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description=Free instructions on how to save your own vegetable seed at home, making sure your varieties stay true and don t cross with each other.;
keywords=Seedsaving instructions, plant breeding, open pollinated , pollenated, hybrid seed, saving seed, vegetable breeding.;

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Text of the page (random words):
place where they should keep well for at least 4 years beetroot chard leaf beet beetroot leaf beet perpetual spinach swiss chard sugar beet are all members of the same family will cross readily they are biennial and flower in their second year chard leaf beet for seed are overwintered in situ and will be fine in most of the uk for home use select a minimum of six to eight plants to leave for seed which best fit your needs depending on your preference for stem versus leaf smooth or wrinkled leaves etc beetroot can also be overwintered in situ or can be harvested in autumn the best plants selected stored then replanted in spring all types of beet will cross with one another and since the flowers are wind pollinated crossing can take place with any other flowering beet plants within around 2 miles how fussy you need to be about crossing depends on what you are trying to achieve if you simply want a reasonably diverse population of leaf beet a degree of crossing is not that important plant your seed plants closely together in a square and take seed from the central plants in the block you will find that the amount of contamination is minimal providing there aren t large numbers of other flowering beets right next door if you are aiming to keep a variety true to type you need to isolate it usually by physically covering your seed plants to do this plant at least six plants very close together in a circle with a wooden stake in the middle as the seed stalks form growing up to four feet tall tie them together supported by the stake then as they develop cover the group of flower heads with either a shiny paper bag that will withstand rain or a bag made out of agricultural fleece shake the bag from time to time to make sure that pollen is distributed within the bag as the large prickly seeds mature keep an eye on them and start to harvest as they turn brown and start to dry out you can either cut entire seedstalks or harvest mature seeds by rubbing them into a bucket make sure that the seeds are thoroughly dry before storage and they should last at least five years carrots carrots are biennial flowering in their second year of growth in areas with mild winters leave your carrots in the ground mulching them heavily the foliage will die back in autumn but will then resprout and start to flower in the spring in colder areas dig up your carrots in the autumn and select the best coloured and shaped roots twist off the foliage and store the roots in a box of dry sand in a frost free place making sure that they don t touch in spring replant the roots and they will resprout and flower if you want to maintain a carrot variety effectively you really need to save seed from at least 40 good roots to maintain good genetic diversity if you have too small a genetic pool you will end up with small poor quality roots in a very few generations carrots grow into big plants waist high or taller producing successive branches with large flat umbels of flowers they are insect pollinated and need to be isolated from other flowering carrot varieties by at least 500m in an open field situation this is not normally a big problem since few people let their carrots go to seed however they will cross with wild carrot queen anne s lace giving thin white useless roots as with all insect pollinated crops barriers such as houses tall hedges and other high crops can affect insect flight paths drastically so you don t necessarily need to eliminate all queen anne s lace within a 1 2 km radius but do watch out for any white roots in subsequent generations and get rid of them to harvest your carrot seed keep an eye on the umbels of flowers and cut them off with secateurs as they start to turn brown and dry if you have plenty of plants just save seed from the first and second umbels of flowers to appear on each plant as these will give the biggest and best seed dry the seed heads further inside and then rub them between your hands or in a sieve to separate them you will notice that the seeds have a beard which is removed in commercial seed to make them easier to pack you can sieve the seeds further to remove more of the chaff but there is no need to get the seed completely clean just sow slightly more thickly to allow for the chaff mixed in carrot seed is relatively short lived but if it is stored somewhere cool and dry it should give good germination for 3 years some common herbs basil coriander and dill are annuals parsley is a biennial flowering in its second year of growth basil flowers are insect pollinated and different varieties flowering within around 150 of one another may cross on a garden scale if you want to grow several types of basil just keep picking the flower stalks off of all the varieties apart from the one that you want to grow for seed once several flower spikes have set and the flowers have started to wither mark those spikes for saving seed from and you can then allow the other varieties to flower the seeds are ready to collect when the spikes turn brown and dry out don t worry about the seeds dropping out they are well attached and actually need quite a lot of rubbing to free from the dead flower heads with both coriander dill to get the best seed for sowing in future years pull up and discard the earliest plants to bolt and only save seed from those plants that produce plenty of leaf and flower late it is best to plan to save seed from early summer sowings to allow plenty of time for the seed to mature and dry on the plant harvest as soon as the seed is brown and dry as it does tend to drop from the seed heads rub the heads together in your hands over a bucket to free the seed dill seed usually comes cleanly away from the seed heads coriander seed tends to contain more chaff but you can winnow it by pouring gently from one bucket to another in a light breeze if you want to clean it for kitchen use to save parsley seed overwinter at least two or three plants in warmer areas mulch heavily with straw or cover plants with a frame elsewhere grow a few plants in a polytunnel or greenhouse the next spring the plants will start to flower and produce seed flat and curly leaved varieties will cross as the flowers are insect pollinated so you should only grow one type for seed at a time harvest the seeds from individual flowerheads as they dry and turn brown as they tend to drop from the plant when ready broccoli kale and cabbages sprouting broccoli cabbages cauliflowers calabrese kales and brussels sprouts are all members of the same family brassica oleraceae and will all cross with each other they won t cross with turnips swedes oriental brassicas or mustard greens in addition they are mainly self incompatible which means that in order to get seed insects have to carry pollen from one plant to another to pollinate the flowers because of this you can t simply grow your broccoli or cabbages for seed in an insect proof cage to avoid crossing so long as you only seedsave from one member of the family in any given year you can grow as many other brassicas as you like without problems so long as you don t let them flower for absolute seed purity make sure that there are no other flowering brassicas within a mile of your garden in practice fences trees and tall crops all break up insect flight patterns so as long as you don t have any immediate neighbours with flowering crops in their garden you shouldn t have too many problems with crossing to make it as easy as possible for insects to work your seed plants make sure that they are laid out in a block rather than a row so that bees tend to move from one plant to another rather than away to other flowers elsewhere keep at least twelve plants for seed ideally more remove any poor specimens or any that are not typical for the variety you can always eat these plants so long as you don t allow any flowers to open all of the brassicas including cabbages will throw up a tall flower stalk covered in lots of small yellow flowers these will then form slender seed pods which start out green and turn a straw colour as they mature and dry once they start to dry keep a close eye on them as they tend to shatter and drop their seed its best to cut entire plants once most of the pods begin to look dry and then leave them to mature further on a sheet indoors once they are thoroughly dry the seeds will come out of the pods very easily the simplest way is to trample the plants on top of a large sheet and then sieve out the debris you should get lots of seed from even a few plants the seed will keep well for up to five years so long as it is stored somewhere cool and dry note we also have a whole page devoted to processing brassica seed turnips and the oriental brassicas mizuna pak choi tatsoi and mibuna are all sub varieties of brassica rapa the same family as turnip this means that although they will cross with each other or with turnips in flower they won t cross with broccoli or cauliflowers although you can only grow one of these vegetables for seed in any year you can of course grow any of the others for kitchen use so long as you don t allow them to flower at the same time as your seed plants to grow an oriental brassica or turnip variety for seed you usually need to overwinter the plants they are naturally biennials producing their flowers and seeds in their second year of growth although spring sown crops may bolt to seed in hot summer weather this is not ideal for seedsaving as you may end up accidentally selecting for early bolting in future years the best solution is to sow your seed crop after midsummer in a polytunnel where semi mature plants will overwinter quite happily in all but the coldest parts of britain if necessary you can give extra protection in cold weather by putting fleece over plants inside the tunnel select at least 12 of the healthiest and most typical plants to reserve for seed eating the rest over the winter in spring the plants will flower and then form seedpods make sure that there is good insect access to the tunnel at this point so that the flowers are pollinated the seedpods are green at first but then gradually dry out and turn a pale tan colour once most of the pods are dry and brittle cut the entire stalks of the plant and lay out on a sheet somewhere undercover with a good airflow to finish drying off then rub and crush the pods with your hands to release the seeds and separate the seeds from the chaff with a coarse sieve note we also have a whole page devoted to the details of processing brassica seed lettuce lettuce flowers are self pollinating and very rarely cross if you plan to save seed from more than one variety of lettuce separate them by around 12 foot or plant a tall crop in between the rows select two or three good lettuces from your row and mark them for seed it is very important not to save seed from any plants that bolt early as you want to select for lettuces that stand well heading lettuces may need a little help for the flowering stalk to emerge slitting the heads partially open with a knife works well once the lettuces have flowered the seeds will ripen gradually starting in about a fortnight harvest seed daily to get the maximum yield shaking into a bag or wait until a reasonable number of seeds are ready and then cut the whole plant put it head first into a bucket shaking and rubbing to remove the seeds if you leave the whole cut plant upside down in the bucket somewhere dry slightly immature seeds will continue to ripen over the next few days most of what you have collected in the bucket will be white feathers and chaff to sort the seed shake it gently in a kitchen sieve some seeds will fall through the sieve with the rest collecting in the bottom the feathers and chaff will rise to the top and you can pick them off there s no need to get the seed completely clean a little chaff stored and planted along with the seeds won t cause any harm if the seed feels a little damp dry it further on a plate before labelling and storing lettuce seed should keep for around 3 years provided it is kept cool and dry pumpkins courgettes marrows and squashes beware that pumpkins squashes marrows courgettes will all cross readily with each other the best usually only way to save pure seed on a home scale is to hand pollinate one or more fruits this is very easy will avoid disappointments with lumpen squash courgette crosses the explanation given here is for pumpkins but applies equally to squashes courgettes marrows pumpkin plants have two different types of flower male and female the female flowers are the ones that will grow into pumpkins they can be identified by the small immature fruit which should be obvious beneath the flower male flowers just have a straight stem you need to transfer pollen from a male flower into a female flower making sure that no pollen gets introduced from plants of a different variety one evening when the plants are just beginning to produce flowers find some male and female flowers that are going to open the next day buds that are just ready to open are much fatter than the others and they have turned from green to yellow you need to stop these flowers opening so that insects can t get into them the easiest way to do this is to gently slip a thin rubber band over the end of the petals to hold them shut the next morning go back to the plants pick a male flower take off its rubber band and tear off the petals gently take the rubber band off of one of your female flowers using the male flower like a brush rub the pollen on to each section of the stigma in the centre of the female flower then carefully rubber band the female flower shut again so that no insects can get in with more foreign pollen tie a piece of wool loosely around the stem of the female flower so that at harvest time you know which pumpkins you have hand pollinated now leave the pumpkins to develop and ripen after you have harvested them keep them in a cool dry place for another month or so to ripen further indoors then cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the seeds leaving the rest of the fruit for cooking as normal wash the seed in a colander rubbing it between your hands to get rid of the fibres and then shake off as much water as possible spread the seed out on a plate to dry it needs to dry as quickly as possible but without getting too hot for example on a sunny windowsill to test whether the seeds are dry enough try bending one in half if it is dry it will snap rather than bending onions leeks onion and leek seed is fairly easy to save your own the process is the same for these plants but they are different species so onions will only cross with other onions and leeks will only cross with other leeks they are all insect pollinated and so will cross with other varieties flowering nearby note that spring and even bunching onions will cross with all normal onions so only allow one type to flower allow at least 25 plants to overwinter and flower harvest the seedheads once they bec...