Saving seeds ensures you'll have the varieties you want, in the quantities you need, regardless of what large seed companies do.
An old saying about planting seeds goes, “One for the mouse, one for the crow, one to rot, and one to grow." I'd like to add, “One to save,” as well.
There are many reasons to save your own vegetable and flower seeds. Saving seeds saves money, preserves unusual heirloom varieties and allows you to develop varieties adapted to your yard. Saving seeds ensures you'll have the varieties you want, in the quantities you need, regardless of what large seed companies do.
For the beginner, start by saving seeds from plants that don't cross-pollinate and are not hybrids. Hybrids have been created from two different parents, and the offspring won't have the qualities you desire.
The easiest vegetables to save include beans, peas, and lettuce. Tomatoes, eggplant, and peppers can be cross-pollinated by insects, but for a home gardener, simply growing them on separate sides of the garden should be enough to keep the variety relatively pure. For flowers, try calendula, cleome, morning glory, poppy and marigolds. These flower seeds are easy to collect.
To collect seed from veggies or flowers, let the fruits or flowers mature fully, but collect seed before it drops to the ground. On a dry day, carry small plastic bags with a marker around the garden and collect dried blooms from flowers and fruits from veggies. Place the dried flower heads and mature veggies in marked bags. Mark the variety in each bag. Separate the seed from the chafe or fruit, let the seed dry in a warm, well ventilated room and then store in a dark, cool room in glass jars.
Next week on the Connecticut Garden Journal, I'll be talking about tomato hornworm. Until then, I'll be seeing you in the garden.