Saving Seeds from Your Garden

Article by: Kathy Anderson

For many gardeners, the garden , Ponds actually begins in January when the first seed , Planning Your Flower Garden catalog arrives in the mailbox. While the cold , Planting Bare Root Roses wind howls outside, , Indoor Waterfalls we retire to a cozy chair , Understanding Weeds - But mostly How to Kill 'em and leaf through the catalog, carefully notating which varieties of lettuce and tomatoes , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness to try and wishing we had the space to plant , Easy Concrete Pavers each and every flower , Seeding s Indoors: An Inexpensive Way to a Beautiful Summer Garden so artfully displayed on its pages.

But have you ever wondered where your great-grandparents acquired the seeds , Choosing a Pond Liner – EPDM liners are the optimal choice for their gardens, , Wild Flower - Yours to Design and Plan before there were seed , Balcony, Patio, and Courtyard Gardening catalogs and fancy garden , Planning Your Flower centers?

They saved seeds , Gardening Using Trees and Shrubs with Scent in Mind for the next year from their own gardens! , Stump Grinders - Use Stump Grinders Safely!

Saving seeds , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (part 8) History from your own flowers , Using Plants To Make Us Happier or vegetables , An Introduction to Bonsai Maple Trees is a wonderful way to fully experience the cycle of plant , Preserving Dried Flowers- Few Tips for Best Results growth. It's also much less expensive than buying seeds , Spring Flowers each spring, , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness and seeds , Like Fall Flowers - A Tip To Care For Your Winter Garden Pond saved from your plants , Weathervanes - Monitor your Wind Direction with Beauty! will be well suited to the peculiarities of your own garden's growing , Controlling House Plant Pests conditions. Not only that, it's also quite a simple process.

Save seeds , Marjoram: The Herb of Happiness only from vigorous, healthy , Deck Swing Buying and Assembling Tips plants. Some plant , Garden Gnomes Inspire Cult Following Worldwide diseases may be harbored in the seed , ing Flowers Indoors: An Inexpensive Way to a Beautiful Summer Garden where it will then be passed on to the next generation of plants. , Healing Aloe Vera s Are Easy To Grow and Provide Health Benefits So don't save seeds , Wild Flower Garden - Yours to Design and Plan from a plant , Easy Concrete Pavers that is obviously diseased or has struggled all season. , Understanding Weeds - But mostly How to Kill 'em Collect seeds , Lawn Furniture from the plants , Using s To Make Us Happier that have the characteristics you desire, such as height, hardiness, early or late ripening, flavor or vigor.

It is not recommended to save seeds , The Garden As Healer from hybrid plants. , Preserving Dried Flowers- Few Tips for Best Results Hybrids are the result of crossing two genetically different parent plants, , Balcony, Patio, and Courtyard Gardening both of which have been severely inbred to concentrate the desirable characteristics. The first generation, referred to as an F1 hybrid, is superior to the parents. But succeeding generations of plants , Preliminary Considerations Before Building Your Own Backyard Garden Pond grown from seed , How to Find and Work With a Porch Swing Contractor To Install the Porch Swing of Your Dreams saved from an F1 plant , Spring Flowers tend to randomly revert to the characteristics of the original inbred ancestor plants. , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (part 8) History

Plants that are not hybrids are referred to as open pollinated. Many seed , Using Plants To Make Us Happier catalogs will identify which of their seeds , Mint: The Herb of Hospitality are hybrids or open pollinated. If you intend to save , Preserving Dried Flowers- Few Tips for Best Results your own seed, , Garden Sheds: Wood Finishing and Weatherproofing Tips always start with open pollinated seeds. , Easy Concrete Pavers Some of these may also be identified as heirloom seeds. , Decorative Stone Uses For Landscaping These heirloom varieties have been passed down for generations, often saved within one family for many years before becoming available to the general public.

Cross pollination is another concern for the seed-saving gardener. Cross pollination often results in seeds , Keep Your Bird Feeders Filled For The Spring Rush which have a different genetic makeup than that of the parent plant. , Garden Sheds: Wood Finishing and Weatherproofing Tips Pumpkins, squash and small gourds may cross pollinate with each other, resulting in seeds , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (part 8) History that will grow , Controlling House Plant Pests to produce rather picturesque fruit. , Weathervanes - Monitor your Wind Direction with Beauty! Sweet corn , Easy Concrete Pavers will cross pollinate with field corn , Mint: The Herb of Hospitality or popcorn, and your 6-inch marigolds will cross with your neighbor's 18-inch pompon marigolds. However, crossing will only occur within a species. Cucumbers won't cross with squash, and cosmos won't cross with pansies.

To avoid cross pollination, keep two varieties of the same species separated by as much space as possible. Some species, such as corn, , Park Benches - Making the Right Choice are wind-pollinated and the pollen can travel great distances. These plants , Have Fun and be Creative - Get the Look for Less must be pollinated by hand and kept isolated from other varieties of their species. This can be done with corn, , Preliminary Considerations Before Building Your Own Backyard Garden Pond for example, by tying a small paper bag over selected ears before the silk emerges, then once the silk has appeared it is hand pollinated with pollen from the same plant , Preliminary Considerations Before Building Your Own Backyard Garden Pond or its healthy , Landscaping - A Recreational Activity for Kids neighbors.

Seeds should be collected on a dry, sunny day. Frost doesn't hurt most seed , Spring Flowers as long as the seed , What to Feed Your Fish During Colder Winter Months remains dry. Vegetables , Mint: The Herb of Hospitality such as cucumbers, peppers , Growing Rare Fruits for Fun or Profit and tomatoes , Park Benches - Making the Right Choice should be allowed to become slightly overripe before their seeds , Weathervanes - Monitor your Wind Direction with Beauty! are collected. Flower , How to Find and Work With a Porch Swing Contractor To Install the Porch Swing of Your Dreams seeds and vegetable seed , Healing Aloe Vera Plants Are Easy To Grow and Provide Health Benefits such as lettuce should be collected after the seedheads have become dry, but don't wait too long, as many will shatter, meaning they'll be dropped from the seedpod or seedhead if they remain on the plant , An Introduction to Bonsai Maple Trees too long.

Cucumber, squash and tomato seeds , Decorating Outdoor Decks and Patios With Themes need an additional step before they are ready for storage. First the seeds , Lawn Furniture must be separated from the pulp, then dried. Scoop the seeds , What to Feed Your Fish During Colder Winter Months from these vegetables, , The MorrowPond Garden - Soil Management pulp and all. Place , Hydroponics Gardening - An Introduction To Hydroponics Gardening For Beginners (part 8) History the whole mess in a container of water , Using Plants To Make Us Happier and give it a good stir, then let it settle a bit. The pulp will rise to the top while the seeds , Waterfall Gardens will sink to the bottom. Carefully pour off the pulp, and repeat the process until most of the pulp has been poured off. Then strain out the seeds , Decorating Outdoor Decks and Patios With Themes and set them on newspapers to dry.

Seeds should go into storage as dry as possible. Give all seed , Keep Your Bird Feeders Filled For The Spring Rush a post-harvest drying period of at least a week, just to be sure they're dry. Spread them out on a paper plate or newspapers in a warm area out of the sun , Understanding Weeds - But mostly How to Kill 'em while they dry.

It's very important to keep the seed , Planning Your Flower Garden dry during storage. Store your dry seeds , Mint: The Herb of Hospitality in tightly sealed jars, metal , Planning Your Flower Garden film containers, or old vitamin bottles. To save , Landscaping - A Recreational Activity for Kids space, smaller quantities of several varieties of seeds , ing Flowers Indoors: An Inexpensive Way to a Beautiful Summer Garden can be stored in separate envelopes inside , Growing Rare Fruits for Fun or Profit a jar. A cool, but never freezing, garage, , What to Feed Your Fish During Colder Winter Months closed-off spare room , Spring Flowers or cool basement , Deck Swing Buying and Assembling Tips can all be good places , Decorating Outdoor Decks and Patios With Themes for storing seeds. , Garden Gnomes Inspire Cult Following Worldwide Or simply keep your sealed jars of seeds , Planning Your Flower Garden in the refrigerator. Temperatures , Extreme Botany And The Glory of the Carnation between 32 and 41 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal.

Be sure to label your jars and envelopes so when spring , Preliminary Considerations Before Building Your Own Backyard Garden Pond comes around again you'll know which flower , Growing Rare Fruits for Fun or Profit seeds and vegetable seeds , Indoor Waterfalls you're planting, and include the date the seeds , Patio Cover Designs were collected. Some seeds , How to Pick Up the Most Necessary Gardening Tools? will remain viable for several years, but most will grow , Planning Your Flower Garden best if planted right away the following spring. , Keep Your Bird Feeders Filled For The Rush

Try saving some vegetable , Have Fun and be Creative - Get the Look for Less or flower , Garden Sheds: Wood Finishing and Weatherproofing Tips seeds from your garden , Choosing a Pond Liner – EPDM liners are the optimal choice this year and grow , Garden Gnomes Inspire Cult Following Worldwide them next season. , Like Fall Flowers - A Tip To Care For Your Winter Garden Pond This endless cycle can allow you to realize the endless joy of gardening , The Garden As Healer through all the seasons , Decorative Stone Uses For Landscaping and all the stages of a plant's life.

Kathy Anderson has been an avid gardener for many years and has grown tomatoes , Gardening Using Trees and Shrubs with Scent in Mind by the acre, along with many other vegetables, , Preserving Dried Flowers- Few Tips for Best Results flowers , Balcony, Patio, and Courtyard Gardening and landscape , Deck Swing Buying and Assembling Tips plants. Kathy recommends http://www.freeplants.com as a great place , Seeding Flowers Indoors: An Inexpensive Way to a Beautiful Summer Garden to learn more about gardening. , Choosing a Pond Liner – EPDM liners are the optimal choice Article provided by http://gardening-articles.com.

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Saving Seeds from Your Garden

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