harvesting vegetable garden seed in permaculture
Karen Parkin, permaculturist and gardener extraordinaire
the secret life of garden seeds
Most gardeners will keep some vegetable garden seed, but learning from a permaculture expert hugely enriched my practical knowledge about harvesting techniques and storage of seed. Karen Parkin, the permaculture gardener, and long term vegetable grower, gave a fascinating talk at the TUFCO gathering about seed collection, production and use. It started with a description of the sex life of plants using a metaphorical comparison with humans, to illustrate the eerie similarities, and encourage people to do their own research and find out how a particular plant is pollinated. Knowing whether it is self pollinated, or needs another plant, wind pollinated, or insect pollinated and by what insect can help the farmer to achieve adequate fruit and seed setting in all varieties, especially the difficult ones.
safe seed collection is the basis of organic food production
Producing organic vegetable garden seed is the basis of organic food production. To prevent using seed treated with insecticides, hormones, or with genetically modified DNA, it is necessary to know how to harvest and store organic seed, of a known reliable source. Knowing how to harvest seed and not relying on commercial seed companies is the basis of a truly organic vegetable garden. We need to know how to collect seed that will produce good true to type plants, for a reliable result, and they must be insect and drought resistant, to ensure we do not ever resort to chemical assistance, or over irrigation, and of course, they must have a good flavour, and any other properties we like in our vegetables and herbs.
when to use seed in your
vegetable garden
According to Karen Parkin, some plants such as root crops are better sown from seed sowed direct into the soil. Even for a private urban garden its inadvisable to buy seedlings of root-crops, like carrots and radishes, and one should rather sow them direct.
Root crops like potatoes can be grown from seed potatoes, or small potatoes that develop underground on the root system. These can be dug up once the leaves have died back.
literature on collecting vegetable garden seed in permaculture
Karen recommended these books on collecting vegetable garden seed, that she obviously knows very well: Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth, and Yvette van Wyk’s book Sowing Seed and So-on.
The basics of collecting
vegetable garden seed
When collecting vegetable garden seed, Karen recommends taking only from the healthiest plants and from more than one plant, to ensure genetic diversity.
When harvesting, wait until the seed pod has dried on the bush but harvest before it splits.
It may help for certain seeds to get a winnowing basket. A large flat basket that you can use to flip up your gathered plant material in the air, so that the husks and stalks blow away and the heavier seeds drop back into the basket.
Pack the dry seeds in an envelope of folded paper. Re-use old paper of course, and fold the seeds in so that they cannot escape. Write the name, date, and origin on the seeds, because growing conditions are different even within Cape Town, and note the characteristics for which you chose the seed, like excellent flavor. Put the envelopes in a container and bury them in wood ash to stop insects getting to them. Wilde Als is particularly good for this. You can also put them in the fridge.
Try and sow every season to keep up the fertility of your seed stock. However, always keep some seed aside in case of crop failure.
You can exchange seed with other collectors via the facebook page Seed Library.
HARVESTING FRUIT SEEDS
An edible fruit must be ripe, over ripe even to harvest fruit seeds. For large soft fruit with a stone, like a peach, remove the seed from the fruit and rinse it well and leave it in a tray to dry, not in the sun, but indoors. Pumpkin, tomato, cucumber, brinjals can be done as follows: put the fruit in a pot of water. Rub the seed out of the flesh in the water, and let it ferment for 2 days. This helps remove disease. The viable seed will sink and the other will rise to the surface and can be easily poured off. Rinse and dry the seeds, and when they are dry, fold them into a paper envelope. This seed storage technique accords with the permaculture philosophy and indigenous knowledge.
Karen parkin
permaculture constultant
Karen Parkin does consultation and training in Permaculture, organic food gardens and medicine gardening.
She can be contacted at 082 0815137, or permaperson@gmail.com
------
home page for more links on green ideas
------
vegetable gardening the natural low cost way
------
green gardening, and organic gardening links
------
the Tableview Urban Farmer's Co gathering
This is how I store my vegetable garden seed in the fridgeYou’re a home gardener ! Share your experiences and questions !
We all know about home gardening. Tell us about your successes, challenges and ask about issues that bother you. You may have the luxury of a back garden, but there are other ways we learn. Few people age without growing something or buying vegetables during their lives ! It is absolutely guaranteed that you have learned things which can help others on their gardening journey.
We invite you to share your stories, ask questions, because if a thing has bothered you it will bother others too. Someone may have a solution ! No question is too small. There is learning for everyone involved, for you, for me (yes, I learn from every question), for us all. Exciting stuff !
We are starting on a new journey. Every week we will profile your letters ! The best stories and questions we receive.
What Other Visitors Have Said
Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page...
saving tamarillo and grenadilla seeds 
To prepare these seeds I've basically spooned them out from ripe fruit and placed them in a jar of water. I stir frequently and let it ferment, till the …
what to do with these acorns ?
I have recently started reading a very informative book for gardening in dry winter rainfall areas, Mediterranean Gardening: a Waterwise Approach by Heidi …
I found weevils in my seed collection
Dear Carol
when unpacking some seed I had stored in newspaper I found some weevils or tiny bugs in the seed packets and there were tiny round holes …
Restore Nature Newsletter
I've been writing for four years now and I would love to hear from you
Please let me know if you have any questions, comments or stories to share on gardening, permaculture, regenerative agriculture, food forests, natural gardening, do nothing gardening, observations about pests and diseases, foraging, dealing with and using weeds constructively, composting and going offgrid.
SEARCH
Order the Kindle E-book for the SPECIAL PRICE of only
Prices valid till 30.09.2023
Recent Articles
-
Landscape Architect
Oct 01, 24 10:42 AM
I so appreciate your informative description! Your experimentation and curiosity with the seeds, germination, and rearing of the maggot are exciting to -
New Gardner
Sep 23, 24 11:47 AM
I love reading your writings! I am a new Gardner in the midlands of South Carolina. I decided to become a rescue Gardner and only buy the clearance plants -
garden for life is a blog about saving the earth one garden at a time
Aug 10, 24 04:06 AM
The garden for life blog has short articles on gardening for biodiversity with native plants and regenerating soil for climate amelioration and nutritious food
"How to start a profitable worm business on a shoestring budget
Order a printed copy from "Amazon" at the SPECIAL PRICE of only
or a digital version from the "Kindle" store at the SPECIAL PRICE of only
Prices valid till 30.09.2023
