subject: Saving Garden Seeds [print this page] At the end of the year, they save the leftover packets from the spring and the gathered buds of the season to repeat the cycle again. You can store vegetable beans and annual buds for two to three years in a cool area with little moisture.
Keep vegetable beans like beets, cucumbers and radishes for up to ten years in airtight containers. Replace old asparagus, delphinium or magnolia buds since they have a short seed life.
Plant oily seeds as soon as collected since they do not store well. Store garden buds in unopened, moisture resistant packaging like foil pouches.
Keep individual varieties of beans segregated in separate, clearly labeled containers. This helps to maintain strains and purity.
Sow seeds in beds or flats for cold winter storage outside. Use amber vials, or clear vials with foil covers, to store buds.
Label all containers with sprout type, variety, year of original parent sprout and year of seed in container. Check the storage requirements because some require constant moisture or they will not germinate.
Place buds outside for storage if the winters are cold enough for a long enough period. Avoid exposing them to multiple temperature fluctuations.
Keep seeds outside on the north side of the house away from the sun and drying winds. Place them in a cold frame or green house for additional protection from the elements.
Open Pollinated or heirloom, self-pollinated plants are the only varieties that will grow true from bud, meaning the seedlings will be exactly like the parents. These are the buds worth saving.
Beans that have been hybridized will grow into a variety of sprouts with some characteristics of either or both parents. Many, if not most, of the sprouts being sold now are hybrids.
Hybridizing can create a plant with desirable traits and affords some job security for the plant company. Seed saving is not really an option with hybrids, unless you are looking to discover something new; but you could try taking cuttings.
Additionally, plants that are pollinated by insects or the wind may have cross pollinated with plants from another variety and again, will not grow true. To save beans from these sprouts requires a bit of extra care.
All that said, there are still many sprouts that will grow true from buds and saving and sharing these buds has given birth to the seed savers phenomenon. Self-pollinated plants are the easiest to save and include beans, chicory, endive, lettuce, peas, and tomatoes.
You can also save many heirloom flower seeds such as: cleome, foxgloves, hollyhock, nasturtium, sweet pea, and zinnia. To get pure beans from sprouts that cross pollinate with others in their species, you will need to physically separate the different species from one another.
This can be a accomplished by planting only one variety of a species. Or you can plant different varieties at a distance from each other.
Different sprouts require different distances and it can be substantial. Peppers require about 500 feet and squash sprouts would need a half mile.
Plant varieties that flower at different times should also be seperated using a physical barrier, such as a row cover or bag. You would need to cover one variety at a time, so that each variety is allowed enough exposure time to be pollinated amongst its own kind.
Always choose the best quality plants, flowers, fruits and vegetables from which to save buds. Look for disease resistance, vigor, great flavor and productivity.
The following year's sprouts will only be as good as this year's beans. You should harvest beans when the pods have dried on the plant, like flowers, beans, broccoli, lettuce, etc.
Keep an eye on the pods as they start to brown, since most bean pods will open and disperse on their own. You can catch beans by placing small bags over the bean heads when they look ready to pop or by pulling the plant just before completely dry and storing upside down in a paper bag.
