Seed Collecting Q&A

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Comment by Sarah Walsh on July 17, 2009 at 4:14pm

I've collected my own beetroot seed to grow and had a fairly good germination rate, but then another plant that I'd let go to seed in the garden did the job all on its own and I now have heaps of self-sown beetroot in my garden. I don't think I'll ever bother growing beetroot seedlings in punnets again. The other seed I've collected is peas...most of my pea seedlings were destroyed by slugs and snails last year, so I collected seed from the plants that survived in the hope that their progeny will do better. I'm about to start sowing them in August, so will see how it goes!

Comment by Katharine on July 15, 2009 at 12:34pm

What a great idea Graeme

Comment by Graeme Greedy on July 11, 2009 at 11:07am

Hi to you all
have been saving seed for some years, now retired now so hope to do a lot more.
A tip for tomatoe seeds dry on a paper towel write the name of tomatoe on towel and keep in a draw when time to plant just cut up towel and plant

Comment by Paul on July 9, 2009 at 3:10pm

Hi Everyone.
I've been collecting a few seeds over the past couple of years, but plan to do so more this year hopefully!
I have stuck with the "easy" ones so far - runner beans, garlic, pumpkin.
Also have many "accidental" seed collections in the form of self-sowing vegetables including lettuce, tomatoes and leeks, though I cant remember the varieties of the parent plants!

Comment by Katharine on June 26, 2009 at 9:06pm

Hi Rebecca,
I've been collecting, saving and re-sowing my own seed for a few years. If you are new to seed saving I think green beans are one of the easiest plants to grow and save seed from. All you need to do is leave the pods on the plant until they turn yellow and dry out. Remove the seeds (beans) from the pods and put in a dry open container. Leave them in the container to completely dry out for a week or two (depending on conditions). I leave mine in a place that does not get direct sunlight at any point. Once dried store in an airtight container out of direct sunlight. We often have a lot of rain where I live. If the beans turn yellow and are still wet I've found it is okay to pick them wet, get the seeds (beans) out and dry them indoors by simply leaving them in a dry place for a couple of weeks.
I usually do this towards the end of a growing season when the plants start producing less beans because usually once you stop harvesting the green beans and allow them to turn yellow the plants starts producing less beans.
Bean are just one of many plants that you will find it is very easy to collect and save seed from. Happy gardening.

Comment by Rebecca on June 26, 2009 at 2:31pm

hi jenny - thanks for that. i'm so impressed you've already grown and eaten some stuff from seed you've collected. i have a long way to go (i'm thinking now i'd best focus my efforts on planting a picking garden come spring). i'd be keen to hear about your experiences.

Comment by Jenny Lux on June 26, 2009 at 10:27am

Hi Rebecca! Good on you for the starting the group. Sorry I have been slow to join. I've only collected seeds for one season, so I'm still very new to it. I'm now experiencing the joy of eating from plants that grew from seeds I collected... and they are true to type so far! Look forward to learning more from all. Jenny.

Comment by Rebecca on May 26, 2009 at 3:19pm

I've noticed that a lot of the people who start groups here have some knowledge on the subject of the group - that's not the case with me I'm afraid! However I am very interested in saving and storing and swapping seeds so I thought I would get a group going and see if we can get some info flowing :O)

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