This document discusses the importance of seed saving and genetic diversity for food security. It notes that only 4 major crops now provide 95% of human nutrition, and industrial agriculture relies on only a handful of cultivars, resulting in a 75% loss of agricultural diversity. Diseases like wheat stem rust pose threats. The document then provides steps for home gardeners to save seeds of various crops, including choosing open-pollinated varieties, isolating plants, roguing for trueness to type, proper harvesting, cleaning, storing, and record keeping. Seed saving helps preserve heirloom varieties and genetic diversity for the future.

1. Saving Seeds for a
Food-Secure Future
Heidi Kratsch
Area Horticulture Specialist

2. What is a Seed?
O Product of
sexual
reproduction
O Maximizes
genetic diversity

3. Genetic diversity is decreasing
O 95% of human food needs now
provided by just 4 crops: rice,
wheat, corn, potatoes.
O Industrial agriculture focuses on
only a handful of cultivars.
O 75% of agricultural genetic
diversity disappeared in the last
century.

5. Wheat Stem Rust (Ug99)
O First identified in
Uganda in 1999.
O Has spread through
Africa into the
Middle East.
O ~90% of world‟s
wheat is
defenseless against
this virulent strain. Puccinia graminis

6. The Irish Potato Famine

7. Panama Disease
O 1950s – „Gros
Michel‟ – wiped
out!
O Today –
„Cavendish‟- it‟s
dying!
O Future – do we
need a new
cultivar?

8. The Corn Monoculture

9. Bringing back biodiversity

11. Step 1: Avoid growing
F1 hybrids
O Almost all corn
seed
O Many varieties of
cross-pollinated
species
O Must buy new
seeds every year

12. Choose open-pollinated
O Come true to type
O The easiest are self-pollinated:
beans, peas, tomatoes,
peppers
O Heirloom varieties – saved
through generations of families
and neighbors
O History goes back
12,000 years!

13. Step 2: Protect varietal purity

14. Flower Structure

15. Definition of Terms
O Annual, biennial, perennial
O Perfect flower
O Self-incompatible
O Imperfect flowers
O Monoecious (single house)
plants
O Dioecious (two houses) plants

16. Self-Pollination

17. Bagging self-pollinators
Bagging flowers on
pepper plants

18. Plants self-pollinate in the bag
Treated paper bags
Reemay bags

19. Cross-
Pollination

20. Cross-pollination by insects
O Cucurbits
O Brassicas
O Umbelliferae

21. Cross-pollination by wind
O Corn
O Spinach
O Beets
O Chard

22. Isolate plants that readily
cross-pollinate
O Distance
O Time
O Bagging
O Caging

23. Pollination Cages
O Frame: O Covered with:
O Wood O Spun
O Wire polyester cloth
O Plastic pipe
(Reemay)
O Window
O Metal tubing
screen

24. Alternate Day Caging
O Need a
minimum of
two cages.
O Alternate days
open to
pollinators.
Kale and cabbage will readily cross pollinate.

25. Caging with
pollinators

26. 1 2
3 4

27. Step 3: Rogue plants for
trueness to type

28. Select desirable characteristics
O Vigor
O Earliness
O Drought resistance
O Insect resistance
O Flavor
O Late bolting in
cool-season crops

29. Ample population size
O Especially
important for
cross-pollinating
plants.
O Select a minimum
of 6 plants for
seed saving.
O More plants =
more genetic
diversity

30. Step 4: Harvest Seeds

31. Overwintering Biennials
O Biennials include:
O Carrot, celery, O Seed-to-seed method
parsley
vs.
O Beet, chard
O Leek, onion O Seed-to-root-to-seed
O Rutabaga, turnip, method
parsnip
O Broccoli, kale,
brussels sprouts

32. Root
Cellaring

33. Onions (Allium cepa)
Cepa group
O Biennial, self-
pollinating
O Overwinter in
ground or lift bulbs.
O Bulbs – harvest
seed first season
O Seed – harvest Don‟t wait too long to
seed second harvest seed or the seed
season. heads will shatter!

34. Broccoli (Brassica oleracea)
O Biennial, cross-
pollinating (insect)
O Will cross with all other
plants of this species.
O Do not eat plants grown
for seed.
O Use cold frame, small
hoop house to
overwinter.

35. Beets and Chards
(Beta vulgaris)
Up to 4 feet tall!
Biennial, cross-pollinated (wind) – bag or cage

36. Spinach (Spinacia oleracea)
Male plant with flowers
Female plant with seeds
Dioecious, annual, cross-pollinating (wind)

37. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa)
O Self-pollinating O Seeds ripen 12-24
days after flowering
annual
O Bolts in response to
lengthening days
O Head-lettuce types
need to be slit to
allow seed stalk to
emerge.

38. Squash (Cucurbita pepo)
Acorn, crookneck, scallop, zucchini
O Monoecious, cross-
pollinating (insect)
annual
O Cut fruit from vine
and let sit for 3
weeks or longer
before harvesting
Male flower Female flower
seed.

39. Pea (Pisum sativum)
O Self-pollinating
annual
O Allow pods to dry
on the vine.
O Freeze pods in
airtight container
for 3-5 days to kill
Peas and beans are easy for
weevil eggs. beginning seed savers.

40. Carrot (Daucus carota)
O Biennial, cross-
pollinated (insect)
O Use seed-to-root-to-
seed method
O Umbels can be left
to dry on the plant,
or
O Cut and air-dry.
O De-bearding is
unnecessary.

41. Corn (Zea mays)
O Cross-pollinated
(wind) annual
O Tassels vs. silks
O Grow in blocks
O Susceptible to
inbreeding depression
O Dry ears on the stalk,
or remove and dry
under shelter

42. Step 5: Clean seeds
O Dry processing
O Wet
processing
O Fermenting
O Rinsing
O Decanting

43. Dry processing –
threshing, winnowing

44. Wet processing
O Remove seeds
from fruit
O Wash and
rinse
O Air-dry
O Ferment –
Tomato seeds must be
tomato, fermented to remove gelatinous
cucumber coating.

45. Fermentation

46. Step 6: Store seeds
O Excellent
storage
produces
vigorous seeds.
O Two enemies:
O High
temperature
O High moisture

47. Long-term storage
O Cool, dry
conditions
O Envelopes
O Moisture-proof
container or
freezer
O Must be “very
dry.”

48. Getting to “very dry”
O Fan/air
conditioner
O Food
dehydrator
O Silica gel
O Check daily
until between 5-
7% moisture

49. Testing for Dryness
O Weigh before and after drying
slowly in an oven at low
temperature.
O Seed moisture content (%) =
fresh seed weight – dry seed
weight ÷ dry seed weight ×
100%

50. Long-term storage
O Frozen seeds last Supplies:
up to 10 times O Seed Savers
longer Exchange –
O Store in paper www.seedsavers.org
envelopes with
silica gel
“dessicant” for one
week.
O Allow frozen sealed
jar to reach room

51. Keep good records
O Keep a card for
each variety.
O Plant and variety
O Source, date
obtained
O Germination %
O Date stored
O Accession
number
O Last year grown

52. Veggies generally not grown
from seed
O Potato
O Garlic
O Artichoke
O Asparagus
O Sweet potato
O Rhubarb

53. Questions?