If you intend to plant an heirloom vegetable garden, you will certainly want to save your heirloom seeds. To keep your heirloom seeds pure, you should carefully plan your garden design and plant your vegetable garden with pollination needs in mind.
Vegetables that are self-pollinated
Beans, peas, peanuts, lettuce, eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes are usually self-pollinating. To maintain purity, don't grow more than one variety of a species at a time. Or, plant with at least 10 feet between different varieties.
Vegetables that are cross pollinated
Vegetables that are cross pollinated are those for which wind or insects (Read The Honey Bee Crisis) accomplish their pollination.
If you plan to save your seeds, these vegetables need to be isolated or planted a substantial distance (200 yards or more) from other varieties of the same vegetable plant to avoid unwanted crossing. As stated above, the easiest way to maintain pure heirloom seeds is to plant only one variety at a time.
Another method is time isolation. This is where you time your plantings so that different varieties of the same plant don't flower at the same time, and won't pollinate each other.
Cross pollinated vegetables: Onions, cucumbers, corn, pumpkins, swiss chard, turnips, radishes, spinach, melons, cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, beets, broccoli, pumpkins, and squash.
Saving Heirloom Seeds
- Choose the healthiest, most productive and flavorful of your vegetable garden plants to save your seeds from. These thriving plants will produce healthier seeds, and you will ensure healthier future crops.
- Allow the seeds to fully ripen before you harvest them.
- Bring your seeds inside for drying. Don't let it rain on them. (We have always stored them in paper bags to avoid mold.)
- Place dry seed in a tightly closed glass jar and store them in a dry, cool spot.
- You can put silica gel packets in with your seed (keeps out dampness) and add diatomaceous earth (prevents insect damage.)
- You may also store seed in the refrigerator to increase their longevity.
You can "test" a few of your seeds by placing them between moist paper towels to see if they germinate.
Most vegetable seeds stay viable for 3-5 years if you keep them cool and dry (with exception of corn, leek, onion and spinach seed being only one year.)
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Also see my article, Heirloom seeds vs Hybrid
For information on how to save seeds from specific vegetable plants, see: The International Seed Saving Institute
Copyright March 2006 by Sally Morton, Reproduction without permission prohibited.
