Heirloom Seeds

10/03/2023

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN OPEN POLLINATED AND F1 HYBRID SEED

It is not more than 60 years ago when the world population enjoyed its food coming almost entirely from open pollinated varieties (99.5% OPS vs. hybrid maize/corn, tomato and aubergine which were on the market). However, during the last 55 years open pollinated seeds have disappeared from the seed markets and National Seed Lists at an alarming rate. Why? Were they becoming inferior, or out dated?

The fact is, they were being replaced by F1 hybrids.
The science of plant breeding especially during the last 60 years has focused on F1 hybrid breeding, a method which takes its observation from natural hybridisation when two distinctly different varieties of the same species cross to make a more superior and vigorous offspring. This natural occurrence has been pursued in modern artificial hybridisation over a long period of time and is based on enforcing plants into prolonged in-breeding, plants which naturally rely strongly on out-breeding / cross pollinating, to create two distinctly different homogenous plant populations or breeding lines. In a final cross, the two breeding lines are brought together to produce the F1 hybrid seed.

It is fairly well known amongst growers and gardeners that an F1 hybrid will not breed true to type. The desirable F1 traits such as increased vigour, uniformity, and yield cannot be sustained in the F2 generation as the F2 naturally segregates. This enforced method has also given rise to more recent hybrid types called CMS (Cytoplasmic Male Sterility) hybrids involving cross species breeding.

In this endeavour, the seed industry has been successful in achieving an in-built mechanism to ensure farmers and growers come back to buy new seeds every year. In many ways this is what farmers and growers do in any case, but the overall results in approach to plant breeding and buying up smaller seed companies has meant that corporate agrochemical and seed companies now own huge numbers of breeding lines, putting themselves firmly in possession of the most crucial element to our food supply, namely the seed. Alongside this endeavour, the private seed sector has also been successful in achieving seed and genetic plant material protection by seed and patent laws against any possible ‘misuse’ or ‘abuse’ of ‘their’ seeds and genetic material.

Photo of saving open-pollinated carrot seed in my garden.

Happy seed saving.

24/02/2023

BENEFITS OF OPEN-POLLINATED SEED

We owe our gratitude to the world farmers, men and women who selected, improved and saved seeds for centuries. For creating a rich and wonderful diversity of food crops, enjoyed, appreciated and valued by all cultures, religions, and nations around the world.

We also owe this rich and wonderful diversity to the forces of regeneration, to the tireless efforts of bees, bumblebees, and numerous insects as primary carriers of plant pollens and to the wind for carrying the pollen along. All ensuring the all-important pollination and regeneration year after year. For without these there would be no seeds.

Open pollination is the general term associated with the natural means by which plants reproduce and exchange characteristics from generation to generation. Plants propagate either as cross-pollinators, self-pollinators, or semi cross/self-pollinators.

Attributes of Open Pollinated varieties are usually associated to vegetables.
Their seeds breed true to type, which means the offspring from one generation to another will always closely resemble the parent plants and pass on their characteristics.

Open pollinated varieties carry wide genetic diversity and contribute to biodiversity within food crops. They are sensitive to the environment and thereby flexible towards adaptation and tolerant to soil types, cold and warm climates, wet and dry conditions, altitudes, latitudes, salinity, diseases and other factors.

OP seeds can be successfully saved by home and professional gardeners. The seeds’ ability to breed true gives rise to a feeling of reliability, continuity, and possibility for the gardener to be in a position to aim and select for something in a plant that is to his/her liking and joy. To be co-creating can become an empowering feeling and can be a true dialogue with mother nature.

Happy seed saving.

15/12/2022

HOW TO SAVE YOUR OWN FAVA/BROAD BEANS

Fava/Broad beans will cross with other varieties that are growing nearby. So if you want to keep your variety pure, you need to isolate them in some way. Theoretically you should aim for at least half a mile between varieties. In practice, in a built up area, fences, trees and houses will all reduce insect flight. This means you should have minimal crossing even with beans much closer than half a mile so long as none of your immediate neighbours are growing different varieties of bean.

In an open situation like an allotment, you can physically isolate plants. Fava/Broad bean pollen is transferred by insects working the flowers, but the plants will also self- pollinate, so if you can exclude insects at flowering time, say by a covering of fleece, your seed crop will be pure.

The simplest method of all, if you are growing a relatively large number of beans and you are not concerned about achieving 100% purity (i.e just for your own use), is to mark and save seed from several plants in the middle of a block of beans. Insects are relatively unlikely to come from a neighbouring patch straight to the middle of your patch, tending to work the outside flowers first. So by the time they reach your seed beans, the amount of 'foreign' pollen remaining should be small. Always keep seed from strong, healthy plants and get rid of any that are not typical of the variety ideally before they flower.

Let your seed beans mature and dry on the bush. The pods will turn dark drown, dry & wrinkled. Then pick and shell them out. Check that they are really dry by biting on them. If your teeth leave a dent, dry them further in a warm (not hot) place with a good flow of air. Fava/Broad bean seeds should keep for several years, so there is no need to grow plants for seed every year.

Happy seed saving.

11/11/2022

SELECTING CONTAINERS FOR LONG TERM SEED STORAGE

The following advice for selecting containers for long term seed storage is from the Millennium Seed Bank in the UK which I have worked with in the past.

Seeds need to be stored in air-tight containers. If containers are not effectively sealed, seeds will gradually absorb moisture and their storage life will be reduced. A rise of just 1% in moisture content will halve seed storage life.

Glass containers being transparent allow seeds and humidity indicators to be seen. It is important that glass containers are manufactured to a high standard.

Just as important as the container material is the seal that can be achieved between the container and its lid. If regular access to seeds is required, screw lids or clamped seals are better than permanent welded glass or metal seals. For glass containers, I use clamped seals (Kilner jars) as shown in the photos.

Tri-laminate foil bags (mylar bags) make effective containers if well sealed. I use a clothing iron along with a women’s hair tongs to seal my mylar bags. I find the women’s hair tongs very effective in sealing the bag. They use less space in the fridge/freezer than glass containers (see photo of mylar bag containing seeds).

Metal containers are not recommended. Millennium Seed Bank’s experience is that most metal containers seal poorly.

Plastic containers, though light, rarely seal effectively, and there is some concern about the potential of long-term harmful effects of plasticizers on seed viability. For this reason, Millennium Seed Bank does not recommend plastic containers.

Detecting leaks during storage: - Self-indicating silica gel sachets added to seed collections are a highly effective and a cheap method of detecting moisture loss. Currently the Millennium Seed Bank uses silica gel with an organic indicator, which changes from orange when dry to green when wet. This silica gel is available in transparent, permeable plastic sachets containing 1 gm of silica beads. The colour change begins at about 20% relative humidity (RH).

When checking containers, look for non-orange sachets as an indicator of seal failure. Make sure the indicator sachets are pre-equilibrated to the same RH as the seeds (usually 15%) so that the silica gel does not cause any further drying of the seed to potentially sub-optimal levels.

Happy seed saving

01/11/2022

22/07/2022

HOW TO SAVE YOUR OWN CELERY & CELERIAC SEED

Celery and celeriac are biennial and will cross-pollinate with each other. They will also cross-pollinate with wild celery though this is not a common plant and found mostly along coastal areas. It is easier to grow just one variety every year for seed. You can grow other varieties just for eating, as long as you remove any plants that are looking to go to flower.

Grow the plants in the first year as you would for eating. Keep as many of the most - true to type plants as possible by removing those plants that may not look so vigorous or has a tendency to bolt. Also, any plants that may have discolouration in the stems or leaves and look different from the others. You should aim for at least 16 true to type plants to maintain a good genetic diversity.

Apart from leaf celery, which is hardy and can be overwintered in the ground. The other types of celery along with celeriac will not withstand the frosts and will have to be protected by applying a mulch around the plants. Alternatively, they can be lifted in the autumn with the leaves trimmed and stored like other root vegetables in boxes of moist sand or a similar organic moist material as the roots like to be kept damp but their stems dry.

In the spring, replant the stored plants. By the beginning of summer branched flower spikes with umbels of small white flowers are formed. The plants can reach a height of over 1m and will need staking to prevent wind damage. Pollination from one plant to the next is carried by insects. You will need to isolate your plants with a fleeced cage if there are other flowering celery and celeriac varieties close by. The plants that need to be caged can be pollinated through the use of blowflies which you can obtain as pupae (eggs) from the likes of fishing tackle shops which will hatch out inside the fleece cage and pollinate your plants.

Harvesting can begin when the plants start to turn yellow and the seeds on the umbels turn a grey-brown colour. It is advisable to harvest the seed as soon as each umbel becomes ripe as celery is known for shedding its seed easily. Celery and celeriac seed are very small and thus can be difficult to separate from the chaff. Using sieves is an effective method of cleaning the seed.

15/07/2022

HOW TO SAVE YOUR OWN TOMATO SEED

Most modern varieties of tomato are self- pollinating, and will not cross. The anthers on tomato flowers (which make the pollen) are fused together to make a tight cone that insects cannot enter. Usually the stigma (the receptive surface for receiving pollen) is very short, and so is located deep inside this cone of anthers. No insects can get to it and the only pollen that can fertilise it comes from the surrounding cone of anthers.

In a few varieties however, the stigma is much longer, sticking out beyond the cone of anthers. In this case, insects can get to it, and there is the chance of cross-pollination. Varieties with longer stigmas include potato leaved tomatoes and currant tomatoes. To avoid crossing only grow one variety with exposed stigmas. The double flowers which are sometimes formed first by many beefsteak tomatoes also often have exposed stigmas, but later single flowers will be normal.

To collect the seed, allow your tomatoes to ripen fully. Then collect a few of each variety that you want to save seed from. Slice them in half across the middle of the fruit, and squeeze the seeds and juice into a jar. You then need to ferment this mixture for a few days this removes the jelly-like coating on each seed, and also kills off many diseases that can be carried on the seeds. To do this put the jar of seeds and juice in a reasonably warm place for 3 days, stirring the mixture twice a day. It should develop a coating of mould, and start to smell really nasty!

After 3 days, add plenty of water to the jar, and stir well. The good seeds should sink to the bottom of the jar. Gently pour off the top layer of mould and any seeds that float. Then empty the good seeds into a sieve and wash them thoroughly under running water. Shake off as much water as possible, and tip the sieve out onto a china or glass plate (the seeds tend to stick to anything else). Dry somewhere warm but not too hot, and out of direct sunlight. Once they are completely dry, rub them off the plate and store in a cool dry place, where they should keep well for at least 4 years.

08/07/2022

SAVING YOUR OWN POTATO SEED

There can be a problem with saving potato varieties by replanting tubers because this can accumulate in the development of virus diseases. Most of these viruses are spread from plant to plant by the peach-potato aphid. Some viruses have little impact on the crop while others can be quite harmful. Essentially the more virus types a variety has, the more poorly it will perform.

Growing potatoes from potato seed can be very interesting and a lot of fun. The potato plants after flowering carry small berries that look similar to small green tomatoes. These berries should be picked around two months after they form, when they are mature and start to become soft. At this point they tend to fall off the plant due to being ripe. Squeeze the seeds from the fruits into a bowl and add enough water and then cover. The good seeds will tend to sink to the bottom of the bowl. Continue to add more water and pour off the debris, drain and dry the seeds.

The following spring plant the seeds starting in a 7cm (2.75inch) pot and pot on from there as they grow. Potato seeds tend to germinate best at temperatures from 65-80F. At this stage they can be treated like tomato seedlings. Each plant will be unique in that it will be a new variety from all the other plants you have grown.

Here it is where it can be fun in that each new plant will produce small potatoes and you can start to select. Boil the potatoes and try them for taste and texture. Select those plants that are better than the others. Keep a few tubers from each of the plant pots so that you have material to plant next year. Keep records.

What is so good in breeding potatoes from seed is that the reproductive process leaves behind viral diseases carried by the tubers.

03/02/2022

SMALL SCALE SEED DRYING METHODS

When I was setting up a local seed bank in my community called ‘Sussex Community Seed Bank’ in the UK. I had the good fortune of working with and receiving guidance from the Millennium Seed Bank situated in the UK.

The Millennium Seed Bank has a collection of over 2.4 billion seeds from around the world, banking them to conserve them for the future.

One thing amongst many that I learnt from working with the Millennium Seed Bank is the importance of drying down your seed you wish to keep sufficiently to help maintain longevity of the seed.

On Sussex Community Seed Bank.com's website If you go to the section called ‘Seed Cleaning & Drying’. It opens to a number of pdf files courtesy of the Millennium Seed Bank. If you open the file called ‘small scale seed drying methods’. There you will find information on drying down your seed sufficiently on a small scale.

I would suggest for those of you wishing to save your own vegetable seed on a small-scale ie for yourselves. The second part of the information sheet ‘Using silica gel to dry seeds’. Also, ‘Using charcoal to dry seeds’ should be sufficient for you.

I hope you find this information useful.

28/01/2022

HOW TO SAVE YOUR OWN CARROT SEED

Carrots are native in many regions including parts of Europe, northern Africa, Afghanistan and central Asia.

Carrots are insect pollinated and different varieties can easily cross. They also cross easily with Queen Anne's Lace, the wild carrot. Luckily, crosses with the wild type are easy to spot because the thin, white root is dominant. But if you do not isolate your carrots physically you should still ensure there is no Queen Anne's Lace nearby. If you are keeping more than one variety you can isolate those varieties you wish to save seed from under teepees made of fleece on a support of bamboos. To pollinate the flowers you can use blowfly pupae (bought from a fishing tackle shop which are put under the teepee. When they emerge the flies pollinate the flowers.

As they are biennials, they usually take two growing seasons to flower. In the second spring, a seed stalk starts to emerge from the centre of the leaves and soon the first umbel unfolds. Lift your crop in the autumn and store in a cellar. Select the finest carrots, smooth, well-coloured, and with a flat top. If you want to maintain a carrot variety effectively, you really need to save seed from at least 40 good roots to maintain a good genetic diversity. If you have too small a genetic pool, you will end up with small, poor - quality roots in a very few generations.

Cut off most of the green tops and store in sand. Replant after all danger of frost has passed. Otherwise, leave the best plants in the ground over winter, protected with a thick mulch.
The flowers are white. They are borne at the end of several stalks with numerous branches and successively appear in flat clusters which are about 4 inches (10cm) wide. Carrots grow into big plants waist high or taller. So, they will need staking support from the wind.

If left for too long in the garden, the seeds may fall off as the umbels begin to dry. In wet weather at harvest time, cut the branches, and dry indoors. The primary and secondary umbels give the best seeds and if you have enough plants, save the seeds from only these ones.

In a good year, one plant can yield 120 grams (4 ounces) of seeds, and as little as fifteen grams in a bad year. When the seed heads are completely dry, rub them between your hands or over an appropriate screen mesh. Then use a smaller screen to remove the fine chaff. Winnow with care as the seeds are light and could blow away.

Home-saved carrot seeds have a beard on their seed coat, unlike commercial seeds which have been mechanically rubbed. This beard is reputed to enable carrot seeds to work their way into the ground.

Carrot seeds can last up to three years if kept in a cool, dark and dry environment. Suitable packaging for the seed is mylar bags which one can seal using a woman's hair tongs or a clothing iron. For containers, kilner jars are suitable as they have a good sealing lid capacity. For longer term storage, place the seed in freezers at -20C.

14/12/2021

HOW TO SAVE YOUR OWN BASIL SEED

There are several species of basil, all of them native to either Africa or Asia. There are both perennial and annual basils, and their shape and size range from almost prostrate, to a bush one meter (3ft 3inches) high.

Basil is predominantly a summer plant, and in our climate must be considered as an annual for summer cropping.

Basil flowers are coloured white through to purple. They have an abundant and pungent nectar, and rely on insect pollination; so, one basil will cross pollinate with other varieties. If you wish to keep more than one variety you will need to separate them by as much as 50 meters ( 164 feet). So, if you are limited by space, it is best to grow one variety to obtain pure seed from.

The seeds mature from the bottom to the top of the flower, and capsules generally contain four seeds. Either cut the stalks or rub your hand up them when the top seed capsules turn brown and brittle.

Dry on a sheet of paper or in a paper bag. Rub well when the seed capsules are crisp and dry, either in between the hands or on a small-gauged wire mesh to dislodge the four seeds contained in each capsule.

Place the crushed mixture in a large bowl and carefully whirl the lot until the seeds gather at the bottom of the bowl and the chaff gathers on top. Pick out the bulky chaff with your fingers; the rest can be gently blown over. A very small- gauged sieve will let the dust fall through and retain the seed.

The seeds will last up to five years sealed away in a dark, dry, cool place. Suitable packaging is mylar bags which one can seal using a women’s hair tongs or a clothing iron. For containers, kilner glass jars are very suitable as they have a good sealing capacity lid.