait until most of the leaves have fallen off the plants and the pods are brown. To ensure that the beans inside the pods are dry, pull the plants out by the roots and hang them in a dry place (such as a shed) to continue drying. After they re dry, the pods can be shelled. Last year we collected beans from Orca (also known as Yin Yang and Calypso) and Black Turtle (both heirloom drying beans), along with Scarlet Emperor (runner beans) to go with our Dragon s Tongue (bush beans). 3/5

4 Obtaining the seeds from tomatoes is a little more time-consuming compared to beans, but it s still easy to do. Select numerous healthy, ripe tomatoes from several plants, remove the seeds and pulp and put the seed/pulp mixture into a bowl. Crush the seeds and pulp and allow the mixture to ferment for at least several days. Mold will appear on top of the mixture. After a few days, remove the mold, put the seeds in a strainer and rinse them under running water to clean the seeds and remove any remaining pulp. Place the clean seeds on some paper towel and allow them to dry completely (this usually takes a day or two). After they re dry, gently separate any seeds that are stuck together and put them in a sealed envelope. Label the envelope with the type and variety of seed, along with the date. If you are going to save your own seeds, you will likely want to invest in an informative book or two that deals with topics such as collecting, drying and storing seeds, as well as pollination. Even though I have numerous books on growing and saving seeds, one of my favorite reference guides on this topic is the one I bought first: Growing Garden Seeds: A Manual for Gardeners and Small Farmers by Robert Johnston, Jr. The inexpensive book is only 32 pages, but it is full of good information on growing and harvesting seeds. Storing Seeds Small quantities of larger seeds, such as bean, as well as smaller seeds, such as tomato, can be sealed in an envelope that is stored in a sealed airtight container, such as a jar, and stored in a cool, dry place such as a refrigerator. Numerous small envelopes of seeds can be kept in the sealed container. If you have a large supply of bigger seeds, you can store them directly in an airtight container. Properly storing seeds can double or even triple the length of time they remain viable. 4/5

5 We all need nutritious food to thrive. What we don t need is food grown with harmful chemicals and transported great distances before reaching our plate. By growing some of our own vegetables organically and keeping the seeds, we help ourselves and the environment. Text by N. Glenn Perrett Photos by Lynn and Glenn Perrett N. Glenn Perrett is a freelance writer with a degree in Environmental Studies whose family maintains several organic gardens at their home in Mulmur, Ontario. 5/5