Seed Saving

[alan refail]

There have been many discussions on sources of cheap seeds over recent months, and a few questions about saving seed.
I think it would be useful to hear of members' views and experiences. And it might save some people money in future years.
Do you save your own seed?
If so, why? And what do you save?
If not, why not?

I save, or have saved Peas, Broad Beans, Runner Beans, French Beans, Beetroot, Cucumber, Tomatoes, Rocket, Radish.

Looking forward to a useful and lively debate.

Alan

[oldherbaceous]

Morning Alan, i save peas, runner beans, French beans, and broad bean seed, i save these because they are probably the easiest.
I grow a lot of the older varieties of other veg, and the seed is so cheap for a good seed count, that it just doesn't seem worth the time.

A good topic by the way.

[Lyn]

Hi -
I also save pea and bean seeds, also peppers and chillis which are very easy. I am beginning to wonder, though, whether my saved seeds, year after year, although producing good plants, might be restricting the "gene pool". Perhaps it might be a good idea to buy some seeds of the same variety, which will obviously have come from a different set of plants elsewhere, so that pollination can redistribute the genes and maybe prevent "inbreeding". I don't know - does anyone have any thoughts on this?
Regards, Lyn

[richard p]

i normally save beans, tomatoes,peppers anything thats not an f1 hybrid. all the broad beans have fed the mice this year, so have had to buy some seed, all the local shop had left was the sutton and red epicure so we will see if the kids like red beans. occasionally i let oher things go to seed to see what happens, mitzuma seems to have worked well , gives a lot of seed from one plant. lettuce and onions have also been successful in the past.
the only draw back is you can end up growing the same varieties year after year. with the cheap seeds in woolies , wilkinsons etc it doesnt hurt to try something new aswell

[Johnboy]

I do not see anything wrong in saving particular seeds that are not F1 hybrids. I even saved some Galia Melon seeds which is an F1 just to have an experiment as to what the result would be. I am pleased to report that the result was actually better than the Galia. (this is exceptional)
I have the original Gardeners Delight, which is not a cherry variety, although today seeds you buy are.
Clive kindly sent me some peas called Radio a couple of years ago and I have saved about 1000 of those.
I select about 150 Scarlet Emperor Runner Beans and Masterpiece Green Longpod Broad Beans 150.
I don't save any Brassicas because the new seed is so cheap and the seed plants are always in the way when you want to plant the next crop.
I grow Scorzonera as a crop not to eat the roots but the flower heads which if picked with about 4" of stalk just as the buds are swelling to bloom (but not burst) and lightly steamed in bundles like Asparagus are really nice. I originally grew them as an anti Carrot Root Fly measure and they escaped to the foot of the hedge where I allow them to flourish. They need to be resown about every third year. Apart from many species of flower that is all the seed I save.
JB

[cevenol jardin]

I am particularly keen on saving my own seed for a number of reasons - there is a post on viewtopic.php?t=2464&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=seed+catalogues&start=45 going into detail - but the most important reason for me is that we have pretty difficult soil and climate sandy soil and droughts in summer (extreme enough to have run out of water one year) so by saving seeds from the plants that make it i find that we are able to grow crops that have grown more suited to our extremes. This has worked particularly well for:
Tomatoes
Peppers & Chillis
Tetragon
Lettuce
fast growing brassicas (oriental types)
Rocket
Broad Beans
chinese chives
Coriander
Parsley
Curcubits
Fennel

For particularly Tomatoes, peppers & chillis i have saved the seed from the fruits i've bought to eat and liked. (In Spain, Italy and France) in the veg and organic markets they are displayed with the variety name and you can find stalls with 20 or more heirloom varieties (so no F1). This way i am sure to know its worth growing for the taste and use in the kitchen.

[Wapentake]

Hi,
I save no seeds from my plants as I try to grow differing varieties every year, but do try to take a few cuttings from the wild thyme I find if on holiday in Greece.
There is a big difference in scent/flavor from each of the islands that we've visited (over the years), and each time I smell it, it takes me back to that place.
I do have a question over the verification of the varieties that we buy, is there a central seed bank with the DNA of the differing varieties that all seed companies must check against?
Every generation of seed must have some mutation (however small), so some of the older varieties must now be quite different from the "original".
Any plant setting seed will naturally "adjust" its seed to grow best in its current location over a few generations.
So a runner bean, as an example, grown in a cold climate over several generations, must give a better plant for that climate then that from the original seed.
The same original runner bean seed CROP grown only in a warmer climate will not give plants so well adjusted to a colder climate.
In short where are the seed crops grown that we buy ? and are they the same varieties (genetically) as stated on the packet's label.

[Jenny Green]

CJ, what is Tetragon?
Wapentake, I don't think they have sequenced many plants yet, so there won't be a central bank for checking DNA against at the moment. I think there's still some confusion in the horticultural world over varieties of plants because they still rely on visible characteristics to identify and classify plants, so mistakes are made.
Regarding plants adapting to the climate, I agree you would see some small increase in suitability for the climate but I think it would take active selection of plants for breeding to produce a noticeable variation over a human lifetime (such as the development of the Sarpo potatoes). So the climate of the area where the seeds were grown may not be hugely important, as long as the basic hardiness is known.
I save quite a lot of seed but have yet to perfect the art. Sometimes it's a roaring success, sometimes I get 0% germination, such as my conrflowers this year. (I actually think they were infiltrated by the Terminator gene, it's nothing to do with my capabilities as a gardener at all.)

[cevenol jardin]

Jenny
Sorry I forgot i always call it tetragon but its not called that in England its called New Zealand spinach.
There's a full description in the technical data section for Tetragon.