Why save your own seed: heirlooms and hybrids

In short

• Save seed only from open-pollinated varieties: heirloom, local and well-adapted ones. Seed from hybrids (F1) does not give the same plant.
• The easiest start is beans, peas, tomatoes, lettuce and peppers: they are self-pollinating and annual.
• Squash, cucumbers, cabbage, carrots, onions and maize cross with other varieties. They need distance or hand pollination.
• Take seed from several plants, not one. Otherwise the variety weakens within a few years.
• Choose the best plants all season, not just the finest fruit in August. That way the variety suits your holding better year after year.
• Your own seed doesn't mean you never buy again. Hybrids and certified seed have their place in the garden.

What's inside

Chapters

1. What your own seed gives you
2. Variety, population and hybrid
3. Why hybrid seed doesn't come true
4. How plants are pollinated
5. Diversity: why not seed from one plant
6. Selection on your own holding
7. Start small: the first five crops
8. Heirloom varieties to look for
9. How much seed a family needs
10. The seed saver's year: how it fits the garden
11. Common mistakes
12. Printable checklist

Worksheets

• Seed saver's calendar
• Varieties in the house and in the area
• Seed calculator
• First-year plan
• Questionnaire for older growers