How To Save Seeds From Your Garden

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One of the most joyous feelings for a gardener is to see that first ripe pepper o tomato on the vine. Excitement boils over, as you can’t wait to taste the fruits of your labor.

But if you’re planning to save seeds from this year’s harvest, the smartest thing to do is to let that tomato or pepper or squash or cucumber ripen to the point of near bursting. That first-to-ripen fruit or vegetable is the earliest product of the hardiest plant and that’s exactly the seed you want to save for next year’s garden. That first-to-ripen seed will produce the most robust plant, able to survive pest attacks and weather extremes better than its brothers and sisters.

My saved and leftover packet seeds are stored in mason jars to be used next season

If you’re saving seeds from a flower, find the best looking plant – sturdy, beautiful foliage and flower, best color, best growth pattern  – and harvest the seeds from that specimen.

The seed saving methods for individual plants are considerably different. If you’re saving seeds from a plant more complex than beans or peppers (open fruit, pull out the seed, let it dry), it’s worth your while to spend a little time researching the techniques specific to the seeds you want to save. The book that introduced me to seed saving and one I highly recommend is:  Saving Seeds: The Gardener’s Guide to Growing and Storing Vegetable and Flower Seeds. There’s also some excellent information from the International Seed Saving Institute.

Preparing the seeds for storing

Once you’ve harvested the seeds, allow them to dry for a few days at room temperature on a paper towel or newspaper. Do not store them damp, as they’ll rot. Then put the seeds in a standard white paper envelope, roll the top down and mark the envelope with very specific information: The plant the seed came from, including specific cultivar if known; date it bloomed or fruited; company that produced the seed; and the month and year you harvested the seed.

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Planting a Pineapple

Did you know that when you buy a pineapple, you can do more than compost the top (also known as the crown)? You can actually plant it to get two (or even three or four) pineapples for the price of one! Okay, the catch is that it takes patience, but at least while you’re waiting for your very own pineapple to grow, you’ll have a lovely tropical plant for your garden or sun room. Want to know how? It’s easier than you’d think.

First, you pick a fresh, whole pineapple up at the store (or farmer’s market, if you’re lucky enough to have someone growing pineapples nearby). Make sure the crown is green, healthy and that the pineapple isn’t overripe.

Next, you will twist off or cut off the crown. Make sure to trim off any additional flesh, leaving only the center and it’s root buds. You’ll also want to remove some of the bottom most leaves because, once planted, the leaves that are partially in dirt or touching the dirt will rot. Then place the crown upside down to dry in an area where the temperature does not fluctuate wildly. Leave it to dry for 5 – 7 days.

Once dry, you can plant your pineapple. Use a good quality potting soil and plant in a pot or, if you’re in a temperate climate, you can plant it outside. Make sure to give it some room to grow. These plants can grow up to 6 feet wide. It can take up to 20 months for your plant to produce fruit, but imagine how exciting it will be to make that first harvest!

Further reading: University of Hawaii – How to Grow a Pineapple in Your Home

(Image: Flickr member MartinEric2008 licensed for user under Creative Commons)

No-Mow Grass

Ive Haugeland and Tyler Manchuck, of Shades of Green Landscape Architecture in Sausalito, Calif., spend many hours researching, debating the pros and cons of different products, asking questions, and working with sustainable manufacturers to provide landscapes that are not a posh-type green project, but rather areas that truly benefit the environment. Shades of Green used a newly completed residence in Sausalito as an experimental project in which to introduce new, sustainable grass seed. “The no-mow lawn uses a blend of fescue. It takes way less water and you only need to cut it once a year,” says Haugeland.

Native Lawns

Read more about Shades of Green Landscape Architecture’s sustainable landscape design concepts.

According to Haugeland, “There are a lot more native lawns available on the market now. For example, Delta Bluegrass is producing several new different types. We started incorporating some of them into our design projects last year. The new grasses haven’t been problem free for us, so we are monitoring the projects to see if they hopefully do well over time.”

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