- Seeds and plants saved become acclimated to our environment, climate
- There is a greater variety of vegetables to grow
- There may be more genetic diversity when growing old-time veggies
- It is can be cost effective due to higher seed prices
Hybrids vs. Heirlooms
There are two major types of seeds: Hybrid and Heirloom seeds
- Hybrid seeds have been cross pollinated from two different varieties in the same plant species. They are crossed to produce seeds that carry desired characteristics or appearances.
- Seeds saved from hybrid plants will revert back to their parent plants.
- Heirloom Seeds are non-Hybrid, and open pollinated.
- Heirloom Seeds are usually more than fifty years old and have been passed down from generation to generation
- If you plant an Heirloom seed that you have saved from an Heirloom plant, it will grow true to the parent plant.
Spacing plants to prevent cross-pollination
How long do seeds last?
This is dependent on the type of seed, but also on how they are taken care of after you save them. To ensure saved seeds will sprout in the future, store them in a cool, dry place away from moisture, heat, and light.
Common Beans
The seed is the mature bean. Allow the bean pod to dry on the vine. If growing more than one variety, isolate by at least 20 feet.
- Harvest the dried bean pods and place in a paper bag.
- Dry for a week or more before separating the bean from its pod.
- Grow and harvest from at least 10 plants of the same variety for diversity.
- Seeds can last up to 4 years.
Eggplant
Allow several fruits from at least 10 plants to ripen far past the edible stage. The skin will become a dark yellow or yellowish-brown color. If growing more than one variety, isolate by at least by 50 feet.
- Mash the pulp by hand as best as you can. The seeds are hard, smooth and plump and won't damage easily.
- Toss seeds and pulp into a bucket of water and stir until pulp separates from the seeds. Seeds will sink.
- Rinse until the water comes out clear. Pour seeds through a screen, spread them in a thin layer and dry for about 3 weeks.
- Seeds can last 3-6 years
Garlic
- After harvest, store garlic at room temperature to prevent premature sprouting.
- Plant from your crop every year.
Lettuce
Seeds are very easy to save. Allow a dozen plants to grow, unharvested, through the spring and summer. They will “bolt” (send up seed heads). Isolate by 20 feet if growing more than one variety. Once the seed heads are a yellowing-tan color and very dry, they are ready to save.
- Cut at the stem and place in a paper bag. Once dry, crush the heads and sift to separate the seeds from the chaff.
- Harvest from at least 10 plants of the same variety.
- Seeds can last 2-4 years.
Okra
Pods should be left on the plants until fully mature. Okra is self-pollinating but will cross via bees if two varieties are planted near each other. Plant one variety to ensure purity.
- Pick just as the seeds begin to split.
- Clip and store in paper bag for a few weeks.
- Seeds can last up to 3 years.
Peas
Peas are self-pollinating, however, keep favored plant 20 feet away if growing more than one variety.
- Allow pods to slightly dry on the vine before harvesting.
- When picked, place in a paper bag and allow to dry further for a week or two.
- Thresh them from the pod, and store in a jar or envelope.
- Seeds can last up to 5 years
Peppers
- Cut open the ripe fruit, scrape out the seeds and let dry on a paper plate for a week before storing in a jar.
- Seeds can last up to 2 years.
Tomatoes
Tomatoes are mostly self-pollinating, but to ensure purity, separate the favored plant by 10 feet. Allow the fruit to fully ripen on the stem before harvesting.
- Cut the tomato open and scoop out the seeds.
- Place the seeds in a jar of water and allow to ferment until a white mold forms on top of the water.
- During this process, cover the top of the jar with paper towel to keep flies out.
- Rinse the contents of the jar with water until it comes out clear.
- Allow seeds to settle between rinses. Good seeds will sink to the bottom each time.
- Spread seeds out on a paper plate and allow to dry for 3-4 days before storing in a paper envelope.
- Seeds can last up to 5 years.
- Watch our Tomato Seed Saving Video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvTCfcpLQgw&t=1s
Hopefully, these suggestions will inspire you to begin the exciting adventure of saving your own seeds from the crops you grow. Happy Gardening!!!
Heidi Aufdermaur has been a UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardener since 2019; Heidi took all photos used in this article.
Resources
California Master Gardener Handbook.
Seeds Matter. www.seedmatters.org
The Heirloom Life Gardener. Bake Creek Heirloom Seed Company. Jere and Emilee Gettle.
- Author: Anne E Schellman
Get answers to commonly asked questions such as:
- Is a tomato a fruit or a vegetable?
- Can I grow a tomato plant in a pot?
- What's the difference between hybrid and heirloom tomatoes?
We hope to see you there!
Register at: http://ucanr.edu/tomato/tips2021
Master Gardener Instructors: Heidi Aufdermaur & Terry Harper
- Author: Heidi Aufdermaur
Fruit or vegetable, there is no doubt to the popularity of the home-grown tomato, picked fresh off the vine and appreciated for its tasty flavor, health benefits and beauty. Growing heirloom tomatoes has recently become more popular, with the various colors, shapes, and sizes.
The first year I started my tomatoes from seed, I was not sure how many seeds would germinate. I planted 3-4 seeds in each cell. To my surprise, most of them grew. I was challenged to thin them and keep the most vigorous ones, so I transplanted most of them into their own cell and grew about 450 tomato plants. I was very popular that year with co-workers and family as I shared the bounty.
Tomato plants are also an easy plant to grow in containers. The important thing to remember when choosing a tomato plant is its growth habit. The two growth habits are determinate and indeterminate.
Determinate tomatoes grow to 3-5' tall, set fruit within 4-6 weeks and then begin to decline. They are a great choice for container gardening. Indeterminate tomatoes are more like a vine, as they grow, flower, and set fruit the entire season. They need a sturdy support and grow best in the ground. For more information about growing this tasty produce, join the UCCE Stanislaus County Master Gardener presentation, ‘Tips for Terrific Tomatoes” on April 20.
Where*: On Zoom. You will receive a link the morning of the class.
When: Tuesday, April 20, 2021 6:00-7:30 p.m.
Cost: Free
Register at: http://ucanr.edu/tomato/tips2021
Master Gardener Instructors: Heidi Aufdermaur & Terry Harper
- Author: Heidi Aufdermaur
Have you ever had a hobby that turned into an obsession? One of my hobbies is gardening of course, as a Master Gardener. Not too long ago, I acquired a chipper/shredder. One of my gardener friends had two and sold one of them to me at a fair price. I have always wanted one, dreaming of all the rich mulch I could make with my own waste.
I was excited to use it for the first time, donned the earplugs and safety glasses and got busy. Of course, I had to first collect the yard waste. I started coveting all the potential material that I thought would be suitable to shred or chip. I collected from my yard first, then one morning on the daily walk with my husband and soon after Christmas, I had a new insight for all the Christmas trees that were being discarded on the streets. I commented to my husband about collecting some of them to chip. To my surprise, I came home one day from running errands and found about 6 Christmas trees piled up in our yard. My heart fluttered with excitement. I was worried that adding too many of the pines would change the pH of my soil so I consulted Ed Perry, our former Environmental Horticulture Advisor for Stanislaus County. He said I could compost and chip away, as I was adding other species to the mix and it would take a lot more pine trees to make any difference in the pH of my soil.
I started seeing all the shrubs and trees in our yard that needed a good trim and piled them up to dry for a while. I also added some spent flowers to the pile. What I learned about shredding flowers is to cut off the seed heads (if I didn't want them to germinate where I spread the final product). I learned that after I had shredded some old marigold plants, spread the mulch in a pathway between my vegetable rows, I soon had marigolds sprouting up all over. I transplanted a few, left a few and pulled the rest, adding them to the new pile before they flowered.
I began to explore the surrounding yards in our neighborhood. Leaves and clippings looked like gold to me. My neighbor was extremely happy to let me rake her lawn of all the beautiful leaves that had fallen. To say the least, I have become somewhat obsessed with this new habit of gardening. I am also pleased that I am not adding all this waste to the green can for a trip to the land fill.
Did you know there is an assembly bill (AB341) that requires communities to divert yard waste from landfills and recycle it? With the rapidly depleting landfill capacity in California, 75% of yard waste is to be recycled. This goal was to be achieved by 2020. This bill requires every commercial business, institution, and apartment building to implement recycling programs.
Even though this bill focuses on businesses and large complexes, it's also good practice for homeowners. Keeping your yard waste on site, adding it to a compost pile or breaking it down by running over small portions with a lawn mower, one can keep this valuable commodity in one's own yard. Some benefits of mulch include reducing water loss to evaporation, moderates soil temperature, reduces weed growth thus making weeds easier to manage and reduces dust in drip-irrigated landscapes.
So, if you become obsessed like me, just think of all the good that happens when collecting your yard waste and keeping it on site. Happy Gardening.
- Author: Heidi Aufdermaur
The Master Garden handbook defines a weed as “a plant growing where it is not wanted.” For the home gardener, a plant can become a weed when it interferes with intended use of land and water resources.
I recently purchased “Weeds of California and other Western States” a two-volume resource book. It lists over 1600 pages of plants considered weeds. As I read through this book, I see many plants listed that I would not have considered as weeds, such as the broadleaf forget-me-not. I love the look of this annual. I scattered their seeds several years ago in one area of my yard and this year I found them growing in several other places. This isn't surprising as I've observed their seeds attached to my clothes and garden gloves.
So, is it a weed if this pretty flower shows up somewhere else? According to the California Invasive Plant Council, the answer is “yes,” since this particular plant is also considered invasive. It can escape landscapes and move into natural habitats and pastures. The control of invasive plants in California costs over $82 million dollars per year.
Nostalgic Weeds
One “weed” I enjoy came from my grandmother's garden, it's called the “three-corner leek”. This “weed” looked so pretty in her yard, I brought it home many years ago. Now, I see it made itself comfortable all over the yard. This perennial bulb, with white umbel-like flowers, has “escaped cultivation as a garden ornamental”, according to the “Weeds” book. It has been somewhat easy to control, and I dig out the bulb when it appears. I think of Grandma when I see it, so in the garden, it's staying.
A Weedy Menace
I am slowly winning the fight in two areas where these weeds are located. However, under the birch trees, I have surrendered to taking my garden knife and cutting off the greens just below the surface of the ground. I know it may not be a permanent solution, but it looks good until I need to cut the greens again, in a few weeks. The “Weeds” book says this process eventually “depletes bulb energy reserves.” I have learned not to let this plant set flowers as it also reproduces itself using seeds.
I am determined to win this battle against the weeds with perseverance. Wish me luck!!! I hope to see your comments on how you are doing controlling weeds in your garden.
UC IPM Home and Landscape Pests - Weeds
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/menu.weeds.html
California Invasive Plant Council
https://www.cal-ipc.org/
Weeds of California and Other Western States, vol. 1&2, UC ANR publication 3488
http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu
For more information about Stanislaus Master Gardener's program and upcoming classes, sign up for the Stanislaus Sprout blog at https://ucanr.edu/blogs/StanislausSprout
A Help Desk is also available to help with other gardening questions or concerns: https://ucanr.edu/sites/stancountymg/
Heidi Aufdermaur is a graduate of the 2019 Class of Master Gardeners in Stanislaus County.
