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Angels in My Garden Week 22 June 1, 2010
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“dry seeds scatter
from my hand into the wind one clings as if to say there is in me something yet to be” Jeanne Emrich Hello Fellow Gardeners, Some of your plants will probably be going to seed soon (spinach and early lettuce) so this seems like a good time to talk about seed saving. By saving the seeds of your best vegetables you can preserve and propagate the best qualities and characteristics for your region and your produce will keep getting better and better. I find it to be very satisfying to grow vegetables from my own seeds. It's the height of sustainability and with some of the major seed companies working very hard to monopolize, standardize and degrade our food supply, it may some day be a matter of survival. Always pick the best looking plants for your seed saving. Those that go to seed early should not be used. Seeds are mature or ripe when flowers are faded and dry or have puffy tops. Plants with pods, like beans, are ready when the pods are brown and dry. When seeds are ripe they usually turn darker in color, from white to tan or light brown to dark brown. Collect the seed when most of the seed or fruit (tomato, cucumber, etc.) is ripe. Do not wait for everything to mature or you may lose much of the seed to birds or, if the weather is very damp, to fermentation. Beans, peas, onions, and most flowers and herb seeds are prepared by a dry method. Allow the seed to mature and dry as long as possible on the plant. Complete the drying process by spreading on a screen or paper plate in a single layer in a well-ventilated dry location. As the seed dries the chaff or pods can be removed or blown gently away. An alternative method for extremely small or lightweight seed is putting the dry seed heads into paper bags that will catch the seed as it falls out of the heads. Thoroughly dried seeds can be safely stored for two to three years. Store seeds in glass jars, manila envelopes, cloth or mesh bags or foil envelopes. The best containers are air-tight, such as a sealed glass jar or foil envelope. Craft shops have tiny little glass jars with screw on tops for storing jewelry-making materials. I've found them to be ideal for seed saving. Protect seed from sunlight. Store seeds in a cool (below 60 F/15 °C is ideal), dry location. Place the seeds in a refrigerator for long-term storage. For short-term storage, keep the seeds in a cool, shady and dry place. Lettuce Saving lettuce seed is quite easy. After the flowers fade away, the plants will eventually form seed heads, which look a lot like miniature dandelion seed heads ( the white fuzzy things that appear after the yellow dandelion flowers). Once these seed heads form, remove the whole seed head(s) from the plant before the seeds blow away! You might want to use scissors, as I got my hands pretty sappy while trying to pull off the seed heads. Now, just take the seed heads indoors and pluck the seeds from them. You can also remove the white chaff that lets them get blown around, but it isn't absolutely necessary. Set them on a paper plate to dry, and leave them for at least a week or two. Then, just put them in an envelope, paper bag, or small glass jar, and treat them like any other seeds. Tomatoes, Squash, Cucumber Seed contained in fleshy fruits should be cleaned using the wet method. Tomatoes, melons, squash and cucumbers are prepared this way. Pick the fruit when it is very ripe, a little overly ripe. Scoop the fleshy center with the seeds out of the fruit. Put the seed mass and a small amount of warm water in bowl or jar. Let the mix ferment for two to four days. Stir daily. The fermentation process kills viruses and separates the good seed from the bad seed and fruit pulp. After two to four days, the good viable seeds will sink to the bottom of the container while the pulp and bad seed float. Pour off the pulp, water, bad seed and mold. Spread the good seed on a screen or paper towel to dry. Spinach There are male and female stalks. Female plants bear seeds while male plants bear pollen. The wind does the pollinating. When all the plants are dry and brown pull up the entire plant and hang in a cool dry place. You can harvest and eat the outside leaves while waiting for seed production. Thresh the seeds by banging the stalks against the side of a bucket or strip the seeds by hand. If your spinach seeds are the spiky type you may want to wear gloves. Seeds should be stored out of direct sunlight in a cool dry place. Peppers All
you need to do with pepper seeds is to cut the pepper open, remove the
seeds, let them dry on a paper plate for 2 or 3 days and then store them
in an airtight container. If you're saving the seeds from a hot pepper
be sure to wear rubber gloves or the seeds will burn your skin. Basil These are just some basic instructions for seed saving. If you really want to get into it there is a pretty comprehensive book on line at http://www.seedsave.org/issi/issi_904.html. Reflection: Saving our own seeds is a marvelous way to observe the cycle of life. The seed produces the plant that provides the food that sustains us. We care for the soil and the plant. The plant produces more seed. With respect for Mother Earth and appreciation for her abundance the cycle goes on and on.
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