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Do you let your veg run to seed to save them for next year or do you just buy need seed for the following year?

I plan to save seed this year.

I'm planning to save seed since I've got quite a few heirloom varieties. I don't want to lose them.

is there any particular ones that arnt good to save ? obviously stuff like tom's etc are good


carl

Quote from: carloso on April 14, 2006, 21:48:23
is there any particular ones that arnt good to save ? obviously stuff like tom's etc are good


carl

Don't save F1s and only save from fruit that you have ensured have not been polinated by a different variety.

Some things, tomatoes for instance are self-pollinated and no problem. Others, like squashes or brassicas, cross-pollinate like mad and need precautions to make sure that only the pollen you want reaches the selected flower.

too true Robert,squashes and their ilk are real tarts. I only save tomato seeds, and Jerusalem Artichoke tubers. Peas and beans can be saved no problem but I don`t bother.

And for growers of that tom `sweet million`-a nice cherry-it`s classified as an F1 but that`s due to other factors-it comes true from seed

Cross pollination is the problem with some plants, as Robert says, brassicas and curcubits are very precocious so difficult to save true seed and F1s don't come true.

The easiest (least liable to cross pollinate) are:

French beans, lettuce and peas (the flowers are almost closed so that insects and wind blown pollen can't get into the flower before they pollenate themselves)

Next are:

Aubergine, pepper and tomato

Broad beans should be ok if you grow them in blocks and take the seed from the plants in the middle.

All other veg require some technque or other to prevent cross-pollination such as enclosing the plant or individual flowers in a bag - but then your have to pollinate them by hand or introduce insects such as blow flies to the plant enclosure.

Phil