How to save seeds for years to come | Food Production and Preservation | Forums

Good article on some of the more common veg

Growing your own food in your backyard garden is one of the most rewarding things you can do. The satisfaction that comes from feeding your family and giving them nutritious, organic produce is well worth the effort you put into your garden. If you haven’t done so yet, it’s time to start saving seeds from your plants for the following years.

There are many reasons to save your seeds. Since you will not have to purchase new seeds or plants each year, you can save a lot of money. Also, when you save and use seeds from your own plants year after year, you will begin to develop new varieties. These varieties will be perfectly adapted to the conditions in your backyard so you will have healthier plants and better harvests each year.

As you plan your garden and think about saving seeds, consider using heirloom varieties of plants. Heirlooms are plants that date back several generations and that are openly pollinated. With the rise of big agriculture and the use of only a few varieties to get the most food for the least money, many varieties of fruits and vegetables have been lost to the average consumer. The result may be more serious than the simple lack of variety in taste. When commercial agriculture decided to focus on a few varieties only, they ended up with plants that are vulnerable to pests and disease. If we lose heirlooms, there will be nothing to replace the supermarket plants when they are wiped out by disease. Not only that, many of the varieties that Big Agriculture produces are hybrids, which often do not reproduce true. In other words, the seeds you save and plant next year may not grow to be the exact same type of plant.

Do your part to keep genetic variability in plants by using heirloom varieties and by saving your seeds. In fact, as you save and use your own seeds year after year, you are actually creating new heirloom plants. Your children will be able to carry on with your tradition, and your family will have its own unique set of plants adapted to your area.

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