Can a backyard gardener save their own vegetable, herb and flower seed? Absolutely!

Saving your own heirloom seed is fun and rewarding. Only open pollinated, heirloom seed has the ability to reproduce itself. Who is better to trust saving seed but yourself. Think of the accomplishment!

What are your favorite vegetables, herbs and flowers? Focus on those varieties that bring back fond memories. Make a goal to start small and add more varieties when you are comfortable doing so.

• How much space do you have available? Be realistic. Don’t try to cram a lot of plants into a small area. One option is to plant in containers. Some varieties only require limited space for proper growth and root structure (i.e. lettuce).
• Take into consideration pollination required (wind [corn, wheat], insect [squash, watermelon], vibration [tomato], mechanical [hand pollination])
• Isolation techniques:
  • Blossom bagging (such as individual fruit of tomato, squash, okra) using fine screening material to keep out pollinating insects.
  • Caging entire groups of plants (broccoli, cauliflower, beets, Swiss chard) using fine screening material to keep out pollinating insects.
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I hope this is more clearly understood. It is absolutely essential to grasp these concepts!

Papa