Episode-406- Saving Seeds the How and Why
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Since we just completed a show on starting plants out right yesterday I figured we would jump to the other end of the life cycle and discuss seed saving today. Saving seeds isn’t hard, it is in fact one of mankind’s oldest skills but there are some things to understand and rules to follow.
Join me today to hear about…
- Why we need to be saving seeds in the first place
- Breeding improvements vs. hybrids vs. GMO (they are all different)
- Exchanging seeds – a great form of barter
- The easy plants to save seed from – beans, lettuce, peppers, tomatoes
- Separation rules – why they exist and not stressing them
- Staggering pollination times to create effective separation
- Herbs and unusual plants are often easy to save for and over looked
- Storing your seeds once they are harvested
- Growing your own hybrids – hybrids are not always bad
- How to hand pollinate and ensure purity with squashes and melons, etc
- The rewards of regionally adapted plants
- Breeding for any and all traits, it really isn’t hard
Additional Resources for Today’s Show
- Members Support Brigade
- TSP Gear Shop
- Join Our Forum
- Western Botanicals – (sponsor of the day)
- Ready Made Resources – (sponsor of the day)
- Heirloom Seed Swap (Please visit, sign up and list seeds)
- The International Seed Saving Institute Seed Saving Guide
- Dealing with “Spindly” Seedlings – YouTube Video
- Building an Inexpensive Grow Light System – YouTube Video
- Potting Up Seedlings – YouTube Video
- Watering Seedlings from the Bottom Up – YouTube Video
- Ron Hood’s Survival.com Magazine
Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon. Also please enter our listener appreciation contest and help spread the word about our show. Also remember you can call in your questions and comments to 866-65-THINK and you might hear yourself on the air.
WOW now I know what my grandmothers were doing way back when. I was about 7 or so when I watched them put bags on flaowers and vegetable flowers. I didn’t see what they did before that time, but… They gave me seeds from their flowers that won awards at the fair and seeds from other plants. My folks’ back yard had all kinds of plants from seeds. I had forgotten about this until this show. Thanks Jack.
That new seed exchange site is quite pretty. I don’t have seeds, but I’m going to go looking for some to exchange, per your suggestion. I’ll pass them along as well.
Seed exchanges are great as long as you know who you are exchanging seeds with and trust their skill.
Fact is, if you are growing more than one variety of vegetable, flower or whatever – unless a distance of at least 250\’ to 300\’ is maintained you will run the risk of cross pollination and have plants that are an F1 cross.
This isn\’t the end of the world for something like zinnias, but can be a disaster for vegetables like acorn squash, tomatoes, broccoli, spinach, corn and way too many other veggies to list.
I would strongly encourage folks who are just starting out, to only plant one variety of vegetable if is is their intent to hold back seed.
Most people living in town & in the burbs don\’t have near enough ground to be breeding plants for seed.
Flower seeds are really easy to harvest… I saved some from last year and plan to share. Great podcast, Jack! Thanks for providing us the link to the Heirloom Seed Swap.
Jack, could you link to the studies about the mice eating GMO fish corn (or any other links you have at hand about why GMO crops are bad)?
I’d like to show them to my family to start them down the road to procuring safe food.
Thanks!