Late summer harvest: a few hot peppers and some seeds. First time trying to save pole beans for next year. I'm a little worried because after de-podding them the beans don't look fully plump. #seedsaving #gardening

I’ve been a bit quiet on here, mainly due to trying to tame a third of an acre of wild and woolly #NorthYorkshire! In spite of our prime directive to first and foremost clear weeds and start a decent #compost system, I have managed to plant a bit ☺️

I’ve also been having a go at #SeedSaving these #HeritageVegetables, #pumpkins and #WinterSquash. #GardenOrganic’s Heritage Seed Library has been the source of some incredible veg for me over the last few years.

@gardening @plants
Gather round #potato nerds, I’ve got a little update on my quest to save and replant #TruePotatoSeed. (Gonna try to use this hashtag for later reference!)
This evening I harvested the berries from the potatoes growing in the meadow terraces. Those are the ones in the jar on the left! The jar on the right is all the berries from the two much larger patches in the garden. I don’t know what the difference is, but potatoes seem to absolutely love the terrace, so that’s where I’ll grow them next year.
The jar on the right was picked over the last several weeks, as the little green berries started coming loose from the plants. Some of them are starting to ripen! Second shot is a comparison photo of some just picked green berries next to some half ripe berries.
For this project, I’ve picked Cultivariable and Joseph Lofthouse as my two experts.
https://www.cultivariable.com/instructions/potatoes/how-to-grow-true-potato-seeds-tps/

https://lofthouse.com/botanical-potato-seed.phtml
Lofthouse has simpler, more down to earth explanations, and CV gives a much more comprehensive overlook of the process. What I’m gonna do next is leave them out until they get gross and squishy, squish out the insides, rinse off the pulp, and then ferment the slimy seed-water with a pinch of yeast and sugar.
At that point I’ll need to decide if I’ve done enough, like rough’n’ready Lofthouse, or if I want to do the optional bleach sterilization CV offers. I think at that point it becomes a philosophical decision: am I trying to grow out a bunch of plants to pick the best tubers to grow a whole crop from? Or am I just going to grow them out and harvest each year’s berries, to work on the whole genepool?
I don’t know! Any thoughts?
Ps Cultivariable says I should have upwards of 10,000 seeds there. I’m a little daunted!
#Gardening #SeedSaving

Was listening to the Native Plant Podcast this afternoon and they were interviewing someone from the Wild Seed Project, an organization based in Maine that's trying to help communities and local governments restore biodiversity through saving seed of native plants and then re-planting. More info here: https://wildseedproject.net/ #seedsaving #biodiversity #gardening

First harvest of the seed pods finally from my greens lets hope I timed it right as some of the ones that browned/dried out instead of were yellow green ended up molding due to the rains lately. #seeds #seedpods #gardening #plants #flora #beekeepingninja #greens #harvest #seedsaving

Processing marigold seeds with @NorCalResist in preparation to plant for October festivals (day of the dead, diwali, full moon harvest festivals) #marigold #marigoldsociety #seedsaving

Eating from the garden - sugar snap peas.

#FoodSovereignity
#SeedSaving

Random question but does anyone know when to collect seeds from red buckeye, (Aesculus pavia)? There's a ton of seed pods / fruits growing on them, but I'm not sure at what point they'll start falling...or what they'll even look like on the inside lol, like is it one seed? a bunch? I've got no clue!

#gardening #aesculus #buckeye #plants #seedsaving

"Currently more than 60% of the world’s commercial seeds are sold by just four companies, which have led the push to patent seeds, orchestrated a global monopoly of certain GM crops such as cotton and soya and sued hundreds of small-scale farmers for saving seeds from commercial crops."

#HannahEllisPetersen, 2023

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2023/apr/28/fighting-giants-eco-activist-vandana-shiva-on-her-battle-against-gm-multinationals

#CorporateGreed #GE #GM #patents #FoodPatents #seeds #SeedSaving

I’ve noticed some interesting discussions ( @BroadforkForVictory and @OxgardenZ , I think y’all were talking about this?) about saving seed and breeding local plants. I’ve been reading a really neat book about that subject so I thought I’d share some of what I’ve learned.
It’s called Landrace Gardening: food security through biodiversity and promiscuous pollination, by Joseph Lofthouse. He gardens in the high desert in Utah, with a short growing season, brutally bright sun, sharp wind, and not much rain. He’s spent decades working with his local community to breed landraces that produce abundant tasty food under their particular harsh conditions. He defines a landrace as a “locally-adapted, genetically-diverse, promiscuously-pollinating food crop,” so it’s not quite the same as growing a local variety of one species. Because there’s a lot of genetic diversity in a handful of his seeds, they’re extremely reliable at producing a crop no matter what his weather or pest pressure is.
Ok, so here’s the bit I thought would interest y’all:
“The mathematics of pollination are quadratic, meaning that doubling the distance between two flowers cuts the chances of cross-pollination to a quarter. Increasing the distance tenfold lowers the chances of cross-pollination a hundredfold.” So you can save “clean” seed relatively easily! But he argues that using landraces instead of individual species takes away a lot of the inbreeding pressure. Very interesting book! #gardening #permaculture #SeedSaving

Free book: The #Seed Saving Bible: 11 in 1. The Comprehensive Guide to Harvesting and Storing Seeds for Fresh, Flavorful Produce All Year Round. Expert Guidance for a Sustainable Garden-to-Table Experience - Kindle edition by Langley, Elias
https://www.amazon.com/Seed-Saving-Bible-Garden-Table-ebook/dp/B0C3SYKQCF/ref=mp_s_a_1_1182?ascsubtag=cd205df4e96911ed95bae2ff9c0aef190INT&p_99=-domain&qid=1683089554&redirect=true&refinements=p_36%3A0-0&s=digital-text&sr=1-1182

#delete #deal #ebooks #ebook #gardening #seedsaving #seeds
@Mummabear @Laurien @SamiOh @shepard @NoAgendaMO @zoon

We had our third seed swap yesterday.

A cold and gray day, but 40 people came!

We saw old friends and met new people of all ages. We handed out lots of free seed, much of it locally grown / adapted.

Seed swaps are a great way to build community. You should organize one.

(Pics from our fall seed swap. I was too busy to take any yesterday.)

#SeedSwap #SeedSaving #gardening

Potiau paper #ailgylchu Tyfu #GwenithIndiaidd #swîtcorn o hadau wedi eu cadw o flwyddyn gynt- hen amrywiad Stowells Evergreen
#recycling home made paper pots. #seedsaving sweetcorn (heritage variety stowells evergreen

Best fucking Corn we’ve ever eaten. Won’t be able to save any, if grown, as we likely won’t have enough distance from other Corns anymore. But, you know, maybe I’ll save them anyway and see what they produce, ha.
#PlantBreeding #SeedSaving

10 year old Painted Hills or Painted Mountain (labeled as unknown) Corn I found when looking for Wildflower seeds to strew around the Dahlias. Might do a germination test, and if good results, might plant these this year. We’ll see.
#SeedSaving #SeedSavers #Corn #Gardening

Unusual sources to get seeds for your garden.

https://zencookbook.blogspot.com/2023/03/seed-viability-testing-using.html

#gardening #garden #seedsaving

If you are interested in seed libraries, seed saving, etc., check out this site, Seed Libraries.

They have seed library resources, an email-based forum, and free online classes / summits (live & recorded) with skilled seed librarians and growers.

http://seedlibraries.weebly.com

#gardening #SeedSaving #SeedLibrary #vegetables #seeds

My first seeds of the season have sprouted!!!! #Dahlias are on their way!

I'm absolutely thrilled - I saved these seeds myself from plants I grew from tubers last year! This is the first year I've ever tried saving seeds and aaaa I'm so proud!!

(Pic of the blooms from last year cuz I'm proud of those too)

#seedStarting #seedSaving #gardening #flowerGardens #dahlia

This looks interesting. Event is free but limited space so must RSVP. in #Topanga

Spring Equinox Community Ecology Celebration

6pm | Viola Gardens staff ecologist, Andy Kleinhesselink , will give a talk on #native birds, #plants, #pollinators, and #SeedSaving in our local area.

7pm | Larry Santoyo, an acclaimed teacher in permaculture, will host a talk and discussion on the importance and principles of #Permaculture.

#landscaping #ecology

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/spring-equinox-community-ecology-celebration-tickets-541284946847

https://www.reuters.com/graphics/GLOBAL-ENVIRONMENT/PLANTS/jnpwyygywpw/index.html
#Plants #Extinction #climatechange
#Regeneration #seedsaving