Saving Heirloom Seeds

Take back control and distribution of our living legacy of heirloom open-pollinated flowers and vegetables.

More than 80 percent of the seed varieties sold a century ago are no longer available today reports Joe Keyser, a columnist for the Montgomery County Department of Environmental Protection in Maryland. How does this affect you and I when we're sitting at our dinner table? We pay higher prices for food that is genetically engineered to look perfect and withstand extended shipping and industrial processing that often tastes terrible. These new vegetable strains need to be sprayed repeatedly with insecticides, mostly non-organic fertilizers and chemicals because now that they look good and can be bounced off a semitrailer at 60 miles per hour without bruising - they are no longer resistant to the bugs and other diseases that their humble heirloom ancestors were immune to.

The Bay Area Seed Interchange Library (BASIL) has this to say about why we should be concerned with saving seeds, " In the last two decades, the majority of the world's family-owned seed companies have been bought out by multinationals such as the Monsanto and Novartis corporations. These companies are not interested in creating sustainable food systems and communities. They are busy replacing carefully bred strains of vegetables and flowers with their own hybrids and patented varieties. Hybrids don't produce viable seed, and the seed from patented varieties cannot legally be collected and used. Instead, the seeds must be bought fresh each year, forcing gardeners and farmers to purchase from corporate seed sources annually. Genetic engineering enables "life science" corporations to control plant traits by "programming" the seeds. Monsanto's infamous implementation of trait-control technology is often referred to as the "Terminator" seed. "Terminator" seeds yield plants that produce no viable seed of their own. Trait-controlled plants that breed with traditional varieties may pass on engineered traits to the offspring. If non-evolved plant varieties are permitted to squeeze out natural and/or carefully cultivated varieties, seed saving may nearly disappear. Our nourishment or hunger might then depend on chemically dependent or infertile trait-controlled plants."

These huge seed companies encourage us to buy their latest hybrid super vegetable, which for the home gardener is much like being dependent on Saudi Arabia for oil. In plain English, this years giant tomato is next year's bitter pea-sized disappointment, or worse - it's seed won't grow at all. In order to save your own seed you need to start with what is commonly called a "heirloom" or "open-pollinated" variety.

You will also need to plant only a single variety of each type of vegetable. Unless you are deliberately trying to cross pollinate two types of a specific plant. You will also need to locate your garden as far away from your neighbor's plot as possible.

For beginning seed savers it's important to remember that root crops, cabbages, parsley, and cabbages are biennial, -- they don't form seed pods until the second year. I've been trying to keep a kohlrabi plant going but have a ready supply of seed for the first sign of cooler weather. Some Eco friendly gardeners save seed in junk mail envelopes. I was told not to store my Freckles lettuce seed in a plastic ziploc bag because it will hold in moisture and promote mold. Any paper envelope or glass jar with a lid will do. Seeds do not need to be refrigerated to save them, but they do need to be kept cool, dry, and in a dark place. Label your storage container with the name of the each kind of vegetable, the variety, where and when you came into the original, and the month and year of the harvest. Some heirloom varieties have an extensive history and have been handed down in families from generation to generation. The Long Orange Improved Carrot was brought to America by Dutch breeders in 1620 and still exists today (www.reimerseeds.com).

Mother Earth News, now the Holy Grail of all things organic, recommends only freezing your seed if you'll be storing it for more than two years. Yes, some seeds need a period in the freezer to make them germinate. This is not the same as storing your seed in the refrigerator or freezer. Some seeds need warm temperatures, 70' F or even warmer to germinate. Others need cool temperatures around 55' or freezing to germinate at all. A young plant may want a different temperature to grow well than the seed needed to germinate. Most gardeners have a small notebook or journal and write down specific information related to each variety they plant.

There are two methods of saving seeds. The dry method involves dumping the cleaned seeds onto a cookie sheet, ceramic dish, window screen, or clean piece of plywood. Do not dry your seeds in direct sunlight or in the oven - seeds which reach an internal temperature of 95' or above will not germinate. Do not dry your seeds on paper, cloth, or any non-rigid plastic - you won't be able to remove them once they become dry. Just spread the seeds on the drying material as thinly as possible and stir several times a day. Flowers and vegetables which are collected using the dry method need to be collected before the seeds drop or "self-sow" in your garden. You'll need to collect dry seed pods or for example, let your ears of corn fully ripen and and dry before collecting and saving.

The wet method is a bit more complicated. You'll need to cut open and scrape out large seeded vegetables like tomatoes, cucumbers, and muskmelons. Smaller fruits and vegetables can be crushed or mashed. The seeds (pulp and juice) will then need to go through a fermentation process. Pour your seeds into a glass jar, add water, and let ferment for three days. The microorganisms, bacteria, and yeasts that develop destroy the seed-borne diseases which plague many plants. After fermentation you'll need to put your seeds in a large container, add twice as much water, and separate the seeds from the pulp residue. The viable seeds will sink to the bottom of your container. Remove the floaters and pulp, then pour your seeds into a strainer and rinse with clean water. These seeds can then be dried and stored.

The advantage of saving your own seed is that you can develop sustainable strains that will grow only in your own back yard, taste great, do not need insecticides and chemicals to flourish, and are nutritious. Do not save the first tomato that ripens on your plant. You will need to watch and wait until you have the healthiest, strongest, and best tasting varieties to save. The zucchini plant that repels squash bugs, tomatoes that never get blossom end rot, or the best tasting green bean.

The heirloom seed you grow today may be the longest and most enduring gift you can give to the future.