Im a budget gardener, saving seeds is an important part of gardening for me. Living on a fixed income makes buying lots of seeds each year impossible. Saving seed allows me to buy a few packs of new seeds each year to try new plants. I get way more seeds that I need each year. I usually donate a lot of the extras to a church community garden near me.
@@demetriuspowell29 Those are things I have. 1/3rd of my extra large back yard is or will be garden this year, about 25'x700' (after its third expansion in early spring). I also mainly do container gardening with lots of vertical growing. Not on the red gardens scale, but more than enough for what I want to grow and separate varieties. I am retired, so lots of time, the garden helps keep my sanity by keeping busy. It also helps feed the wife and I.
@@REDGardens with the hundreds of videos you have here, you've easily got several books!..lol... Print out the transcripts from videos you'd love to turn into mini books or put them together to make a single book. You're excellent at expressing your ideas verbally so just save some time and have your words transcribed, edited, then published!
@@mlvprk61 Thanks! That is an option. But I have another type of book in me, that I am slowly teasing out the content for, which is more bringing a lot of ideas together, and including topics that don't really fit into the video format.
Hey friend, a lot of what you said resonated with me. Saving seed can be a lot of work. And it can feel wasteful to discard home saved seed, but it's OK. Remind yourself that the point of saving seed is not to make a plant from every seed, but to make every plant from your seed. Excess seed is just a means to that end. I wouldn't feel comfortable saving seed if the varieties were not some how isolated unless I wanted hybrids. One method I've seen that might work in your context is to isolate individual flowers. Enclose flower buds or clusters of flower buds with a bag before they open. This will prevent the flowers from being pollinated by other varieties. When fruit sets from these flowers remove the bags and put a tag on the fruit noting it was isolated. You can save seed from those fruit confident they are not hybrid seeds. And since the fruit you want to save seed from is tagged it is easy to know which ones to leave on the plant to fully mature and that all the rest are OK to harvest. Bagging and tagging all the flowers and fruit might be a bit more work than you want to take on, though. Anyway, thanks for making these videos.
Nice way of putting it, about the point of seed saving is about the plants not the seeds being precious. Bagging flowers is definitely something that I want to try with some other types of vegetables, or taking up some of the larger flowers like squash, but then they need to be pollinated by hand.
@@REDGardens Hand pollinating is a bit of extra work, but it's a good way to decide exactly which plants whose genes you want to save. So you can deliberately spread pollen between the plants you deem to have the best traits. And it's often used to make special crosses by plant breeders, if you were interested in breeding your own varieties over many years. That would definitely be a lot of extra work. Plants who can readily self pollinate without a pollinator, like some tomato varieties, wouldn't need to be hand pollinated. Just shaking the plant/flowers is often enough to get the pollen to fall from the stamen onto the stigma. But that will vary by variety and species. Good luck!
Great video! i love how you explain your thought process, trials and errors. People always want a formula for success in gardening but there so many factors and situations . I appreciate your hard work and ideas. Thank you!
Thanks. I figure that there are loads of channels out there that provide simplified information for people to follow, and to have quick success, so I tend to lean into focussing on trying to understand what is going on.
Would you consider using your excess seeds for micro-greens and sprouts? Considering that you've invested all that time and effort into collecting, processing and storing; that'd be more value to you than just chucking the easily gathered excess. Another idea that occurred to me is sharing them via seed-saver groups and what not. Finally, thank you for posting another intelligent, informative and thought provoking video. Once I get out this unit and into a house with a yard, I'll be drawing heavily from your videos for my veggie patch.
Yes, definitely. I think microgreens is a really good pairing with seed saving, especially with the out pollinating vegetables where I would need to grow a lot of plants, and can end up with a lot of seed. I think the pairing can make saving seeds a lot more viable. Thanks for the supportive comment. Hope you get a place to grow really soon!
@@REDGardens We sprout and produce micro greens not only for humans but for poultry on our croft, though you do have to sprout outside of the home environment currently in the UK to meet the rules regarding bio-security it still adds significant food value and variation to their diet. The indoor sprouted seeds and micro greens really add value and variety to salads (especially through winter) for humans, given the ever rising food cost this could become an ever more important part of our diet! Another awesome video, thank you for taking the time to make them all. It is very much appreciated! 👍 🏴 🌱
Loved the video, as per normal well thought out and presented. Love the take on seed saving as discussed at length in previous videos and comment sections! Really look forward to seeing more.
Tomato seeds can have a crazy shelf life. A few years back MIgardener even managed to grow seeds that were 87 years old. He restored an old variety that was previously extinct with this experiment. Highly recommend his series about it. To me it's just mind-blowing what seeds are capable of.
@@waweboardgirl That is amazing! It is crazy how variable things can be. I have a big batch of different varieties of pea seeds that are about 10 years old (the ones I showed a clip of in this video) and not a single seed germinated when I sowed a bunch of each packet!
I have gone back and watched all of your videos. This will be my 2nd season really growing a lot, and i have spend hundreds of hours researching the different methods you show on your channel. I love the scientific data driven approach you take, and the information has helped me to structure my own growing space with various pieces from different methods to get what will work best for me in my area. thank you for the content and keep it comming!
Wow, all of my videos! Thanks for watching, and for enthusiastic comment. Hope you have a great growing season, and I am delighted that I could play a part in your journey!
@@REDGardens I save from what I think I can isolate enough so they won't cross. Brassicas are the hardest WRT that. Without a huge separation, one can only grow one type of seed per year. But squash, tomatoes, peas, ect. easy enough.
I think some of the people commenting might be new to the channel. Bruce is growing for large scale cropping to feed a big community and RED gardens is also an educational project investigating best and most efficient practices. It's not about chucking any old seeds in the ground haphazard, happy with the hit and miss. It's about trials and data gathering to share and learn. We want seeds to be reliably viable and most healthy. We want to be able replicate the trial outcomes where possible and understand the causes for the assorted results. Bruce puts a great deal of time, effort and money into large scale cropping, harvesting and assessing. It has to be worth doing for him - a great use of his limited resources. It's a different deal for people growing at home, for their own food.
I’ve been learning how to save seed and find it a wonderful challenge. I have a very short growing season which makes it hard for the seeds to mature on the plant. But I’m learning some season extensions that help. Last year I ate carrots from my very own seed and that feels like such an accomplishment. Thanks for sharing your experience!
I'm going to try saving onion seeds this year, fortunately/unfortunately where my garden is its just fields of grass all around so im hoping it would be a good location for seed saving plants that cross easily. would love to see you explore this topic more as i have also felt the seed shortage caused by Brexit.
Sounds like you are in a nice isolated area for seed saving. Sometimes I wish my growing spaces were a lot more isolated, so that possible cross pollination was a lot less of an issue. At the moment I do not think I could save seeds from kale or related plants as there are so many other people grown brassicas, and there are often those distinctive yellow brassica flowers around.
@@REDGardens I grow a couple of onions for seed, and a couple of carrots etc., in the ornamental part of my garden - long way away from the Veg Patch, where there are likely to be other varieties and risk of cross pollination
@@REDGardens there are pros and cons, brilliant for avoiding cross pollination of plants but not so great for the cross pollination of ideas. thanks again for the content!.
Hi Bruce 1st off good health to you and yours. I've found that to save tomatoe seed all I've done is to cut the tomatoe and spread the seeds onto a paper towel then dry it on a side plate. When the seed is dried out I put in the hot water cylinder cupboard for a couple of weeks. When I think it's good enough temp in spring I put the paper towel with seeds on a tray of seed raising mix then cover with a mill of said mix and water .have no problem with the seeds germination. Have a good 1 mart
Thank you, and same to you and yours! I had heard about hat method of saving tomato seeds, and it does sound a lot easier. Apparently cutting up the paper with seeds attached makes them a lot easier to handle as well. Something I might try in the future.
Hi - you mentioned in this video that you start some seeds under growlights. I was wondering if you could possibly tell me what sort of lights you are using and what your experience with them has been? I have been looking into the subject recently particularly regarding starting vegetables indoors. There are a lot of videos out there on the subject, but if you had the time I would definitely value your thoughts on the matter (You don't seem to have a relevant video at a quick glance).
I bought some weatherproof LED strip lights (similar to these www.screwfix.ie/p/sylvania-twin-4ft-led-batten-white-30w-3300lm/2667x) and set 2 or 3 strips above each shelf shelves. They seem to work quite well, though slow elf the seedlings seem to get a pit long/leggy. Id rather have more natural light, and use these as just supplemental light, but my house isn't really set up for that, and I don't have electrical connection up in the gardens.
I've discovered landrace seed saving, that concept might alleviate some of your troubles. Another thing to do with all your old seeds is to set up a small plot where they get tossed. The ones that grow and produce are worth growing in the future.
I've been seed saving the obvious things, beans, peas, garlic, multiplier onions, potatoes, tomatoes, peanuts, spinach, cilantro, and that's already a lot of work. I'm trying to focus on core, staple seeds, and am happy to buy the others. I've tried a few varieties of heirloom sweet corn without much luck, so have gone back to buying my childhood favorite hybrid, Silver Queen. Where I live, there is enough corn grown within a mile or two that cross pollination is nearly inevitable.
That is a good option, focus on the core staples. I think things like peas and beans make a lot of sense, not just because they are easy, but also expensive to buy per seed. A packet of pea seeds isn’t enough, but a packet of cabbage seeds i probably won’t finish in several years.
Great to see your videos back. It is so important to save seeds of course, but on a large scale, as you say, it is so time-consuming. Something that you said though about bought seeds germination - I have found that for the last couple of years, maybe 10 years ago it was not so common to have seed failures, from what I can remember. I am growing some peppers and chilli peppers at the moment, whereas I have got maybe 10% germination, however, I saved some pepper seeds from my local shop, and the germination is at least 50%. I will be interested to see how they grow this year. I can't think why seed germination can be so disappointing these days. Thanks for the video. Yours are always so interesting!
Poor seed germination seems to be an issue in a lot of different areas. I got a few packages of seed from a small seed company not so far away managed by a guy I know and admire. But I was disappointed that the seeds had significantly lower germination rates than similar seeds from other suppliers. I don't know why this would be, but suspect that it is because they buy in seed from another larger supplier, and then repackage them, and this means they are a year or more older. But I don't know where they get the seeds from.
@@REDGardens Yes, you have hit the nail on the head. Charles Dowding the other day came up with an important point. He said the date is only when it went in the packet. I find the larger the company, the worse they are, except Premier seeds, who seem to be quite good. However you get so many seeds for the price, it is hard to complain or find something that doesn't germinate. Real Seeds in my part of Wales are passionate however about their products. I bought some Egyptian walking onions, they sent me more than I bought, and said to get back in touch if I had no germination. That is pretty rare I find. They care about the end result.
i love the idea of just having a seed sharing library where people can take whatever they need. Just keep at least 3 years worth of growing, when you seed start, in general you want to use seeds from multiple years that way a cross doesn't ruin your whole stash (assuming you want to keep "pure" varieties). So then you just give away (or sell if youw want) the seeds that are beyond that point or way more than is needed for that goal
I usually end top with more than I need, but with so many different experiments going on it is hard to know what my needs will be. I am keen to only give away really fresh seeds, as so many people struggle with poor quality seeds.
Hello Bruce, great to see this topic covered. Maybe try to leave just one plant for seed saving? So the quantity of seeds will be much less and probably enough to save for the following year.
What about adding a dehydrater to the mix? That would certainly dry the seeds faster and shouldn't get hot enough to kill the germ. Or I've also seen frames with the screen from a door used as a drying rack.
Did you ever read that article about the squash seeds found sealed in a clay vessel from 800 ad. that they were able to germinate and grow plants from?
I heard something about that. Very carefully coaxing an old and carefully stored seed into germinating is something really cool to be able to do. I used a different metric, I want the seedlings to be so strong that most of them leap out of the ground very quickly.
Just had an idea at 1:39 with the overhead shot. What's the area under the no dig being used for? It looks empty and right by a pathway. Would make a great spot for a food forest or permaculture experiment!
That is empty, or at least full of pernicious weeds! I have plans for a garden that has very little inputs, apart from seeds, and that the fertility is developed within the garden through green manures and other techniques.
Being in an identicle position as you regarding brexitand my seed suppliers I've had to take too take seed saving more seriously. Onions being a good example leaving a few aside to plant to let go to seed the next year. It's an extra level of planning needed but no bad thing really. Thanks for the video and your thoughts.
I recommend you don't worry about over production of stored seed. From my experience: well meaning house guess went to pick some beans and also picked from my separated "For seed" plants too ... germination of last years' failed (probably not dried properly) so reverted to year-before packet; didn't have time last Autumn, so again used earlier year. I also have a couple of well cherished varieties that I wished I have saved seed from, as cannot get them any more. e.g. Melon Sweetheart - and this year I can't get any Arran Pilot spuds, which we love, because last year's harvest was very poor. Hopefully will be available next year ... but if I had kept a few just-in-case ... I would be OK :)
You mention tomato seeds starting to sprout within the few days you were fermenting them. I've had tomato seeds start sprouting in less than 24 hours after putting in a small pot of water, whilst nearly all the others still had their jelly like coating intact. I now check them every day and get them out as soon as possible, or as soon as the first seed sprouts and smear the others around on kitchen towel to remove the jelly like coating.
@@REDGardens I obtained 2 tomato seeds from a grower in Canada, but only one germinated. The first 3 tomatoes only yielded between zero and 3 seeds. As I have previously had an entire pot of seeds sprout on the second day, I couldn't risk losing the lot from the last 2 tomatoes. Luckily I spotted a few sprouting after less than 24 hrs and got them out, cleaned and dried, over 300 seeds from those last 2 tomatoes, and I could've lost the lot if I hadn't been constantly checking them.
Great video Bruce. Very interesting topic. Have started seed saving recently. Quite interesting. Keep the videos coming. By the way do you do any fruit production in your garden?
Hypothetical question: Assume you save seeds from the same plant 1) You save a group of seeds "A" from the first fruiting, and you save group "B" from the last fruiting. 2) Next year, you plant A and B separately, but under identical conditions. Will A and B behave differently, in terms of fruiting-seasons, as a group (neglecting individual differences and statistical variances)? In other words, can you influence the children of the same plant by choosing the time of picking?
I can't think of any reason why there would be a difference, apart from perhaps the vigour or size of the seed. But also I don't know what would prevent there from being a difference. interesting question.
@@REDGardens from an evolutionary standpoint, a plant whose 'late bloomer' children too would themselves bloom late would give their children (i.e. the grandchildren) an advantage, e.g. with a changing climate. Evolution likely selected for such a mechanism to exist in plants. Am I missing sth?
I'm curious about your personal support network where you work and live. My garden is but a tiny fraction of yours and I'm often overwhelmed even into my upcoming fifth year of gardening. This project you have taken on is so amazing to me and you sharing it all is very generous. So much great information. How do you manage all these tasks and keep on going? It's all very inspiring. Thank you.
Thank you! The main support that I have is from a friend/neighbour who is working with me on an extended apprenticeship. It isn't part of any program or external funding (she is paid by me through income from this channel and Patreon) and she dong it to really learn how to grow vegetables. She is doing a huge amount of the background day to day work, and will be the primary grower for the series of family scale gardens this year. This will hopefully allow me to focus more time on the videos and new parts of the project.
I like how you study everything and record the results. When you grow those beans in the poly tunnel, do you grow them in the same spot every year? We want to grow tall beans and only have a limited choice of spots to grow without blocking the sun from the rest of the garden.
As gardening is not my first job, I find more convenient to buy seeds. I just save seeds from flowers and pumpinks, as I like to select the best varieties for my microclimate. I'd love to save heirloom vegetable seeds, but I'm too lazy!
Hmm, that is a tough question. I guess at the moment it would be Bingenheimer in Germany, as they have a large selection and decent prices for larger quantities.
Always save the highest up or top bud seeds for yourself, they’re the highest quality ones as they’ll end up getting the most light & end up the furthest away from the plant so most of the plants energy goes into them. Just keep only the very top ones from every plant & you’ll end up with a decent amount but nothing crazy. Also only take seeds from your best & strongest plants or the ones with the traits you desire most.
No problem. It also might be worth your while since you have the space to set up a small tunnel especially for saving seed with net doors to stop pollinators entering. That way can maximise the potential of each variety in a controlled environment. Also videos on growing giant vegetables are very good for seed saving tips. Big fan of the channel, must visit again sometime soon, haven’t been to Cloughjordan in years.
I save tomato seeds, I don't worry about fermenting them, i just place them onto some kitchen roll and let them dry out. after a day or so, i just fold it up and when it comes to planting the seeds the next year i pick off the seeds, if some kitchen roll is still attached i don't worry. I have got 100% germination rate for the last 5 years doing this. I have been saving seeds from the same varieties for over 10 years now, there has been some cross pollination the my greenhouse, which has given rise the 3 distinctly different strains, a red, a yellow and a black strain. all very nice, all different. Each year i select the best tasting tomatoes, the best plants, grow habits wise and most blight resistant tomatoes to save seeds from. This has lead to better and better plants. Occasionally you get a mutation, which is always interesting and worth saving seeds from, just to see what the next year brings.
Covid, with a lot of new people growing veg, definately hit seed quality. Compost became scarce and expensive. Even sheds were hard to find; instead of driving to a DIY centre and buying one on the spot there were waiting lists of 6 months or more. The seeds were the worst of it though. I've many saved yet I was also hit by veg diseases that may have been a result of shortages and therefore did not save any seeds from those plants. I had bean rust for the first time and my parsnips were terrible. Add to this I completely went off runner beans, barely ate any. My tastes may have changed.
Yeah, covid had wide ranging impacts. I ended up supplying seeds to a bunch of friends, and thankfully I stocked up a lot before because of Brexit. I had trouble getting some supplies, but was thankfully ok for the most part.
Considering the seed shortages in Ireland at the moment and the abundance of seeds you have; would selling them ever be an option for you? It would allow the garden p[roject to become more self-sufficient as well...
Hey, great content and channel. Visit your channel some time a go, but for some reason didn’t subscribe? But now I found it again and from now on I will stay, thanks for interesting and well made content.
I met a gentleman that did side by side experiments with seed he saved. His conclusion was that sorting seeds by physical size, or weight was always an indicator of potential. Larger seeds always germinated faster, grew more vigorously and had stronger measurable attributes, like BRIXunnecessary
If you save seeds over a number of years, being careful to avoid cross pollination will those seeds produce plants suitable for your area, but still remain true to the standards of that plant? I would be interested in possibly having a few of your spare seeds if it's at all possible
I had the most amazing results with seed saving. Last year, out of two heavy plantings of romaine lettuce, I got three plants. I think grasshoppers killed the seedlings as soon as they emerged. I saved seeds from two of the survivors. This year, I don't think I lost a single seedling. I've still got grasshoppers year around. I can't say with any certainty that I'm growing lettuce that's inherited a bad taste for grasshoppers, but I hope that's the case. As for your seed saving: You should do an announcement video and then have an Ebay auction of your surplus. You might be surprised at the results.
Mylar bag the saved seeds with oxygen pack and place them on a shelf, they will last for over a decade this way with over a 50 percent germination rate after 10 years.
I just invested in some mylar bags so will give it a try. I was wondering about the oxygen absorbers with the living seeds. I had thought the the seeds need a very tiny amount of oxygen to stay 'alive' in dormancy, but perhaps that is wrong. Do you know of any research on this, where someone has compared with and without oxygen absorbers? Now you have me thinking, that I should store the same supply of seeds in a few different ways, and come back in 5-10 years and see how they compare for germination. Wish I had thought of that 5-10 years ago! Edit: I did a bit of googling and found an article about removing oxygen being very beneficial for seed saving, so thanks for the tip. phys.org/news/2014-07-seeds-vital-longer-oxygen.html
Have you thought of hosting an annual seed swap day at the start of the seed sowing season? Getting touch with like minded individuals and concentrating on fewer varieties and having agreements with others to produce different seeds would enhance community and make the job easier wouldn't it?
There is a seed swap organised by some friends in our community in the past, but I am not sure if that is going to happen again this season. I am a bit concerned about the quality of some of the seeds because I don't think many people have the knowledge or skills to prevent cross pollinated, or to ensure diverse enough genetics to really maintain the resilience of the variety. I still think that seed swaps are great in general, but I guess I am hesitant of getting seeds from them.
@@REDGardens Sounds like a great opportunity for a video "How to maintain genetics whilst saving seed" as you're in the E.U. I suspect a great number of your European viewers could participate, I as a UK resident I unfortunately can't. You could possibly assign varieties to interested viewers in the comments section, make sure a checklist is followed and get them to post to you in exchange for a collection of say 10 (or more) seed returned in a self addressed envelope. If I was able to I would do this. (Anything like tjis in the UK?)
Seed saving has always been a problem for me as letting the plants mature to seed-stage takes up space and precludes replanting a second crop. So many decisions to be made each year!
Sounds interesting, and great there are forums like that out there. I barely keep up with the comments and emails I get on this channel, so unfortunately participating in another forum seem quite out of reach for me these days.
Great video as always! Ive been delving into the realm of seed saving these last few years, mainly with legumes and perennial crops. Most of my beans i grow for drying rather than as fresh, so seed saving doesnt impact those crops or their management as much. One concern i do have with other plants is that unless i can specialise a rather large area of my small growing space i worry i wont have the genetic diversity needed to sustain a resilient and healthy population. Collecting seeds from only one plant is quite a bottleneck, where as many books on the subject often recommend unreasonable quantities to ensure a healthy line. I definitely agree with the core concepts of seed sovereignty and the need for genetic diversity, but do wonder if this is actually viable on a small garden or allotment scale. In the ideal world there would be a range of local small scale seed saving companies (akin to the great work being done at Real Seeds) who could then specialise and be able to divert the necessary time and resources to making sure the quality of seed is high. On a farm scale (which historically speaking most seed saving was done on) its much easier to have that genetic breadth, and with larger gaps between varieties cross pollination is not so much an issue. A great example to look into is the YQ wheat being grown an Wakelyms farm. They have grown a group of wheats dispersed together in order to create not only a high genetic gene pool, but also to add extra resilience to the crop and to promote adaptation to the farms specific environment. Seed saving seems to be such a deep and interesting topic, and im sure im still only dipping my toes in at the kids end!
I share your concerns about having enough of a space to maintain the genetic diversity of the variety, to avoid the bottleneck that you mention. With some of the trolly self pollination plants it is apparently not really an issue, but I still don't like the idea of picking from one plant. I agree that seed saving, and seed sovereignty needs to be seen as both a personal and collective/focused endeavour. Some seeds it is fine for people to save their own, but there are so many types of vegetables that need to be managed carefully in order to maintain the benefits of the variety. I have grown small patches of wheat in the past, with seeds that my baker friend got, that contains a similarly diverse range of varieties, with the aim of establishing a local resilient population. Interesting stuff, but I forgot to devote space to growing wheat this year.
Saving seeds is amazing and important, but one thing that really rocks is the ability of your seeds to carry over adapted traits of your very specific area/plot, climate, micro-climate, soil, schedule etc. So by saving your own, you are improving them for your very own unique set of conditions. Apparently it happens over as little as 2 or 3 generations, for a lot of these seeds. As for surplus, I don't agree with discarding so much. We share, trade and educate with those (where you are sure the seeds are genetically 'clean').
Great Video. Your tomato seed process seems very elaborated. I separate the seeds on paper towels and let them dry. I store these sheets. For planting, I cut out the seed and plant including the paper. Btw. You pushed me over the line to not to save more seeds. Exceptionally, I will save some tomato and a hard to get fava bean.
I am hesitant because of the extra work and things to keep track of, which I definitely don't need, but I think I have found a useful way to distribute extra to people in my community.
Kept in a cool, dark and dry place seeds can be viable for many years. I'd done a couple tests on old seeds, and found good/excellent germination rates even after 6 years. I store mine at the back of my fridge as I have the space.
I don't bother with the fermentation of tomato seeds. I just rub them in a sieve with a spoon to get out most of the liquid, spread them on parchment paper and let them dry. They get off fairly easily by just bending the paper. To separate the seeds, rub them between your hands. This works decent enough so I don't see a reason to go through the hassle of fermenting them. Not good for sharing them though as people expect clean seeds.
That doe sound like an easy option. I have heard of other people using kitchen paper and simply cutting a piece of it with the seed on it and planting the paper with seed attached. Not sure if this would work with all seeds, or with parchment paper, but perhaps worth a try.
@@REDGardens I also save pumpkin seeds that way. The only other seeds I save are pepper/chili and those just need to dry so I don't know about other seeds. I've heard about the kitchen paper method too but I'm happy with my method so I never tried it.
Having too many seeds is such a good problem to have. You can set up an Etsy shop and sell them! Then it would also solve some of the problems you had as far as Brexit is concerned for other Irish gardeners.
Yeah it is worth looking into. I think this season passing them around locally will be enough, and easier for now, but a wider distribution could be an option in the future.
There have been a few gardening projects in the local schools, but seeds weren't the missing factor. Unfortunately there didn't seem to consistently be someone there to help with the sowing and care of the plants.
I will probably sell some to friends and neighbours, as an extension of my honesty fridge that I use to distribute the vegetables that I produce. I am keen to limit the extra work I need to do, but if I keep saving seeds then direct selling may be an option.
No, I haven't. There are very few food growing projects around here, just not the interest or the people with the time and focus to manage them. There have been small projects starting, which all seemed to struggle and falter, and not because of lack of seeds. If that changes, and I continue to have abundance, then it might be an option.
Huh, I would think your excess seeds would be a reward or perk for those supporting your efforts like on patreon or one of the other ways your monetizing your efforts. Hell, I bet you could create garden starter sets from your excess, possibly giiving you a reward or another income stream. Just a thought on how you can make lemonade with your lemons.
Yeah, that is an interesting idea. My main issue is lack of time to even post regular videos. Will need to change something to have enough time to manage sending out seeds and stuff like that.
Just throw excess seeds into a big box with labels on. Most seeds stay good enough for over a decade, so if you want to grow those again in the future you just need to over sow.
I used that strategy with the pea seeds, and not a single one germinated when I tested hundreds after 10 years, so very variable success with that approach.
Bruce, your channel is underrated and you deserve so many more subscribers than what you have right now.
Thanks! Hope more will subscribe soon!
Agreed. Bruce was/is one of my top go-to's since I started some years ago. Worthy of note.
Im a budget gardener, saving seeds is an important part of gardening for me. Living on a fixed income makes buying lots of seeds each year impossible. Saving seed allows me to buy a few packs of new seeds each year to try new plants. I get way more seeds that I need each year. I usually donate a lot of the extras to a church community garden near me.
Saving seeds can really help make growing food inexpensive! Great that you have a community garden near you to pass on surplus!
Yup plus growing out a lot of different varieties takes alot of space and time
@@demetriuspowell29 Those are things I have. 1/3rd of my extra large back yard is or will be garden this year, about 25'x700' (after its third expansion in early spring). I also mainly do container gardening with lots of vertical growing. Not on the red gardens scale, but more than enough for what I want to grow and separate varieties. I am retired, so lots of time, the garden helps keep my sanity by keeping busy. It also helps feed the wife and I.
@@j.b.6855 yeah This will be my first garden in almost two year’s been working like crazy gardening helps keep my mind sane as well
@@REDGardens really enjoyed the sharing aspect of seed saving. How best to protect diversity by having it grow.
You ever think of writing a small book about your experiences with farming/gardening?
Yeah, I regularly think that, and I might have one started, sort of, but finding the time to actually write it is the issue!
@@REDGardens with the hundreds of videos you have here, you've easily got several books!..lol... Print out the transcripts from videos you'd love to turn into mini books or put them together to make a single book. You're excellent at expressing your ideas verbally so just save some time and have your words transcribed, edited, then published!
@@mlvprk61 Thanks! That is an option. But I have another type of book in me, that I am slowly teasing out the content for, which is more bringing a lot of ideas together, and including topics that don't really fit into the video format.
@@REDGardens Excellent! I know it will turn out great! Keep us posted!
Could crowdfunding help the book project I’d pay up front happily.
I learn so much from your videos and your candid, informative talks!!
I appreciate that!
I support you on Patreon and would love to see more. You make quality videos with quality content. Keep up the great work.
Thank you, and thanks for being a Patron! I hope to be a lot more regular with the uploads this spring.
The seeds that are surplus, when they are actually 'beans', you can just cook and eat :-)
Yes, they are. Forgot to mention that in the video! Peas too.
Interesting video as always. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it
Cannot express how eager I've been for you to post! I love the amount of Information in your videos
Ah, thanks so much!!! Sorry for the extended delay!
Absolutely love your channel and how you keep sharing your notes and experiences - it's so valuable what you do
Thank you so much!
Hey friend, a lot of what you said resonated with me. Saving seed can be a lot of work. And it can feel wasteful to discard home saved seed, but it's OK. Remind yourself that the point of saving seed is not to make a plant from every seed, but to make every plant from your seed. Excess seed is just a means to that end.
I wouldn't feel comfortable saving seed if the varieties were not some how isolated unless I wanted hybrids. One method I've seen that might work in your context is to isolate individual flowers. Enclose flower buds or clusters of flower buds with a bag before they open. This will prevent the flowers from being pollinated by other varieties. When fruit sets from these flowers remove the bags and put a tag on the fruit noting it was isolated. You can save seed from those fruit confident they are not hybrid seeds. And since the fruit you want to save seed from is tagged it is easy to know which ones to leave on the plant to fully mature and that all the rest are OK to harvest. Bagging and tagging all the flowers and fruit might be a bit more work than you want to take on, though. Anyway, thanks for making these videos.
Nice way of putting it, about the point of seed saving is about the plants not the seeds being precious. Bagging flowers is definitely something that I want to try with some other types of vegetables, or taking up some of the larger flowers like squash, but then they need to be pollinated by hand.
@@REDGardens Hand pollinating is a bit of extra work, but it's a good way to decide exactly which plants whose genes you want to save. So you can deliberately spread pollen between the plants you deem to have the best traits. And it's often used to make special crosses by plant breeders, if you were interested in breeding your own varieties over many years. That would definitely be a lot of extra work. Plants who can readily self pollinate without a pollinator, like some tomato varieties, wouldn't need to be hand pollinated. Just shaking the plant/flowers is often enough to get the pollen to fall from the stamen onto the stigma. But that will vary by variety and species. Good luck!
Great video! i love how you explain your thought process, trials and errors. People always want a formula for success in gardening but there so many factors and situations . I appreciate your hard work and ideas. Thank you!
Thanks. I figure that there are loads of channels out there that provide simplified information for people to follow, and to have quick success, so I tend to lean into focussing on trying to understand what is going on.
Would you consider using your excess seeds for micro-greens and sprouts?
Considering that you've invested all that time and effort into collecting, processing and storing; that'd be more value to you than just chucking the easily gathered excess.
Another idea that occurred to me is sharing them via seed-saver groups and what not.
Finally, thank you for posting another intelligent, informative and thought provoking video. Once I get out this unit and into a house with a yard, I'll be drawing heavily from your videos for my veggie patch.
Yes, definitely. I think microgreens is a really good pairing with seed saving, especially with the out pollinating vegetables where I would need to grow a lot of plants, and can end up with a lot of seed. I think the pairing can make saving seeds a lot more viable.
Thanks for the supportive comment. Hope you get a place to grow really soon!
@@REDGardens We sprout and produce micro greens not only for humans but for poultry on our croft, though you do have to sprout outside of the home environment currently in the UK to meet the rules regarding bio-security it still adds significant food value and variation to their diet. The indoor sprouted seeds and micro greens really add value and variety to salads (especially through winter) for humans, given the ever rising food cost this could become an ever more important part of our diet!
Another awesome video, thank you for taking the time to make them all. It is very much appreciated! 👍 🏴 🌱
Loved the video, as per normal well thought out and presented. Love the take on seed saving as discussed at length in previous videos and comment sections! Really look forward to seeing more.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Tomato seeds, in my experience, last a long time. So every 5-6 years it would be cool to save a big batch.
They definitely seem tot last longer than others.
Tomato seeds can have a crazy shelf life. A few years back MIgardener even managed to grow seeds that were 87 years old. He restored an old variety that was previously extinct with this experiment. Highly recommend his series about it. To me it's just mind-blowing what seeds are capable of.
@@waweboardgirl That is amazing! It is crazy how variable things can be. I have a big batch of different varieties of pea seeds that are about 10 years old (the ones I showed a clip of in this video) and not a single seed germinated when I sowed a bunch of each packet!
I have gone back and watched all of your videos. This will be my 2nd season really growing a lot, and i have spend hundreds of hours researching the different methods you show on your channel. I love the scientific data driven approach you take, and the information has helped me to structure my own growing space with various pieces from different methods to get what will work best for me in my area. thank you for the content and keep it comming!
Wow, all of my videos! Thanks for watching, and for enthusiastic comment. Hope you have a great growing season, and I am delighted that I could play a part in your journey!
I save seeds from heirloom/heritage varieties so I can get a genetic drift to adapt to my climate but not reinventing the wheel wrt produce traits.
Nice. Do you save from many different types of vegetables?
@@REDGardens I save from what I think I can isolate enough so they won't cross. Brassicas are the hardest WRT that. Without a huge separation, one can only grow one type of seed per year.
But squash, tomatoes, peas, ect. easy enough.
I think some of the people commenting might be new to the channel. Bruce is growing for large scale cropping to feed a big community and RED gardens is also an educational project investigating best and most efficient practices. It's not about chucking any old seeds in the ground haphazard, happy with the hit and miss. It's about trials and data gathering to share and learn. We want seeds to be reliably viable and most healthy. We want to be able replicate the trial outcomes where possible and understand the causes for the assorted results. Bruce puts a great deal of time, effort and money into large scale cropping, harvesting and assessing. It has to be worth doing for him - a great use of his limited resources. It's a different deal for people growing at home, for their own food.
Thanks for sharing that clarification!
Thanks RED Gardens!
👍
I’ve been learning how to save seed and find it a wonderful challenge. I have a very short growing season which makes it hard for the seeds to mature on the plant. But I’m learning some season extensions that help. Last year I ate carrots from my very own seed and that feels like such an accomplishment. Thanks for sharing your experience!
That is a really wonderful accomplishment!
Wow, what a huge effort 👏🏻👏🏻
I'm going to try saving onion seeds this year, fortunately/unfortunately where my garden is its just fields of grass all around so im hoping it would be a good location for seed saving plants that cross easily. would love to see you explore this topic more as i have also felt the seed shortage caused by Brexit.
Sounds like you are in a nice isolated area for seed saving. Sometimes I wish my growing spaces were a lot more isolated, so that possible cross pollination was a lot less of an issue. At the moment I do not think I could save seeds from kale or related plants as there are so many other people grown brassicas, and there are often those distinctive yellow brassica flowers around.
@@REDGardens I grow a couple of onions for seed, and a couple of carrots etc., in the ornamental part of my garden - long way away from the Veg Patch, where there are likely to be other varieties and risk of cross pollination
@@REDGardens there are pros and cons, brilliant for avoiding cross pollination of plants but not so great for the cross pollination of ideas. thanks again for the content!.
Top tip with the mini blower 👍 thanks
It works a lot better than I thought it would!
Hi Bruce 1st off good health to you and yours.
I've found that to save tomatoe seed all I've done is to cut the tomatoe and spread the seeds onto a paper towel then dry it on a side plate. When the seed is dried out I put in the hot water cylinder cupboard for a couple of weeks. When I think it's good enough temp in spring I put the paper towel with seeds on a tray of seed raising mix then cover with a mill of said mix and water .have no problem with the seeds germination. Have a good 1 mart
Thank you, and same to you and yours!
I had heard about hat method of saving tomato seeds, and it does sound a lot easier. Apparently cutting up the paper with seeds attached makes them a lot easier to handle as well.
Something I might try in the future.
Good job keep
Thanks!
Woooooo new video !!!
Woot!
Hi - you mentioned in this video that you start some seeds under growlights. I was wondering if you could possibly tell me what sort of lights you are using and what your experience with them has been? I have been looking into the subject recently particularly regarding starting vegetables indoors. There are a lot of videos out there on the subject, but if you had the time I would definitely value your thoughts on the matter (You don't seem to have a relevant video at a quick glance).
I bought some weatherproof LED strip lights (similar to these www.screwfix.ie/p/sylvania-twin-4ft-led-batten-white-30w-3300lm/2667x) and set 2 or 3 strips above each shelf shelves. They seem to work quite well, though slow elf the seedlings seem to get a pit long/leggy. Id rather have more natural light, and use these as just supplemental light, but my house isn't really set up for that, and I don't have electrical connection up in the gardens.
I've discovered landrace seed saving, that concept might alleviate some of your troubles. Another thing to do with all your old seeds is to set up a small plot where they get tossed. The ones that grow and produce are worth growing in the future.
Landrace seeds are so interesting, and something that would be very cool to explore at some point.
Wow hard work ! Thanks !
:)
Courgette seeds are pretty easy to collect.
Never collected carrot seeds though 🤷🏻♂️
I am the opposite, having collected the carrot seeds, but have never let a courgette mature.
But courgette and squashes are very prone to cross pollination, so a lot of care and thought needs to be put into it
A wire mesh Callender helps with tomato seeds. After the ferment I just dump them in and rinse them off.
Great video, very informative. You made that easy to understand and now I am motivated to expand my next season's garden!!!
Awesome, thanks!
I've been seed saving the obvious things, beans, peas, garlic, multiplier onions, potatoes, tomatoes, peanuts, spinach, cilantro, and that's already a lot of work. I'm trying to focus on core, staple seeds, and am happy to buy the others. I've tried a few varieties of heirloom sweet corn without much luck, so have gone back to buying my childhood favorite hybrid, Silver Queen. Where I live, there is enough corn grown within a mile or two that cross pollination is nearly inevitable.
That is a good option, focus on the core staples. I think things like peas and beans make a lot of sense, not just because they are easy, but also expensive to buy per seed. A packet of pea seeds isn’t enough, but a packet of cabbage seeds i probably won’t finish in several years.
Great information!
Glad you think so!
Great to see your videos back. It is so important to save seeds of course, but on a large scale, as you say, it is so time-consuming. Something that you said though about bought seeds germination - I have found that for the last couple of years, maybe 10 years ago it was not so common to have seed failures, from what I can remember. I am growing some peppers and chilli peppers at the moment, whereas I have got maybe 10% germination, however, I saved some pepper seeds from my local shop, and the germination is at least 50%. I will be interested to see how they grow this year. I can't think why seed germination can be so disappointing these days. Thanks for the video. Yours are always so interesting!
Poor seed germination seems to be an issue in a lot of different areas. I got a few packages of seed from a small seed company not so far away managed by a guy I know and admire. But I was disappointed that the seeds had significantly lower germination rates than similar seeds from other suppliers. I don't know why this would be, but suspect that it is because they buy in seed from another larger supplier, and then repackage them, and this means they are a year or more older. But I don't know where they get the seeds from.
@@REDGardens Yes, you have hit the nail on the head. Charles Dowding the other day came up with an important point. He said the date is only when it went in the packet. I find the larger the company, the worse they are, except Premier seeds, who seem to be quite good. However you get so many seeds for the price, it is hard to complain or find something that doesn't germinate. Real Seeds in my part of Wales are passionate however about their products. I bought some Egyptian walking onions, they sent me more than I bought, and said to get back in touch if I had no germination. That is pretty rare I find. They care about the end result.
i love the idea of just having a seed sharing library where people can take whatever they need. Just keep at least 3 years worth of growing, when you seed start, in general you want to use seeds from multiple years that way a cross doesn't ruin your whole stash (assuming you want to keep "pure" varieties). So then you just give away (or sell if youw want) the seeds that are beyond that point or way more than is needed for that goal
I usually end top with more than I need, but with so many different experiments going on it is hard to know what my needs will be. I am keen to only give away really fresh seeds, as so many people struggle with poor quality seeds.
Hello Bruce, great to see this topic covered. Maybe try to leave just one plant for seed saving? So the quantity of seeds will be much less and probably enough to save for the following year.
That would work of some plants, but the out pollinating plants I would need quite a few to not get inbred seeds.
What about adding a dehydrater to the mix? That would certainly dry the seeds faster and shouldn't get hot enough to kill the germ. Or I've also seen frames with the screen from a door used as a drying rack.
I hope you can continue to seed save!
:)
Did you ever read that article about the squash seeds found sealed in a clay vessel from 800 ad. that they were able to germinate and grow plants from?
I heard something about that. Very carefully coaxing an old and carefully stored seed into germinating is something really cool to be able to do. I used a different metric, I want the seedlings to be so strong that most of them leap out of the ground very quickly.
@@REDGardens That is a lovely, poetic image!
Great info, thank you for sharing.
:)
Just had an idea at 1:39 with the overhead shot. What's the area under the no dig being used for? It looks empty and right by a pathway. Would make a great spot for a food forest or permaculture experiment!
That is empty, or at least full of pernicious weeds! I have plans for a garden that has very little inputs, apart from seeds, and that the fertility is developed within the garden through green manures and other techniques.
@@REDGardens I'm excited!
Being in an identicle position as you regarding brexitand my seed suppliers I've had to take too take seed saving more seriously. Onions being a good example leaving a few aside to plant to let go to seed the next year. It's an extra level of planning needed but no bad thing really. Thanks for the video and your thoughts.
I recommend you don't worry about over production of stored seed. From my experience: well meaning house guess went to pick some beans and also picked from my separated "For seed" plants too ... germination of last years' failed (probably not dried properly) so reverted to year-before packet; didn't have time last Autumn, so again used earlier year. I also have a couple of well cherished varieties that I wished I have saved seed from, as cannot get them any more. e.g. Melon Sweetheart - and this year I can't get any Arran Pilot spuds, which we love, because last year's harvest was very poor. Hopefully will be available next year ... but if I had kept a few just-in-case ... I would be OK :)
You mention tomato seeds starting to sprout within the few days you were fermenting them.
I've had tomato seeds start sprouting in less than 24 hours after putting in a small pot of water, whilst nearly all the others still had their jelly like coating intact.
I now check them every day and get them out as soon as possible, or as soon as the first seed sprouts and smear the others around on kitchen towel to remove the jelly like coating.
Probably a good idea, though I wonder if it is just better to let those early seeds sprout, just rely on the others.
@@REDGardens I obtained 2 tomato seeds from a grower in Canada, but only one germinated. The first 3 tomatoes only yielded between zero and 3 seeds. As I have previously had an entire pot of seeds sprout on the second day, I couldn't risk losing the lot from the last 2 tomatoes. Luckily I spotted a few sprouting after less than 24 hrs and got them out, cleaned and dried, over 300 seeds from those last 2 tomatoes, and I could've lost the lot if I hadn't been constantly checking them.
Is there anything from back here that you would like to get your hands on?
Not that I can think of at the moment, but thanks!
Respect from Africa 🇿🇦
Great video Bruce. Very interesting topic. Have started seed saving recently. Quite interesting. Keep the videos coming. By the way do you do any fruit production in your garden?
Thanks! I grow a bit of fruit, and just today we transplanted some strawberries. But fruit is not something I focus on.
Hypothetical question:
Assume you save seeds from the same plant
1) You save a group of seeds "A" from the first fruiting, and you save group "B" from the last fruiting.
2) Next year, you plant A and B separately, but under identical conditions.
Will A and B behave differently, in terms of fruiting-seasons, as a group (neglecting individual differences and statistical variances)?
In other words, can you influence the children of the same plant by choosing the time of picking?
I can't think of any reason why there would be a difference, apart from perhaps the vigour or size of the seed. But also I don't know what would prevent there from being a difference. interesting question.
@@REDGardens from an evolutionary standpoint, a plant whose 'late bloomer' children too would themselves bloom late would give their children (i.e. the grandchildren) an advantage, e.g. with a changing climate. Evolution likely selected for such a mechanism to exist in plants. Am I missing sth?
I'm curious about your personal support network where you work and live. My garden is but a tiny fraction of yours and I'm often overwhelmed even into my upcoming fifth year of gardening. This project you have taken on is so amazing to me and you sharing it all is very generous. So much great information. How do you manage all these tasks and keep on going? It's all very inspiring. Thank you.
Thank you!
The main support that I have is from a friend/neighbour who is working with me on an extended apprenticeship. It isn't part of any program or external funding (she is paid by me through income from this channel and Patreon) and she dong it to really learn how to grow vegetables. She is doing a huge amount of the background day to day work, and will be the primary grower for the series of family scale gardens this year. This will hopefully allow me to focus more time on the videos and new parts of the project.
I like how you study everything and record the results. When you grow those beans in the poly tunnel, do you grow them in the same spot every year? We want to grow tall beans and only have a limited choice of spots to grow without blocking the sun from the rest of the garden.
Thanks, glad you like my work. I usually plant them in a different place each year, moving them around the polytunnel.
@@REDGardens Thank you, keep up the good work sharing your information!
As gardening is not my first job, I find more convenient to buy seeds. I just save seeds from flowers and pumpinks, as I like to select the best varieties for my microclimate. I'd love to save heirloom vegetable seeds, but I'm too lazy!
Buying is a lot more convenient!
Do you eat the surplus beans that you collect for seed stock?
Birdy
Yes, some of the beans were for seed. and the kitchen.
Whats your favorite seed suppliers? Thanks for the video!
Hmm, that is a tough question. I guess at the moment it would be Bingenheimer in Germany, as they have a large selection and decent prices for larger quantities.
Always save the highest up or top bud seeds for yourself, they’re the highest quality ones as they’ll end up getting the most light & end up the furthest away from the plant so most of the plants energy goes into them. Just keep only the very top ones from every plant & you’ll end up with a decent amount but nothing crazy. Also only take seeds from your best & strongest plants or the ones with the traits you desire most.
Sounds like a good approach, thanks.
No problem. It also might be worth your while since you have the space to set up a small tunnel especially for saving seed with net doors to stop pollinators entering. That way can maximise the potential of each variety in a controlled environment.
Also videos on growing giant vegetables are very good for seed saving tips.
Big fan of the channel, must visit again sometime soon, haven’t been to Cloughjordan in years.
I love your videos
:)
I save tomato seeds, I don't worry about fermenting them, i just place them onto some kitchen roll and let them dry out. after a day or so, i just fold it up and when it comes to planting the seeds the next year i pick off the seeds, if some kitchen roll is still attached i don't worry. I have got 100% germination rate for the last 5 years doing this. I have been saving seeds from the same varieties for over 10 years now, there has been some cross pollination the my greenhouse, which has given rise the 3 distinctly different strains, a red, a yellow and a black strain. all very nice, all different. Each year i select the best tasting tomatoes, the best plants, grow habits wise and most blight resistant tomatoes to save seeds from. This has lead to better and better plants. Occasionally you get a mutation, which is always interesting and worth saving seeds from, just to see what the next year brings.
Covid, with a lot of new people growing veg, definately hit seed quality. Compost became scarce and expensive. Even sheds were hard to find; instead of driving to a DIY centre and buying one on the spot there were waiting lists of 6 months or more.
The seeds were the worst of it though. I've many saved yet I was also hit by veg diseases that may have been a result of shortages and therefore did not save any seeds from those plants. I had bean rust for the first time and my parsnips were terrible.
Add to this I completely went off runner beans, barely ate any. My tastes may have changed.
Yeah, covid had wide ranging impacts. I ended up supplying seeds to a bunch of friends, and thankfully I stocked up a lot before because of Brexit. I had trouble getting some supplies, but was thankfully ok for the most part.
Considering the seed shortages in Ireland at the moment and the abundance of seeds you have; would selling them ever be an option for you? It would allow the garden p[roject to become more self-sufficient as well...
I am going to sell some to my friends and neighbours.
Hey, great content and channel. Visit your channel some time a go, but for some reason didn’t subscribe? But now I found it again and from now on I will stay, thanks for interesting and well made content.
Community seed library?
That is a possibility, but I don't think I am the one to organise something like that.
🌱☘️🌾🍃🍂Thank for sharing your valuable exploration.
:)
I met a gentleman that did side by side experiments with seed he saved. His conclusion was that sorting seeds by physical size, or weight was always an indicator of potential. Larger seeds always germinated faster, grew more vigorously and had stronger measurable attributes, like BRIXunnecessary
That is interesting!
Share and swap with friends and neighbouring gardener’s
That is the plan.
If you save seeds over a number of years, being careful to avoid cross pollination will those seeds produce plants suitable for your area, but still remain true to the standards of that plant? I would be interested in possibly having a few of your spare seeds if it's at all possible
I had the most amazing results with seed saving. Last year, out of two heavy plantings of romaine lettuce, I got three plants. I think grasshoppers killed the seedlings as soon as they emerged. I saved seeds from two of the survivors. This year, I don't think I lost a single seedling. I've still got grasshoppers year around. I can't say with any certainty that I'm growing lettuce that's inherited a bad taste for grasshoppers, but I hope that's the case. As for your seed saving: You should do an announcement video and then have an Ebay auction of your surplus. You might be surprised at the results.
Wow, that is interesting!
I hope that you can start a seed bank!
perhaps, one day
Mylar bag the saved seeds with oxygen pack and place them on a shelf, they will last for over a decade this way with over a 50 percent germination rate after 10 years.
I just invested in some mylar bags so will give it a try. I was wondering about the oxygen absorbers with the living seeds. I had thought the the seeds need a very tiny amount of oxygen to stay 'alive' in dormancy, but perhaps that is wrong. Do you know of any research on this, where someone has compared with and without oxygen absorbers?
Now you have me thinking, that I should store the same supply of seeds in a few different ways, and come back in 5-10 years and see how they compare for germination. Wish I had thought of that 5-10 years ago!
Edit: I did a bit of googling and found an article about removing oxygen being very beneficial for seed saving, so thanks for the tip.
phys.org/news/2014-07-seeds-vital-longer-oxygen.html
Have you thought of hosting an annual seed swap day at the start of the seed sowing season? Getting touch with like minded individuals and concentrating on fewer varieties and having agreements with others to produce different seeds would enhance community and make the job easier wouldn't it?
There is a seed swap organised by some friends in our community in the past, but I am not sure if that is going to happen again this season. I am a bit concerned about the quality of some of the seeds because I don't think many people have the knowledge or skills to prevent cross pollinated, or to ensure diverse enough genetics to really maintain the resilience of the variety. I still think that seed swaps are great in general, but I guess I am hesitant of getting seeds from them.
@@REDGardens Sounds like a great opportunity for a video "How to maintain genetics whilst saving seed" as you're in the E.U. I suspect a great number of your European viewers could participate, I as a UK resident I unfortunately can't. You could possibly assign varieties to interested viewers in the comments section, make sure a checklist is followed and get them to post to you in exchange for a collection of say 10 (or more) seed returned in a self addressed envelope. If I was able to I would do this. (Anything like tjis in the UK?)
Seed saving has always been a problem for me as letting the plants mature to seed-stage takes up space and precludes replanting a second crop. So many decisions to be made each year!
That is one of the key issues with seed saving. I now have a dedicated separate bed for things like seed saving.
We would love to have you join us on tomatojunction. We do seed swaps each year.
Sounds interesting, and great there are forums like that out there. I barely keep up with the comments and emails I get on this channel, so unfortunately participating in another forum seem quite out of reach for me these days.
Great video as always! Ive been delving into the realm of seed saving these last few years, mainly with legumes and perennial crops. Most of my beans i grow for drying rather than as fresh, so seed saving doesnt impact those crops or their management as much. One concern i do have with other plants is that unless i can specialise a rather large area of my small growing space i worry i wont have the genetic diversity needed to sustain a resilient and healthy population. Collecting seeds from only one plant is quite a bottleneck, where as many books on the subject often recommend unreasonable quantities to ensure a healthy line.
I definitely agree with the core concepts of seed sovereignty and the need for genetic diversity, but do wonder if this is actually viable on a small garden or allotment scale. In the ideal world there would be a range of local small scale seed saving companies (akin to the great work being done at Real Seeds) who could then specialise and be able to divert the necessary time and resources to making sure the quality of seed is high. On a farm scale (which historically speaking most seed saving was done on) its much easier to have that genetic breadth, and with larger gaps between varieties cross pollination is not so much an issue.
A great example to look into is the YQ wheat being grown an Wakelyms farm. They have grown a group of wheats dispersed together in order to create not only a high genetic gene pool, but also to add extra resilience to the crop and to promote adaptation to the farms specific environment. Seed saving seems to be such a deep and interesting topic, and im sure im still only dipping my toes in at the kids end!
I share your concerns about having enough of a space to maintain the genetic diversity of the variety, to avoid the bottleneck that you mention. With some of the trolly self pollination plants it is apparently not really an issue, but I still don't like the idea of picking from one plant.
I agree that seed saving, and seed sovereignty needs to be seen as both a personal and collective/focused endeavour. Some seeds it is fine for people to save their own, but there are so many types of vegetables that need to be managed carefully in order to maintain the benefits of the variety.
I have grown small patches of wheat in the past, with seeds that my baker friend got, that contains a similarly diverse range of varieties, with the aim of establishing a local resilient population. Interesting stuff, but I forgot to devote space to growing wheat this year.
12:22 winnowing 2022 :-)
Haha!
Saving seeds is amazing and important, but one thing that really rocks is the ability of your seeds to carry over adapted traits of your very specific area/plot, climate, micro-climate, soil, schedule etc. So by saving your own, you are improving them for your very own unique set of conditions. Apparently it happens over as little as 2 or 3 generations, for a lot of these seeds.
As for surplus, I don't agree with discarding so much. We share, trade and educate with those (where you are sure the seeds are genetically 'clean').
Do you donate excess?
I pass seed around to friends and neighbours.
Great Video. Your tomato seed process seems very elaborated. I separate the seeds on paper towels and let them dry. I store these sheets. For planting, I cut out the seed and plant including the paper. Btw. You pushed me over the line to not to save more seeds. Exceptionally, I will save some tomato and a hard to get fava bean.
The paper towel method definitely sounds easier. If I was just doing a few seeds from one variety it would probably make a lot mores sense.
Why not sell/trade/give away the extra seeds?
I am hesitant because of the extra work and things to keep track of, which I definitely don't need, but I think I have found a useful way to distribute extra to people in my community.
@@REDGardens giveaway to hkjr subscribers 😂
@@fpsninja1 'Hong Kong Journal of Radiology' ?
@@REDGardens lol I'm not sure if that's a general joke or if you've figured out my profession 😂
@@REDGardens but I meant your* subscribers
Kept in a cool, dark and dry place seeds can be viable for many years. I'd done a couple tests on old seeds, and found good/excellent germination rates even after 6 years. I store mine at the back of my fridge as I have the space.
I had a load of old seed that completely failed to germinate, so I am keen to store them a lot better. The fridge is a good option.
@@REDGardens Some people freeze theirs. I've never tried the freezer, but I vlogged a few germination tests of old refrigerated seeds.
I don't bother with the fermentation of tomato seeds.
I just rub them in a sieve with a spoon to get out most of the liquid, spread them on parchment paper and let them dry.
They get off fairly easily by just bending the paper. To separate the seeds, rub them between your hands.
This works decent enough so I don't see a reason to go through the hassle of fermenting them.
Not good for sharing them though as people expect clean seeds.
That doe sound like an easy option. I have heard of other people using kitchen paper and simply cutting a piece of it with the seed on it and planting the paper with seed attached. Not sure if this would work with all seeds, or with parchment paper, but perhaps worth a try.
@@REDGardens I also save pumpkin seeds that way.
The only other seeds I save are pepper/chili and those just need to dry so I don't know about other seeds.
I've heard about the kitchen paper method too but I'm happy with my method so I never tried it.
You're only human, after all.
Love your content.
Thank you!
Having too many seeds is such a good problem to have. You can set up an Etsy shop and sell them! Then it would also solve some of the problems you had as far as Brexit is concerned for other Irish gardeners.
Yeah it is worth looking into. I think this season passing them around locally will be enough, and easier for now, but a wider distribution could be an option in the future.
You could also donate some seeds to schools to introduce to children the wonders of seeds and gardening...
There have been a few gardening projects in the local schools, but seeds weren't the missing factor. Unfortunately there didn't seem to consistently be someone there to help with the sowing and care of the plants.
You could consider selling some seeds and I'm sure many will be interested to buy and support your efforts
I will probably sell some to friends and neighbours, as an extension of my honesty fridge that I use to distribute the vegetables that I produce. I am keen to limit the extra work I need to do, but if I keep saving seeds then direct selling may be an option.
I'm the flash
so fast!
Nice even if they cross you could end up with something great
I could end up with something great, but also possibly a fair amount of disappointment.
Have you thought of donating your seeds to a local university, school, or library?
No, I haven't. There are very few food growing projects around here, just not the interest or the people with the time and focus to manage them. There have been small projects starting, which all seemed to struggle and falter, and not because of lack of seeds. If that changes, and I continue to have abundance, then it might be an option.
Save seed only from the most appealing vegetables that grow
Good guideline.
Huh, I would think your excess seeds would be a reward or perk for those supporting your efforts like on patreon or one of the other ways your monetizing your efforts. Hell, I bet you could create garden starter sets from your excess, possibly giiving you a reward or another income stream. Just a thought on how you can make lemonade with your lemons.
Yeah, that is an interesting idea. My main issue is lack of time to even post regular videos. Will need to change something to have enough time to manage sending out seeds and stuff like that.
Send some to Patreon members
That is a possibility.
Eat some of these seeds
Definitely the bean seeds!
Your subscribers could buy seeds perhaps ? I would ! (EU so i think it’s ok)
At the moment I can probably sell/gift most of the surplus to my neighbours and friends, but that is an idea for the future.
Just throw excess seeds into a big box with labels on.
Most seeds stay good enough for over a decade, so if you want to grow those again in the future you just need to over sow.
I used that strategy with the pea seeds, and not a single one germinated when I tested hundreds after 10 years, so very variable success with that approach.
@@REDGardens haha, fair enough. I guess it depends a lot on the plant.