Connecting Seed Savers groups located in Australia
In the context of volunteer groups, like seed saving groups, effective meetings don’t just get the work done they also meet the social needs of those attending. People volunteer for lots of different reasons but having meetings that are pleasant…
One of the many ways to introduce new people to seed saving is through workshops. But developing workshop materials can be lots of work. To help everyone that wants to share the wonderful activity of seed saving for vegetables we…
All seed saving groups are driven by volunteers. Without them the groups fail. So we should consider ourselves and the other volunteers as even more important than the seeds themselves. First look after yourself when volunteering Organise your time. Time…
The welfare of everyone involved in Seed Saving group activities is important to all of us. One of the main ways to ensure everyone’s welfare is to build a safety conscious attitude into the culture of your group. People are…
Winnowing is more usually considered part of the dry process of separating and cleaning seeds from the remains of the plant material that they grew on – this includes the surrounding pods, fruits and enclosing plant material like stems and…
Many seeds require changes in light levels to start their internal germination chemical processes. This frequently happens when soil is moved around or over shadowing plants die back during cold periods or even fires – or for example are exposed…
This is a general collection of germination temperatures collated and compared from a range of sources including books and online references. It covers some of the more common plants grown in home gardens. Accuracy is highly variable based on a…
Seed Saving and sharing information about seeds and growing plants is not a new thing – it is deeply part of Human history. There are many ways to get information about seed saving. This may include books, research papers, podcasts,…
Seed Storage Storing Seeds Seeds are small packages of life containing the embryo of a new plant, along with everything it needs to germinate and begin life. Although they seem dead, seeds are only dormant, still alive and breathing within…
It is important that seed be dry before storage. By this we mean not just touch dry on the outside but that the internal moisture content is also low. Why is this important? There are three main reasons we care…
Post harvest processing, cleaning and sorting Separating the seeds from plants usually falls into two types of processing techniques: Some fruits and the seeds that are inside them will continue to ripen after being removed from the plant once they…
Harvesting techniques and tips Harvesting seeds to save is a simple and fun activity, although a bit of patience is required to ensure that the best seeds are harvested at the best time. To ensure you harvest seeds that will…
To ensure the seed we save produces what we expect it to we first need to understand the reproductive method used by the variety we’re planning to save seed from. [More detail on reproductive methods is here] If we are growing…
All across our suburbs and cities people are growing food in backyards and community gardens. Urban agriculture is an increasingly popular phenomenon and aside from helping with food security and environmental protection by reducing food miles and helping us feed…
Beginning in the tropics when it comes to growing food and saving seeds, can bevery different for some people, especially when they have moved here from downsouth when colder climates dictate what is best to grow and what isn’t. The…
Botanical name (Genus species): Pisum sativumAlso known as: Snow peas, snap peas, podding peas, shelling peas, dwarf or bush peas, climbing peas. Planting: What do we need to know before planting for seed production? Pollination method: Peas are self-pollinating. Their flowers never…
Botanical name (Genus species): Lactuca sativa Planting: What do we need to know before planting for seed production? Pollination method: Lettuce is self-pollinating so we don’t need to do anything to ensure that the seed produced will be true-to-type. Isolation distance: Try to…
Botanical name: Phaseolus species; Vicia species; Vigna species; Glycine species. Also known as: French beans, climbing beans, bush or dwarf beans; Runner beans; Tepary beans; Lima beans; Snake or yardlong beans; Cowpeas or Black-eyed beans/peas; Adzuki beans; Mung beans; Soybeans and Broadbeans. Planting: What do we need to know…
Botanical name (Genus species): Solanum lycopersicum Planting: What do we need to know before planting for seed production? Generally you don’t need to think too much before planting tomatoes for seed production. Just choose a variety that you like and that…
Seed saving is the practices and culture of selecting, harvesting, cleaning and storing seed for planting in future seasons. It is a millenia-old partnership between people and plants which is an essential part of agriculture. By selecting, harvesting and replanting…
To be successful seed savers it can be helpful to know some basics of plant botany. In order to ensure that the collected seed will produce true-to-type offspring we first need to make sure we know what plant we are…