I am such a sucker for a bargain. I can’t resist rummaging through the “reduced to clear” bins of seeds that pop up in garden centres at this time of year. For the vast majority of species, these will still remain perfectly viable until next spring, giving you comparable results despite being up to half the price.
But what if you could get significantly higher-quality seed tailored specifically to the unique conditions of your plot for, essentially, zero cost? This is what you get if you try seed saving, and now is the perfect time to do it.
Given how simple it is to do, I am always surprised how few gardeners still save their seed. This was illustrated most starkly to me on a trip to Garden Organic’s headquarters at Ryton, Tyne and Wear, a few years ago. Their researchers had been comparing the performance of seeds from exotic and unusual vegetable plants – saved by immigrant communities on local allotments – with shop-bought offerings.
The results were astonishing. The unusual vegetable seeds produced significantly larger, healthier plants. All this from a stash of seeds kept in old coffee tins in a shed, despite these crops being more commonly found in countries from Jamaica to Vietnam. It turned out that after just a few years of collecting seeds from the best plants, local growers had not only saved themselves a few bob, but had bred superior varieties far better adapted to local conditions.
Seed saving is super simple, but here are three tips to boost your chances of success.
1) Only save seed from the very best plants: big yielders, ones with great taste or surprising disease resistance. As there is often a time lag between flowers and seed production, I tie a little piece of coloured string round my superstar performers to remind me which ones to gather come harvest time. I tend to save seed from all my plants, but seed savers should be aware that F1 hybrid forms will not “come true” (be typical of the parents) from saved seed. This is a disadvantage if you are expecting perfect uniformity, but to me the luck of the draw is half the fun.
2) Only harvest seed from fully ripe fruit. Ripeness is an essential indicator that the seed within is fully mature and capable of producing a new plant. Collect as many as you can, as some seeds may not maintain their viability until next spring, so hedging your bets makes sense.
3) The two overriding factors that determine how well your seeds keep are how dry they are and how cool they are kept. For home growers the simplest way is to dry them spread out between sheets of kitchen roll in a place with good air circulation, then store them in jam jars in the fridge with a couple more sheets of kitchen roll to absorb the moisture.
Email James at james.wong@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @Botanygeek
