Saving Seeds from Your Garden

Article by: Kathy Anderson

For many gardeners, the garden , The Magic Plant Copier actually begins in January when the first seed , 'Blushing Bride' Hydrangea (PPAF) catalog arrives in the mailbox. While the cold , Transplanting Deciduous Shrubs wind howls outside, , The Perfect Fern for Shady Gardens we retire to a cozy chair , Growing and Harvesting Dill and leaf through the catalog, carefully notating which varieties of lettuce and tomatoes , Outdoor Living Cleanses The Mind, Body, and Spirit to try and wishing we had the space to plant , Rose Success each and every flower , Rose Success so artfully displayed on its pages.

But have you ever wondered where your great-grandparents acquired the seeds , Rose Success for their gardens, , Growing and Harvesting Dill before there were seed , Home and Garden Decor catalogs and fancy garden , The Perfect Fern for Shady s centers?

They saved seeds , Creative Ideas For Beautiful Garden Art for the next year from their own gardens! , Home for a Gnome?

Saving seeds , Rugged Outdoor Elegance: All Weather Indoor / Outdoor Rugs from your own flowers , Compost Tea – Tea Time For Your Garden or vegetables , Orchid Care - What The Leaves Tell Us is a wonderful way to fully experience the cycle of plant , Seeding Your Lawn, Laid Bare growth. It's also much less expensive than buying seeds , Creative Ideas For Beautiful Garden Art each spring, , 5 Simple Steps to Care For Your Push Reel Mower and seeds , Rose Success saved from your plants , Is it Really Teak Wood? Caveat Emptor! (Part One) will be well suited to the peculiarities of your own garden's growing , Is it Really Teak Wood? Caveat Emptor! (Part One) conditions. Not only that, it's also quite a simple process.

Save seeds , Growing and Harvesting Dill only from vigorous, healthy , Hibiscus Tea plants. Some plant , Take Another Look at Those Wild Surreptitious Weeds diseases may be harbored in the seed , How To Build A Patio Cover where it will then be passed on to the next generation of plants. , Pesticides So don't save seeds , Growing and Harvesting Dill from a plant , Seeding Your Lawn, Laid Bare that is obviously diseased or has struggled all season. , Take Another Look at Those Wild Surreptitious Weeds Collect seeds , Growing and Harvesting Dill from the plants , Rugged Outdoor Elegance: All Weather Indoor / Outdoor Rugs that have the characteristics you desire, such as height, hardiness, early or late ripening, flavor or vigor.

It is not recommended to save seeds , Hibiscus Tea from hybrid plants. , Growing Organic! Herbs, Flowers and Fruit Hybrids are the result of crossing two genetically different parent plants, , Is it Really Teak Wood? Caveat Emptor! (Part One) 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 , Growing and Harvesting Rose Hips grown from seed , Choosing Gardening Tools saved from an F1 plant , Flower Garden in Urban Environment tend to randomly revert to the characteristics of the original inbred ancestor plants. , Vegetable Growing for Beginners

Plants that are not hybrids are referred to as open pollinated. Many seed , Garden Gazebo - A Stunning Addition to any Landscape catalogs will identify which of their seeds , Online Flower Shops are hybrids or open pollinated. If you intend to save , Understanding Houseplants your own seed, , You Can't Beat Perennials For Glorious Color All Season Long always start with open pollinated seeds. , Rugged Outdoor Elegance: All Weather Indoor / Outdoor Rugs Some of these may also be identified as heirloom seeds. , ing Your Lawn, Laid Bare 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 , Gardening With Climbing Roses which have a different genetic makeup than that of the parent plant. , Green Thumb Gifts: Beyond Gardening Gloves Pumpkins, squash and small gourds may cross pollinate with each other, resulting in seeds , ing Your Lawn, Laid Bare that will grow , ing and Harvesting Rose Hips to produce rather picturesque fruit. , Fence Companies Sweet corn , Basics of Landscaping will cross pollinate with field corn , Myths About Lawns 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, , Gardening With Climbing Roses are wind-pollinated and the pollen can travel great distances. These plants , Online Flower Shops must be pollinated by hand and kept isolated from other varieties of their species. This can be done with corn, , The Perfect Yellow Roses for Your Home or Garden 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 , Why Teak Coffee Tables Are Essential For Your Outdoor Space or its healthy , Lawn Mower Guide - How to Prepare your Lawn Mower for the Season neighbors.

Seeds should be collected on a dry, sunny day. Frost doesn't hurt most seed , Is it Really Teak Wood? Caveat Emptor! (Part One) as long as the seed , The Perfect Yellow Roses for Your Home or Garden remains dry. Vegetables , Outdoor Living Cleanses The Mind, Body, and Spirit such as cucumbers, peppers , Hibiscus Tea and tomatoes , Growing Organic! Herbs, Flowers and Fruit should be allowed to become slightly overripe before their seeds , Garden Gazebo - A Stunning Addition to any Landscape are collected. Flower , You Can't Beat Perennials For Glorious Color All Season Long seeds and vegetable seed , Lawn Mower Guide - How to Prepare your Lawn Mower for the Season 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 , The Perfect Yellow Roses for Your Home or Garden too long.

Cucumber, squash and tomato seeds , Outdoor Living Cleanses The Mind, Body, and Spirit need an additional step before they are ready for storage. First the seeds , US State Flags must be separated from the pulp, then dried. Scoop the seeds , Basics of Landscaping from these vegetables, , Why Patio Benches are a Great Place to Relax and Enjoy pulp and all. Place , The Magic Plant Copier the whole mess in a container of water , Dream Yard and give it a good stir, then let it settle a bit. The pulp will rise to the top while the seeds , The Magic Plant Copier 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 , Pesticides and set them on newspapers to dry.

Seeds should go into storage as dry as possible. Give all seed , The Perfect Yellow Roses for Your Home or Garden 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 , Basics of Landscaping while they dry.

It's very important to keep the seed , Lawn Mower Guide - How to Prepare your Lawn Mower for the Season dry during storage. Store your dry seeds , The Magic Plant Copier in tightly sealed jars, metal , Myths About Lawns film containers, or old vitamin bottles. To save , Garden Gazebo - A Stunning Addition to any Landscape space, smaller quantities of several varieties of seeds , Starting lings Indoors can be stored in separate envelopes inside , Choosing Gardening Tools a jar. A cool, but never freezing, garage, , Outdoor Living Cleanses The Mind, Body, and Spirit closed-off spare room , Basics of Landscaping or cool basement , Water Lilies - How and When to Divide and Fertilize can all be good places , Seeding Your Lawn, Laid Bare for storing seeds. , Online Flower Shops Or simply keep your sealed jars of seeds , Compost Tea – Tea Time For Your Garden in the refrigerator. Temperatures , Home and Garden Decor between 32 and 41 degrees Fahrenheit are ideal.

Be sure to label your jars and envelopes so when spring , Growing an Indoor Herb Garden Year-Round comes around again you'll know which flower , Orchid Care - What The Leaves Tell Us seeds and vegetable seeds , Fence Companies you're planting, and include the date the seeds , Why Patio Benches are a Great Place to Relax and Enjoy were collected. Some seeds , Myths About Lawns will remain viable for several years, but most will grow , ing and Harvesting Dill best if planted right away the following spring. , Flower Garden in Urban Environment

Try saving some vegetable , Transplanting Deciduous Shrubs or flower , Creative Ideas For Beautiful Garden Art seeds from your garden , Shade ing When You Have No Shade this year and grow , How To Build A Patio Cover them next season. , Seeding Your Lawn, Laid Bare This endless cycle can allow you to realize the endless joy of gardening , 'Blushing Bride' Hydrangea (PPAF) through all the seasons , Choosing Gardening Tools and all the stages of a plant's life.

Kathy Anderson has been an avid gardener for many years and has grown tomatoes , Keeping Houseplants Alive During Summer Vacation Droughts by the acre, along with many other vegetables, , Rose Success flowers , You Can't Beat Perennials For Glorious Color All Season Long and landscape , Outdoor Living Cleanses The Mind, Body, and Spirit plants. Kathy recommends http://www.freeplants.com as a great place , Gardening With Climbing Roses to learn more about gardening. , Growing and Harvesting Dill Article provided by http://gardening-articles.com.

What's Inside
Rugged Outdoor Elegance: All Weather Indoor / Outdoor Rugs - Remember When . . .In the not too distant past, the words "outdoor rug" referred to something like a small patch of Astroturf that one placed out on the p...
Annuals For Shade - Getting color , Caring For Bamboo in shaded areas can be a challenge. Annuals , Tillers - How to Find the Right Tiller for the Job can provide that bit of color , How to Grow Bananas with a long bloom time. Most annuals , Trends and Styles of Patio Furniture do best in full sun, , How to Choose the Best Lighting for Your Greenhouse however there is a good selection of shade loving plants. , Volumetric Concrete Mixer Shade annuals , Create and Furnish Your Outdoor Room are great for those spots...
Birdbaths - Giving a little clean, cool water , How To Choose The Right Lawnmower For Your Garden Lawn to the birds , Guide To Growing Annuals is considered a kindness towards birds; sometimes fresh water , Garden for Birds #4 can be one of the hardest necessities for birds , Sheds to come by. Watching birds , Hydroponics Gardening verses Organic Gardening: Which Grows the Best Cannabis? at the birdbath also brings lots of happiness to the onlooker....
Home Landscaping Etiquette - Is it important to mind your p’s and q’s when you are landscaping , Your Garden and Adding Value to Your Home or grooming your property? You bet, as there is nothing worse than starting a neighborhood feud. You need to create your landscape , Cornus Mas 'Golden Glory' your way, but a little etiquette will make the f...
Palm Tree Lamps - There is nothing more attractive than a cluster of lighted palm trees. , Texas Drought Well Documented in the Past The cool glow will immediately lend a dramatic effect to a summer garden , Texas Drought Well Documented in the Past party and will relax and put your guests in a partying mode. Palm tree , You Take The Vacation - Not Your Garden lamps add glow to your interior...
Winter Gardening Looking Towards Spring - Ok, the title "winter gardening" might be a tad bit misleading. I am not suggesting that you actually garden , Caring for Your Furniture during the winter , How to Choose the Most Economical Pond Pump but you should be using this time to plan , Caring for Your Water Garden Pond your upcoming garden. , Patio Gazebos - Add Some Intrigue to Your Patio As you look out at your yard , Teak Adirondack Chairs and garden , Using Plants To Make Us Happier area during th...
Tulip Bulbs - Fall is the Time to Prepare the Perfect Spring Flower Garden - When the air , The Use of Color in Your Landscape begins to get cooler, and the leaves start to fall , How Savvy Gardeners Use Mulch To Make Garden Work Easier from the trees, , Lawn Tractors - Buying the Right One most people immediately think of storing the gardening , Wind Chimes Soothe The Soul supplies for the winter , Growing Palms and getting ready to bundle up. But Wait! Before packing away your gardening , Pine Furniture Care Guide equipment,...
Step by Step 'Leaf' Stepping Stones - This is a simple to do project that will get you fantastic compliments. You will be asked to “make some for me please”. When you hear that you know you did it right!Getting started.. You will need your usual cement, sand , A Leaf Blower Has More Uses Than You Think and water. , Which of the Hundreds of Tomato Varieties Should I Plant? Or...
Japanese Gardens - Basic Design Questions That Should Be Addressed - As westerners, we are often compelled to try to control and plan , Deer Ticks all design , Vacation Proofing your Garden aspects of what we want when constructing something. We try to anticipate every little detail so we don't make a mistake. Although you will still need to organize and draw...

Saving Seeds from Your Garden

Landscape Gardening

Seasonal Gardening