Much Discussion About Seeds....

[JudyH]

So, I was just wondering.... have you done any seeds saving?

My favorite seed to save is tomato seeds! I ferment them... I just think it's so cool LOL I've saved tomato seed for several years now.

This year, I stepped out a little further and saved even more different kinds of seeds :D

Kentucky Pole Beans
Clemson Okra
Pickling Cucumbers
Minnesota Midget Cantaloupe
Misc Cantaloupe
Several varieties of tomatos
Rare Phillipine Yard-Long Bean
Mustard Seed
Pumpkin Seed
Butterbean (Lima)
Purple Hull Peas
Burgundy Okra


I'm also one of those "seed collectors" LOL I just love going thru my seed collection... (like I'm doing right now!). But it's a great feeling to save seed, plant it and then watch it grow!

When you save seed from season to season, the variety will also become more aclimated to your growing conditions and improve from year to year. So there are many reasons to save your own seeds. Plus, it gives you plenty to swap with others :D

[MoniDew]

ooh! Acclimated seeds! I like it!

I am still trying to figure out the whole seed saving thing. Wish my ol' granddaddy was still around. He was a pro at this kinda stuff.

[Sinfonian]

I see some major research, and maybe even another phone call to my SFG mentor ahead of me when it comes to saving seeds next year. Hehe. Everything I've read so far is as much art as it is science. Though I look forward to trying it with more and more each year.

First off though, I'll have to find a very early heirloom variety of tomato to replace the hybrids I've grown in the past. I understand saving hybrids isn't a good idea.

[MoniDew]

yeah from what I've heard hybrids are often sterile, or if they do sprout it's in an atavistic form (may or may not be good)

[JudyH]

Yeah, saving hybrid seeds won't give you the same result... but there are many OP varieties of most all veggies. And tomatoes, well... there are so many varieties of tomatoes! You'll just need to try a couple this year that are early maturing and see which one works the best for you Sinfonian.

I found that Speckled Roman just doesn't grow well in my area at all. I've tried for 2 years straight. The tomato plant develops beautiful fruit, but then, just before it's ripe, it starts to rot :mad: What I think the problem is is that the plant is so full and it doesn't get much air flow thru it. And with our high heat and humidity, well, this variety and my growing conditions just don't meld.

But then, after growing about 20 different varieties of tomato this past year, I found several that I will definitely be growing in the coming years. I had a great tomato harvest from these varieties. So for me, it's kinda fun to experiment to find the best tomatoes for my garden.

Some veggies are so easy to save seed from while others require a little work and patience. But it is so worth it. When you plant a seed that YOU SAVED and it actually germinates and grows -- you're like "I saved that seed and it really worked!" LOL