Seed Saving
What seeds do I save?
Open-pollinated seeds come from plants fertilized by natural methods like pollinator insects, birds, rain, and wind.
This variation leads to genetic diversity, which allows the seeds to gradually adapt to the local climate.
Heirloom seeds will always produce offspring true to their parent plant so you can save your seeds to grow next year.
some plants may cross-pollinate - cucumbers are a good example. They may need a kilometre between varieties
When do I harvest them?
For dry seeds like peas, beans, lettuce, and grains, simply harvest once the seeds are hard and dry. For peas and beans, you'll know when they're ready if they rattle in the seed pod when shaken.
Ensure seeds are dry
For most wet seeds—like seeds in tomatoes, cucumber, squash, capsicum, zucchini, and eggplant—you should wait until the crops are overripe before you save the seeds.
Pumpkins and capsicum will deliver viable seeds once they're at normal harvesting ripeness
Tomatoes
tomato seeds benefit from fermentation before drying. Fermenting your tomato seeds will break down compounds on the seed that hinder germination when planted.
To ferment your tomato seeds, choose fruits from your healthiest plants, cut them in half, and squeeze out the seeds and pulp into a glass jar. Add water to cover the mixture of pulp and seeds. Place the jar out of the sun for about three to five days
How do I store seeds?
initially I use brown paper bags to allow them to breathe and then dry fully.
I then add them to containers, with the name of the seed, and harvest date
I store seeds in an esky in the garage. A fridge works well too!
Some seeds will have short shelf life
Spring Seed Swap
Seed Swaps aren't really an innovative idea!. Gardeners have been doing it for lots of years. But in these tough times, and with new generations looking to take control of their food security, the movement is taking on new momentum.
The emphasis for this Swap will be on edibles for Spring planting - but can include seeds saved during winter to be planted next year, flowering plants that could act as pollinators, rhizomes or tubers, potted plants or cuttings.
How does it work:
You'll arrive at Jack's Paddock Yeppoon before 3 pm, armed with any of the following - seeds, labelled potted plants and/or cuttings
The tables will be organised with boxes so that the seeds can be displayed alphabetically
You'll place your seeds out, checking what else is there as you go.
As close to 3 pm as possible, the Swap will be open, for you to jump in and take what you need.
Then you can mingle with gardeners, and share ideas, and information about your seeds or growing generally. Bring a thermos of hot water and cup to linger longer.
Labelling seeds is critical. One of the critical bits of information is the "From the garden of" section. It allows Swappers to find the source of the seed and to get additional information.
The template for the label on the left is available here. It's an A4 page that provides 9 labels. Use a glue stick to attach the labels to a seed envelope.
Putting together seed packets can be tedious.
If you'd prefer, you can bring your seeds in bulk, and allow Swappers to do the packaging. You take home whatever is left.
Note: All Swappers should bring envelopes, ziplock bags, brown paper bags or small jars to be able to take seeds home from "bulk" containers. DOn't forget a pen to create labels before you forget what you've taken.
We'll welcome experiences swappers, and new gardeners who want to give growing from seed a try.