Post by macmex on Nov 28, 2014 7:03:39 GMT -6
I thought I'd start a thread on seed saving and this time of the year. Newcomers to seed saving might think that there's not much to do this time of year, except garden clean up and the reading of seed catalogs. But, in fact, there is still a lot to do, at least at my place. Ideally, I should have a lot more of this finished. But... hey, I work more than one job, and it's not easy to keep up. Anyway, this may be helpful to some. Here's a partial list of tasks which are either in process or still need to be started:
Garden clean up – remove (totally remove) old squash and tomato vines from the garden. Burning or bagging are the preferred methods of disposal. This helps reduce pests and disease in the coming year.
Finish processing bean seed. In my home, we have an abundance of trays, full of a mixture of dried beans and pods. When the first freeze was imminent we picked ALL BEANS, processing and eating the ones at the green stage and drying those which were far enough along, in maturity, to make dry seed. To finish this process it is now necessary to: shell out all the pods, sort and discard immature or damaged seed, package the bean seed (usually in jars) and then freeze it for at least two days, in our deep freeze. This last step is necessary because all beans generally come with weevil eggs in them. The eggs were laid while the beans were still green and tender. If stored with out treatment, the weevils hatch and will destroy the seed before spring. The easiest way to avoid this is to simply freeze the seed, in an air tight container. One can remove the seed from the freezer and store it at room temperature, if they would like. Or, it can stay in the freezer until needed. Just be sure to fully bring that seed up to room temperature before opening it. Not to do so can ruin the seed due to condensation.
Finish packaging any tomato seed. I have several sheets of paper, on my planter, with processed, dried tomato seeds on them. They need to be packaged before anything happens and they get knocked off the sheets, or, worse yet, mixed up. When processing tomato seeds one should always take precautions to avoid mixing up seed. If possible, process on variety of seed at a time, using boiling water to clean equipment, and kill any stray seeds which might eventually find their way into another batch. Never stack your drying seeds so that the papers they are drying on overlap. Don't move the papers around. Jostling can dislodge seed and that seed can end up in the wrong batch. Always label your seed. No matter how much you think you'll remember, I can promise you, sooner or later, you'll “remember” wrongly. If you come upon some processed seed and the slightest doubt arises, as to its variety, either discard it, or label it as being in doubt. Never pass along seed which could be mislabeled, unless you also pass along a warning about it.
Finish processing pepper seed. When the first freeze is looming, I pull all plants which still have fruit on them, stacking or hanging them in outbuildings. Many immature peppers will continue to ripen while in storage, and I will be able to pick “fresh peppers” for some months to come. Both Jalapeños and habaneros hold quite well this way. However, for seed, it is best to process seed from peppers which were red ripe (or whatever their mature color is supposed to be) at the time the plant is pulled. Cut the peppers open and strip out the seed, onto a tray, or sheet of paper. Let it dry for at least a week, and package it. Store in a cool dark location. Pepper seed does not require freezing. Beware, if processing seed from hot peppers it really is advisable to wear latex or rubber gloves. No matter how a person tries, it seem impossible not to get capsaicin on ones fingers. Some are more sensitive to this than others. But it is never good to touch your eyes with this substance. I've seen people get burns on their skin from it. So, wear gloves and take care!
Finish shelling, sorting and freeze treating any dry corn seed.
Continue processing squash/pumpkin seed. Our back porch is full of winter squash/pumpkin. Little by little we cook the squash down, freezing extra pulp in 2-3 cup servings. Any fruit which have been chosen for seed will be processed and the seed cleaned from pulp, dried for at least two weeks, and then stored in jars.
Seeds such as lambs quarters or amaranth are now ripe, dry and starting to fall off of the plants. So, if you want to harvest seed, get out there and get it. Simply strip it off of the branches and drop it into a jar or plastic bag. Leave it open to further dry, for a least a couple of days. I don't even try to clean out the chaff.
Okay, I'm sure I'm sure there's more. But those are some items for the “to do list.” What are you doing?
George
Garden clean up – remove (totally remove) old squash and tomato vines from the garden. Burning or bagging are the preferred methods of disposal. This helps reduce pests and disease in the coming year.
Finish processing bean seed. In my home, we have an abundance of trays, full of a mixture of dried beans and pods. When the first freeze was imminent we picked ALL BEANS, processing and eating the ones at the green stage and drying those which were far enough along, in maturity, to make dry seed. To finish this process it is now necessary to: shell out all the pods, sort and discard immature or damaged seed, package the bean seed (usually in jars) and then freeze it for at least two days, in our deep freeze. This last step is necessary because all beans generally come with weevil eggs in them. The eggs were laid while the beans were still green and tender. If stored with out treatment, the weevils hatch and will destroy the seed before spring. The easiest way to avoid this is to simply freeze the seed, in an air tight container. One can remove the seed from the freezer and store it at room temperature, if they would like. Or, it can stay in the freezer until needed. Just be sure to fully bring that seed up to room temperature before opening it. Not to do so can ruin the seed due to condensation.
Finish packaging any tomato seed. I have several sheets of paper, on my planter, with processed, dried tomato seeds on them. They need to be packaged before anything happens and they get knocked off the sheets, or, worse yet, mixed up. When processing tomato seeds one should always take precautions to avoid mixing up seed. If possible, process on variety of seed at a time, using boiling water to clean equipment, and kill any stray seeds which might eventually find their way into another batch. Never stack your drying seeds so that the papers they are drying on overlap. Don't move the papers around. Jostling can dislodge seed and that seed can end up in the wrong batch. Always label your seed. No matter how much you think you'll remember, I can promise you, sooner or later, you'll “remember” wrongly. If you come upon some processed seed and the slightest doubt arises, as to its variety, either discard it, or label it as being in doubt. Never pass along seed which could be mislabeled, unless you also pass along a warning about it.
Finish processing pepper seed. When the first freeze is looming, I pull all plants which still have fruit on them, stacking or hanging them in outbuildings. Many immature peppers will continue to ripen while in storage, and I will be able to pick “fresh peppers” for some months to come. Both Jalapeños and habaneros hold quite well this way. However, for seed, it is best to process seed from peppers which were red ripe (or whatever their mature color is supposed to be) at the time the plant is pulled. Cut the peppers open and strip out the seed, onto a tray, or sheet of paper. Let it dry for at least a week, and package it. Store in a cool dark location. Pepper seed does not require freezing. Beware, if processing seed from hot peppers it really is advisable to wear latex or rubber gloves. No matter how a person tries, it seem impossible not to get capsaicin on ones fingers. Some are more sensitive to this than others. But it is never good to touch your eyes with this substance. I've seen people get burns on their skin from it. So, wear gloves and take care!
Finish shelling, sorting and freeze treating any dry corn seed.
Continue processing squash/pumpkin seed. Our back porch is full of winter squash/pumpkin. Little by little we cook the squash down, freezing extra pulp in 2-3 cup servings. Any fruit which have been chosen for seed will be processed and the seed cleaned from pulp, dried for at least two weeks, and then stored in jars.
Seeds such as lambs quarters or amaranth are now ripe, dry and starting to fall off of the plants. So, if you want to harvest seed, get out there and get it. Simply strip it off of the branches and drop it into a jar or plastic bag. Leave it open to further dry, for a least a couple of days. I don't even try to clean out the chaff.
Okay, I'm sure I'm sure there's more. But those are some items for the “to do list.” What are you doing?
George
