Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
and/or have to be overwintered, etc.) to 'difficult' (other complicating factors
that make saving seeds more work).
Seed storage
Seeds should be saved only when they are completely dry. Mould will kill them,
and in an enclosed space it will spread very quickly indeed.
An excellent seed-drying method is posted on the Real Seeds website (www.
realseeds.co.uk), where they suggest baking enough dry rice to half fill a jam jar
and pouring it in once it's completely cool. Put the seeds into a bag made from
the foot of an old pair of tights, tie it shut with a rubber band, and put it in the
jar on top of the rice. Screw the top down tightly and leave it for a couple of
weeks. The rice will pull any remaining water out of the seeds, which are then
ready for storage in an airtight container in a cool, dry, dark place - NEVER in
the polytunnel, which gets much too warm even in winter.
I: Easy
Aubergine
While aubergine seeds look very similar to those of tomatoes, they have no gel
coating and there is no need to ferment the seeds in a jar. Simply scoop them out
from a healthy, but very ripe fruit, rinse them, and leave them to dry.
Aubergines will readily cross with other aubergine varieties, so grow only one
species at a time or isolate plants for saving by covering them with light fleece
during flowering.
Basil
Basil varieties will cross, so grow only one variety or keep pulling the flower
stems off the others until the plant has set seed. Insects will do all the pollination
for you. Leave the stems to go brown and dry, and the seeds can then be rubbed
off by hand. It's a good idea to label promising flowering stems with thread as
the seeds set, as once they dry out they all look the same. Once the seeds are
completely dry, they can be stored.
Beans, dwarf French and French
These are self-pollinating. Pollination takes place before the flower even opens,
so there is no risk of crossing. This means that even if you plant different varieties
right next to each other, you can still keep the seed.
Do not take any of the pods off plants for seed saving, but wait until they ripen
and dry on the vine. If the weather turns damp, remove the ripe pods from the
plant and dry them indoors. Once dry, break them to shell the beans.
