Edibleyard’s Blog

It was so nice to visit with Kim and her mom – another avid gardener this past September.  One interesting question was our various sources for seeds.

It turns out I should probably be embarrassed to admit that my seeds are largely purchased off the rack at places like the hardware store and Dollarama (three packs for a buck!) – yes, the yields aren’t always fantastic, but they do the trick, and I think my frugality runs a bit too deep to purchase the deluxe versions  from catalogues and specialty/heirloom growers.  I’m sure these high-end seed sources provide better rates of success and offer more varieties, but when you’re just trying to grow plain old carrots, my experience tells me that seeds from Rona for 89 cents will do just fine.

I’ve also had decent success with saving seeds from the the previous years’ crop.  Particularly for peas, beans and squash. On a recent trip out to the west, my mom asked me how to save seeds – I didn’t think there was much of a trick to it, but in case you’re curious, I can provide you with the secrets of my ‘method’.

For peas, beans and other pod-like veggies, i let several pods grow until they’re so bursting huge and starchy that you’d never think about eating them.  Let them dry on the vine if you can, or transport the pods to the indoors and let them dry in a warm place (such as the kitchen table, in front of a window, etc).  When they’re dried out, I just pluck out the beans and store them in an envelope for the winter.

When find a squash with excellent taste and colour (regardless of whether it came from garden or grocer), I pull out a few dozen seeds from the innerds and wipe or rinse off the goupy entrails as best as possible (a strainer and running water works pretty well) and lay the seeds out on paper towels or newspaper to dry.  Give them a week or so to fully dry out and your seeds are ready to be stored.  Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, eggplant, etc. can all be saved in the same way.

Don’t fall prey to my biggest mistake, which is believing that I’ll remember which seeds are from which plant.  Write it down – this is why it’s nice to dry things out on paper towels – you can write the name directly on the paper.  But then remember to transfer the name to the envelope that you’re storing them in.  Good idea to put the year on there too so that you know how old they are.

Your seed packages can be moved to the fridge (the vegetable/meat drawer works) or to the basement where it’s cool and dark.  There’s also a quiet trade of seeds that goes on by Canada Post throughout the winter – I’ve sent and received carefully labeled paper towels full of seedy goodness, and plan to do more of the same in the coming years.

Seed saving generally works well for flowers too – save the spent flower heads and extract seeds when they’re dried – marigolds, sunflowers, nasturshums, etc.

Germination success can be varied, and in an unregimented, high-variety garden like mine, you will risk of cross-pollinated vegetables where the seeds will not remain true to the parent plant – all the  more exciting when the plants start to produce mystery fruit.