Seed Saving Workshop
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This Seed Saving Workshop was hosted by Local Seeds as part of the 2021 Urban Agriculture Forum. We teach you how to get started saving seeds from open-pollinated plants, covering the most common methods of collecting, drying and storing seeds as well as tips on how to avoid cross-pollination. Local Seeds is a marketplace for local seed savers. Our mission is to encourage more people to save seeds, to help preserve genetic diversity, and to give people access to seeds that are adapted to their local environment. https://www.localseeds.com.au/
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Seed Saving Workshop
- 2. Who am I
- 3. Agenda ● The science of seeds ● Why save seeds? ● Getting started ● Saving seeds from lettuce ● Saving seeds from tomatoes ● Preventing cross-pollination ● Swapping seeds
- 4. The Science Of Seeds
- 10. Local adaptation
- 11. Getting Started
- 12. Getting started ● Plant open-pollinated seeds ● Start with the easy ones ○ Lettuce, tomatoes, etc. ● Grow enough plants ○ And select the best ones! ● Prefer heirloom varieties ● Research the variety you’re looking to save and learn to: ○ identify when the seeds are mature ○ how to harvest the seeds ○ how to dry and properly store the seeds
- 23. Saving lettuce seeds ● Wait for your best lettuce to bolt and produce mature seeds ● Collect the seeds ● Dry ● Store
- 30. Saving tomato seeds ● Collect seeds from your best mature tomatoes ● Ferment the seeds ● Dry ● Store
- 31. General seed saving tips
- 32. When to pick seeds ● Dry seeds, such as lettuce seeds, can be collected straight from the plants once mature ● Wet seeds within fruit pulps, need to be picked after ripe and separated from their pulp
- 33. When to pick seeds ● Fruits that are usually eaten young and immature, such as zucchinis and cucumbers, need to reach full size to develop seeds, so they need to stay on the plant for another three weeks or more.
- 34. When to pick seeds ● Plants we eat the seed like peas, beans and sunflowers can stay on the plant until completely dry
- 35. Storing seeds
- 36. How to store seeds ● Make sure the seeds are properly dry before storing. Seeds that haven’t dried properly can become moldy. ● Larger seeds need a longer drying time than small seeds.
- 37. How to store seeds ● Store seeds in an airtight container in a cool, dark, and dry place. Some people store seeds in the refrigerator or freeze for long term storage. ● Don’t forget to label your seeds with the crop type, variety name, when you harvested the seeds, and any other useful notes about your plant.
- 38. How long do seeds last? How long seeds last depends on the type of seed and storage conditions. Most vegetable seeds last between 3 to 4 years. See below: Year s Onion, Parsley, Parsnip, Salsify 1 Corn (sweet), Okra, Pepper 2 Asparagus, Bean, Broccoli, Carrot, Celeriac, Celery, Chinese cabbage, Kohlrabi, New Zealand spinach, Pea, Spinach 3 Beet, Brussels sprouts, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Chard (Swiss), Chicory, Eggplant, Fennel, Kale, Mustard, Pumpkin, Rutabaga, Squash, Tomato, Turnip, Watermelon 4 Collards, Cucumber, Endive, Muskmelon, Radish 5 Lettuce 6 Source: Iowa State University
- 40. Preventing cross-pollination ● Save seeds from self-pollinating plants, such as lettuce and tomatoes ○ They’re designed to pollinate themselves, so are less likely to cross pollinate ● Grow a single variety ○ It’s still possible for cross-pollination from your neighbours, but less likely depending on the size of your garden
- 41. Preventing cross-pollination ● Isolate plants by distance ○ Wind-pollinated crops, with fine, lightweight pollen can travel great distances ○ Insect-pollinated crops may require less distance, depending on how wide the insect will forage ○ Physical barriers may reduce risk of cross pollination ○ The distance recommended can vary between a few meters to kms! ○ Always check the distance required for each plant.
- 42. Preventing cross-pollination ● Isolate plants by containment ○ Plant that are isolated by containment will need to be pollinated by hand.
- 43. Preventing cross-pollination ● You can also plant varieties in sequence so that their flowering times don’t overlap ○ Though this may be difficult to ensure in practice due to natural circumstances
- 45. Swapping seeds
- 46. Swapping seeds ● Find a local seed swapping group ○ Facebook groups ○ Council website ○ Google seed swap in your area ○ https://seedsavers.net/local-seed-networks/
- 47. Buy & sell seeds on Local Seeds Check out Jenny’s shop: Seaford Seeds Vic
- 48. Thank you!
- 49. Resources ● https://www.seedsavers.org/learn ● https://seedsavers.net/why-save-seeds/benefits-of-seed-saving/ ● https://mysmartgarden.org.au/resources/food/seed-saving/ ● https://www.localseeds.com.au/blog
- 50. Q & A
Editor's Notes
- Hello everyone, Thank you for joining me for this Seed Saving Workshop presented by Local Seeds
- I’m Daniel, I run Local Seeds, which is a marketplace for seed savers. I’ve been growing veggies for about 5 years. And I started Local Seeds in the middle of the pandemic last year after I watched a couple of documentaries about the loss of seed diversity, which I’ll talk a bit more about shortly.
- So here’s what I’m planning to cover during this workshop. I’ll start by going over the science of seeds, then I’ll talk about some of the reasons why we may want to save seeds. I’ll then give you some tips on how to get started, in case you haven’t yet. Then I’ll play a some videos to demonstrate the process of saving seeds from a couple of different plants, lettuce and tomatoes. These were chosen in particular because they’re easy ones to start with, but also quite different examples of seed saving. We’ll also briefly discuss cross-pollination, which is where things can get a bit tricky, so we’ll discuss some ways to prevent cross-pollination. Then we’ll talk about what you can do with your saved seeds, including swapping seeds. If you’ve got any questions, please feel free to ask at any time, this workshop is meant to be interactive. Also, I may not be able to answer all questions, but if anyone else listen would like to contribute an answer please feel free to do so as well.
- A seed is basically a young plant that is resting inside a protective coating until the conditions are right for it to grow into a plant. Fully developed seeds contain three basic parts, the embryo, endosperm (food for the plant) and seed coat. The embryo is the part of the seed that develops into a plant. It contains the embryonic root (radical), embryonic stem (epicotyl and hypocotyl), and one or two seed leaves (cotyledons). These provide the plant with its first food until it grows its true leaves, so the plant can begin to photosynthesise and produce its own food. For a seed to germinate they need the right temperature, water and oxygen.
- Plants produce flowers to make seeds. To make a seed a flower must be pollinated. Pollen from the male part of one flower travels to the female part of another flower where the seeds are made. Once the pollen makes its way inside the female flower, it connects with the ovaries, which form fruits and produces seeds. Many plants have both male and female parts inside one flower and may be able to self pollinate. Other require help from the wind or insects to carry the pollen from one flower to another.
- The vegetables and fruits we eat today are a result of many years of careful selection of plants. These plants carried certain desirable traits, such as nutritional value, ease of cultivation, resistance to pests and appearance. This selection was only possible due to an enormous variety of plants available to be cross-bred.
- Unfortunately, in the last century, over 90% of the seed variety used for food production has been lost. One reason for that is that many of the most popular varieties consumed today are patented and cannot be saved or cross bred. Now bare in mind this is according to a study from 1983 by an organisation called Rural Advancement Foundation International and published on National Geographic in 2011. According to its website, there aren’t any more recent studies. This is especially concerning since our climate is changing, and without seed diversity it will be a lot more difficult to breed new varieties able to adapt to a changing climate. Many of the commercial seeds available today are bred for perfect appearance, long shelf life and uniform ripening, rather than taste and nutritional value. They’re also developed for widespread adaptability, rather than any particular climate conditions.
- When you save seeds from homegrown plants you are effectively selecting their unique traits for the next generation of plants. This can include features that make them desirable for you, such as flavour and texture, but also their ability to grow well in your local climate and resist pests. Over time, your seeds will continue to improve, adapting to your climate and producing higher quality plants and produce.
- So I’m sure you’re convinced by now, if you weren’t already. But how can you get started?
- So here’s some tips for beginners. My first tip is to start with open-pollinated seeds. Open pollinated seeds are seeds that will retain their characteristics, or breed true, when they self pollinate or are pollinated by another member of the same variety. This is in contrast to hybrid seeds, which are a cross between two different varieties, and their resulting plants may not produce viable seeds. My next tip is to start with the easy ones. Lettuce and tomato are great because they self pollinate and require little or no isolation. And you don't need many plants to produce a lot of seeds. Now, just because you can produce a lot of seeds with just one plant, it doesn't mean you should. Growing more plants of the same variety will give you more options to choose from, in terms of the desirable traits you're looking carry over for the next generation. Prefer heirloom varieties. Heirloom seeds are seeds that have been passed down through generations of a plant because their produce is valued for their flavour, productivity, hardiness or adaptability, rather than for commercial reasons. They may have unique colours, textures or tastes that are hard to produce in large quantities. Finally, do some research about the specific variety you're looking to save. Learn how to identify when the seeds are mature, how to harvest the seeds and how to dry and properly store the seeds. While some techniques are similar between different plants, it can also vary quite a bit. We'll demonstrate this process for lettuce and tomatoes next.
- Now to demonstrate the process of saving lettuce seeds, I’ll playback a video from Jenny, who is a featured grower on Local Seeds and kindly offered to demonstrate her process for this workshop.
- OK, so as we saw, great demonstration from Jenny of the process to save lettuce seeds. In summary, you need to wait for your lettuce plant to bolt, which generally happens as the weather get hotter, but it can happen for other factors as well. A good rule of thumb is that when plants are at the end of their lifecycle or under stress, they will attempt to produce seeds before they die. Once the lettuce has flowered it should get pollinated. Then you’ll need to wait for the seed pods to mature, before you can collect, dry and store. Now, before I move on, would anyone have any questions at this stage?
- OK, so now we’ll talk about saving tomato seeds.
- Tomato flowers get pollinated by wind or any kind of vibration. Once it gets pollinated, the fruit forms from the flower’s ovary, with the seeds inside it.
- Now, one thing that’s special about tomato seeds is that they are encased in a little gel sac to inhibit them from sprouting early. This growth inhibitor ensures that the seed is properly preserved until the conditions are right for the seed to germinate. In nature, tomato fruits would fall to the ground, and rot, removing the sprout inhibitor that is the gel sac around each seed, and then germinate, resulting in new plants. So to save tomato seeds we can mimic this process by fermenting the seeds. So now I’ll playback some videos I recorded of this process.
- So the first step is to pick ripe tomatoes from your best plants. So here I picked a few tommy toe cherry tomatoes to save seeds from. These were actually grown from my own saved seeds, so they are the second generation. And they’ve been pretty successful in my veggie patch. Here I am slicing them in the middle between the point where the fruits were attached to the plant and the flower end. This makes it easier to scoop out the seeds with a spoon. Then you just need to put the seeds in a jar or glass, and add a bit of water. Water isn’t essential, and it actually slows fermentation a bit, so you don’t want to add to much like I did there. But adding a bit of water makes it easier to spot floating seeds, which may not be viable. Then cover with a cloth or paper towel just to protect it and cover any bad smell. You can then leave it alone for a week or so. You should see a layer of mould build up and maybe some bubbles as well.
- Once you have a layer of mould and some bubbles it indicates the fermentation process is complete. Now in my video I didn’t have a full layer of mould or bubbles, that’s just because I was a bit impatient and I was late in my preparations for this workshop, so don’t mind me, but it should still work. The next step is to rinse it and clean it well so you get rid of any bits of the tomato gel sac.
- Finally you can transfer the seeds to a baking paper or tea towel to dry. Avoid paper towel since the paper can stick to the seeds. Make sure to separate the seeds well to avoid getting them stuck together. You wanna let it dry for at least 10 days in a cool, dry and dark spot, before storing in a sealed container.
- So, in summary the process of saving tomato seeds starts by selecting the fruits from you best tomatoes, carefully removing the seeds, putting them into a jar or glass. You can then fill it with a bit of water. Water slows the fermentation, so avoid adding too much. Also, adding water isn’t essential, but it helps to spot floating seeds, which may not be viable. Once you have a layer of mold at the top, the fermentation should be complete. You can then shake and rinse the seeds to separate them from their gel sacs, and finally let them dry on a baking paper or tea towel for at least 10 days.
- Now that we have talked about lettuce and tomato I’ll just go over some more general tips about saving seeds.
- Here’s a few rules of thumb about picking seeds from different types of plants.
- Here’s a few rules of thumb about picking seeds from different types of plants.
- Here’s a few rules of thumb about picking seeds from different types of plants.
- Here’s a few rules of thumb about picking seeds from different types of plants.
- Here’s a few rules of thumb about picking seeds from different types of plants.
- Cross pollination occurs when pollen is shared between plants of the same species but different cultivars or varieties. The resulting seed won’t produce true-to-type plants, so it’s important to prevent cross-pollination from occurring.
- Self-pollinated plants mean that the flowers on the plants are designed to pollinate themselves. Acccidental cross pollination by insects is still possible, but less likely.
- Isolating by distance is the most fail-proof way to prevent cross-pollination Wind-pollinated crops, such as beets and spinach, have very fine, lightweight pollen that can travel great distances, making the isolation distance required quite long. Insect-pollinated crops may require less distance, but it can vary depending on how wide the insect will forage, with bees foraging over a larger area compared to other insect pollinators. Physical barriers, such as buildings, fences, trees, and shrubs may hinder the flow of wind borne pollen. They may also impact the ability of insect pollinators to carry pollen across. The distance recommended can vary between 400 meters to many km! Always check the distance required for each plant.
- When space is limited and isolation by distance is not possible, you can physically isolate plants. Isolation by containment cannot be used on wind-pollinated crops, as physical barriers can keep insects out, but pollen carried by the wind can still enter and cross-pollinate these crops.
- Now I’ve found this table on the table, but I couldn’t verify its source, so it’s here mostly for illustration and as a high level guide of the different methods of pollination for various plants, which can inform the consideration you may need to make for seed saving.
- So now that you know everything about seed saving. What are you going to do with all those seeds. Well swapping seeds is one of the best things you can do, so that you can share your locally adapted and well selected varieties, and also gain access to new varieties from your neighbours. There are hundreds of seed swapping groups across Australia. You can find many on Facebook groups, your council website, community gardens near your area or simply Google seed swapping in your area. Also, the seed savers website has a handy map with various local groups.
- Now if you’re looking for certain varieties in your region and you can’t find them, you can always try Local Seeds, where we have over 20 growers across different states in Australia. Also, if you want to get more serious about seed saving, you can setup a shop and sell your seeds online on Local Seeds.