Can a backyard gardener save their own vegetable, herb and flower seed? Absolutely!
Saving your own heirloom seed is fun and rewarding. Only open pollinated, heirloom seed has the ability to reproduce itself. Who is better to trust saving seed but yourself. Think of the accomplishment!
What are your favorite vegetables, herbs and flowers? Focus on those varieties that bring back fond memories. Make a goal to start small and add more varieties when you are comfortable doing so.
- How much space do you have available? Be realistic. Don’t try to cram a lot of plants into a small area. One option is to plant in containers. Some varieties only require limited space for proper growth and root structure (i.e. lettuce).
- Take into consideration pollination required (wind [corn, wheat], insect [squash, watermelon], vibration [tomato], mechanical [hand pollination])
- Isolation techniques:
I hope this is more clearly understood. It is absolutely essential to grasp these concepts!
Papa
Why do you need to put bags on your veggies if you want to get their seeds?
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Great question!! See answer on September 22 blog post. Please keep the questions coming!!
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I’m growing 5 varieties of heirloom tomatoes in my garden this year. I was planning to save the seed but now realize I have a bit more prep to do in order to make that possible. If I saved it now there would be cross pollination between all the varieties. Thank you for making this more clear. Next year I’ll be ready!
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Thank you for your comment. Please see your answer on September 22 blog post. Keep the questions coming, please!!
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