Learning the Finer Points of Seed Saving

This was the lesson for the elementary kids this week.  That—and what the heck does self-sustaining mean, anyway?

It means you don’t have to purchase seeds for your garden anymore.  Key words:  have to.  You may choose to (and you might when it comes to lettuce, broccoli and carrots) but you don’t HAVE TO because you harvest your own!  But like I said, stay on good terms with your local seed and garden store because trust me, saving beans is EASY.  Lettuce, broccoli and carrots?

Not so much.  Especially carrots.  From what I understand, you have to wait two seasons before you can even look for seeds!  Leave my carrots in their bed for two seasons?  That’s asking a lot in my garden.  Really, it is.  You see, I tried this last spring and my carrots didn’t fare so well in the summer heat.  Seems they prefer more moderate temps.  Who doesn’t?  I don’t want to be outside at four o’clock in August either!  But I have a choice.  My poor pumpkin carrots didn’t.  Read pumpkin as a term of endearment and not some freaky hybrid I’ve been concocting in the garden.

Seed Collection

And the lesson went well today.  When they were listening.  We discussed seed type, variety, date harvested, location, harvested by…all important information located on our custom-made seed packets (find complete directions in Kid Buzz section of this website).  But detailing this info doesn’t include garden wandering and these kids like to wander (make that run), because they know the value of touring their garden.  Helps to discover problems early.

But more important than knowing how to label your seed packets is knowing when to harvest your seeds.  This week we chose to harvest our beans.  Black beans and Pole beans, Black Turtle variety and Blue Lake.  This variety of black beans must be deep purple (actually eggplant for you color enthusiasts out there) before picked.  Green beans are easier.  If they’re long and plump–pick em’!

However, not so fast.  As we discovered, some eggplant-colored black bean pods weren’t concealing black beans inside, but beige.  Not mature.  And our pole beans were gorgeous and fat, but the beans inside were still pale green.  Hmph.  Just when you try to follow all the directions…

Labeling Seed Packets

Yet this is how it happens in nature.  Since Mother Nature fancies herself as the creative type, this bean plucking is an art as much as a science.  So we’ll experiment.  We’ll harvest our beans, make notes as to their condition upon harvest, dry them overnight on our desks, then plop them into our seed packets tomorrow.  Now if the pod is crackly dry and brown, this overnight business isn’t necessary.  Simply remove them from their pod and drop them into your packets.  EASY!

Seed Saving Equals Self-Sustaining

And now you too, can be self-sustaining.  With your beans, that is.  Garlic is another easy one to sustain on your own, as is corn, tomato, squash, watermelon (most of the fruits) and okra.  Potatoes are a breeze because you simply turn the potato into the new seed–or make slips, in the case of sweet potatoes.  Yes, flowering veggies present more of a challenge, but they’re certainly within the possible range.  Just depends on how bad you want it.

But doesn’t everything in life? 🙂

Have fun and we’ll compare notes come spring!