As the summer winds down, if not the temperatures, it’s time for those of us who collect seed to start making plans and purchasing any needed supplies. What is now seen as a fun gardening hobby has been far more important during our human historical past. Researchers today think that our ancestors began selecting non-shattering seed, seeds that don’t abruptly release upon drying, as early as 30,000 years ago. These seeds were preferable since they would stay available for harvest longer than the ones that quickly scattered once dried. Later, peas, barley, and wheat were some of the very earliest crops whose seed was selected and saved to encourage the production of better tasting and more vigorous varieties.  In recent history, humans have cultivated crops and flowers of all types to try to distill their seed into the perfect varieties.

Seed saving starts first with the selection of the plant. It’s extremely important to choose open-pollinated varieties of plants. In other words, no hybrids. Hybrids are plants that are grown from the crossing of two different parent plants’ genetics. These hybrid plants will not be capable of producing seed ‘true to type’ which is a dealbreaker when you are trying to get all of those wonderful characteristics you love about your plant for the next year. Because the parents were crossed, any seeds produced will be a completely different combination of the good and bad traits of the plants from the initial cross. Thanks to this, it is impossible to predict how the new plant will perform and what types of qualities its fruit will have. Open-pollinated plants can be “heirlooms” but they can also include more recent selections.

Now, to the next consideration: how exactly is it pollinated? Depending upon how the plant you’re wanting seed from is pollinated, it may or may not be a good candidate for seed saving. Self-pollinating plants such as tomatoes, peppers, beans, and peas are great for saving seed from since they are unlikely to be as affected by cross-pollination and produce seeds that require little or no special treatment before storage. Self-pollinated plants like these have male and female structures on the same flower, so fertilization is easy and very likely to result in the same genes being passed down through the seeds.

There are a couple of exceptions to the ease of self-pollination however, such as when multiple varieties of a crop like tomatoes are planted right next to each other. Because some pollen will escape, there will always be the possibility of cross-pollination in these cases. To better avoid this, separate varieties by a few rows of another crop.

Next, we’ve got insect pollinated plants. If a crop is insect pollinated, you’ll want at least a ¼ mile distance separating the varieties. If closer, just know that some of the seed saved can result from the crossing of the varieties present within the vicinity and you may end up with unplanned characteristics in your plants next year. This can be difficult to achieve when you take neighbors and nearby fields into account. Examples of insect pollinated species include but aren’t limited to melons, cucumbers, squash, pumpkins, eggplant, cabbage, and onions.

Wind or air pollinated plants present an even larger obstacle. There must be no other varieties within a mile shedding pollen at the same time to ensure that your seed will come out ‘true’. These would include spinach, beets, corn, and chard.

Biennial plants such as carrots, onions, beets, and most of the root crops do not produce seed at the end of the first growing season. In these cases, you need to dig up the roots in the fall, store them between 32- and 45-degrees during winter, and then, as soon as the weather permits in spring, replant the roots to produce seed stalks and seed.

In addition to the considerations listed above, you will want to ensure that the plant you’re saving seed from is the most vigorous one with the best tasting fruit. Avoid taking seed from weak, off-type, and possibly diseased plants. Sometimes disease can be transferred through seed! You’re trying to ensure the best possible outcome so be picky about which seeds you save.

Seed should be fully dried before storing. Depending on conditions, this may only take a short time, or it could take weeks. Once dried, many resources recommend storing it in an airtight container with a desiccant packet. You can separate your seed into paper envelopes before placing it in the container. This makes it easy to label each type with its name, variety, and the date collected. Your container should be stored at a temperature between 32- and 41-degrees if possible. If you choose to try the refrigerator as a storage location, be sure to really monitor the moisture situation. I’ve had seeds get too moist and rot in the past. Those silica gel packets that we all get with pills, shoes, etc. are great for tucking in with your seeds and you can also buy the silica gel online. If you can’t achieve these conditions, just do your best. Your saved seed may not germinate as well or last as long, but you’ll still likely get some plants out of it.

If you would like more details on which pollination method each crop uses and how to harvest for certain types, look up this CSU Fact Sheet 7.602: Saving Seed: https://extension.colostate.edu/topic-areas/yard-garden/saving-seed-7-602/.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention All Pueblo Grows which is a seed saving, sharing, and educating program here in Pueblo. It welcomes any and all gardeners interested in growing food/flowers and especially saving seed. The seed libraries, which make checking out free seeds available to anyone with a library card, are a huge part of what APG does to share the importance of seeds with our community. Please check them out at allpueblogrows.org.

Whether you’re going to give it a go this year and tuck away some packets for next spring, or I’ve perhaps inspired you to plant for seed saving next year, I wish you good luck and happy harvesting!