Healthy soil and sustainable growing

["TradingPostPaul" <tradingpost@riseup.net>]

(useful except for advertising hybrids - blanket claim about "vigor, pest
resistance, high-yield" etc. is questionable. Old heirlooms haven't had the
flavor or stress resistance bred out. prp)

Northern Gardening Tips: Know which seed to save for next season
http://www.montana.edu/cpa/news/nwview.php?article=5061

August 27, 2007 -- By Cheryl Moore-Gough MSU Extension Horticulturist

This time of year, enthusiastic gardeners want to store seed for next
year's production, instead of having to continually order from catalogs.
Saving seed used to be very commonplace, but not so anymore.

Before you decide to save seed from your plants, it's important to consider
whether they are "open-pollinated," which means that they produce seed that
will yield plants similar to the parent, whether they are
"cross-pollinated" and so pick up characteristics from nearby plants, or
whether they are "hybrid" cultivars that have special characteristics
unlikely to carry into a subsequent year.

Many modern cultivars are hybrids, designated as "F1" on the label. These
have been specially bred for vigor, pest resistance, high-yield and other
characteristics. Seeds saved from these plants will generally produce
inferior plants the following season. For example, if you save seeds from
'Sweet Burpless Hybrid' cucumber and plant them next year, they will
produce cucumber plants whose growth and fruiting will be inferior to the
parent.

Most older cultivars of vegetables, including heirloom varieties, are
open-pollinated. These will reproduce reasonably true to type if planted in
isolation. If you plant 'Straight 8' cucumber away from other cucumbers and
save the seeds, next year's plants will be pretty much like 'Straight 8.'

All things considered, you will do best to save seeds of open-pollinated
cultivars and self-pollinated peas, beans, lettuce and tomatoes. You can be
pretty sure of getting true to type seeds without isolating these crops, so
long as you do not start with hybrid parents.

Cross-pollinated vegetables are pollinated by other cultivars of the same
kind of plant. For example, 'Long Standing Bloomsdale' spinach will
cross-pollinate with 'Melody' and other spinach cultivars. If you plant
both near each other and save their seeds, next year's generation will have
traits of both parents. In addition to spinach, beets, broccoli, cabbage,
radish and several other vegetables cross-pollinate. You can be sure of
getting seeds of plants that will be fairly true to type only if you
isolate your insect pollinated crops by 200 yards and your wind-pollinated
crops by a mile.

The vine crops, eggplant, peppers and celery are partially
cross-pollinated, depending upon the environment. Isolate them from others
of their kind, just to be sure.

Saving seeds from annuals is easy, but the seeds of biennials are produced
in the second season, following a cold period. Let your plants overwinter
and collect seeds the following year. Root crops, like carrots and beets,
are tricky, since the roots must be harvested to judge their quality, prior
to selecting for seed-saving. Carefully dig the plants in the fall, select
those with the best characteristics and replant them right away after
removing their tops. Snow cover will naturally protect them over winter. If
you live where snow cover is light or unpredictable, mulch the plants with
a few inches of straw after the ground has frozen. Winter mulch protects
roots, the the roots will produce new tops and a flower next spring. In the
second year, the root will be inedible. Let the seeds ripen and you're in
business, two years after the first crop.

In American gardens, we plant seven species of "cucurbits" divided among
three genera, which, in general, will not cross pollinate. Watermelon will
not cross with cucumber, and neither will cross with zucchini. There are
four species within the genus Cucurbita, some of which cross within the
same species and others with other species. It can be confusing. To detail
just a few: Jack O Lantern pumpkin and zucchini will cross. Butternut
squash and Kentucky field pumpkin will cross. Buttercup squash, hubbard
squash, and Big Max pumpkin cross. Cushaw pumpkins cross with some gourds.
All of this only matters if you plan to save the seed. The fruit of this
year's crop will be unaffected by the cross.

Beans, peas, and crucifers bear seeds in pods, which need to turn brown
before you harvest them. Then dry them for another week or two in a warm
place, shell them, and store the seeds in a paper bag in a dry room below
50 degrees Fahrenheit. Some seeds need to be soaked in 122 degrees F water
to protect them from seed-borne diseases. Soak cabbage seeds for 25
minutes, and soak seeds of broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts for
18 minutes. Then dry in a warm place. Again, store dried seeds in a paper
bag or paper envelope.

Pepper, melon, pumpkin and squash seeds should be scraped onto a paper
towel to dry, then stored in a paper envelope or bag, as you would other
seeds.

Pick ripe tomatoes and cucumbers and squeeze the pulp, including the seeds,
into a glass or plastic container. Add a little water and let the goo
ferment for several days at room temperature, stirring occasionally. Viable
seeds will settle, while dead seeds will float. Pour off the pulp, water
and floaters and spread the viable seeds in a single layer on a paper towel
to dry. Store all seeds in an envelope or paper bag in a cool, dry place.

No matter what kind of seeds you are saving, mark the envelope or paper bag
with the cultivar, kind of plant, and date of harvest with permanent marker
or pencil.

Seeds are living, and holding them in a paper bag or envelope in a cool
(about 50 degrees F), dry place will slow their physiological processes,
allowing for maximum storage life. When properly stored, seeds remain
usually viable from one to five years.

Contact: Cheryl Moore-Gough (406) 994-6523 or hort@montana.edu

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