Let’s make Frome more seedy!
Last year we invited Frome gardeners to share their thoughts on their gardening year. When asked ‘do you save seed from any of your plants?’, just under 30% replied that they always saved seed each year. Well, here at the Frome Seed Library, we’re on a mission to encourage more people to save seed, but where to begin?
Thankfully, some of the easiest plants to save seed from also happen to be the tastiest, these include peas, French beans, lettuce, peppers, chillies and tomatoes. Because these generally self-pollinate, there is very little chance of cross-pollination, so the seed you will save will be true to the parent plant (this won’t be the case for F1 varieties, so check that the plant you wish to save seed from isn’t F1 – it will say on the original seed packet). So, if you grew some particularly tasty peas this year, why not leave some pods on the plant to become brown and brittle. If they rattle when you shake them, your seeds are ready to harvest to start the cycle all over again next year!
For some plants, a little more thought is needed when saving the seeds. Squash and pumpkins are famously promiscuous; they love a bit of cross-pollination, so much so that commercial seed producers isolate different varieties at a minimum distance of at least 1000 metres or grow in sealed polytunnels populated by blow flies. Nice. Fortunately for home growers there is an easier way; you just need to channel your inner bee.
Your plants will produce both male and female flowers, when you see the flowers start to form, cover with a plastic bag secured with string, then once the flowers have opened, take a paintbrush, and transfer pollen between all of the isolated flowers, pop the bags back on and then wait until you see the fruits start to form. Remove the bags and tie string or ribbon around each of the hand pollinated flowers (so come harvest time you know which fruits were isolated). A bee outfit is entirely optional.
So why not give it a go? Sue Stickland’s Back Garden Seed Saving is a wonderful beginners’ guide and is now available to borrow from Frome Library. We also have a handy free seed-saving booklet, produced by our pals at Llandrindod Wells Seed Library, that can be picked up from the seed library (we’re located upstairs at Frome Library), this includes seed-saving tips across a whole range of vegetables, as well as viability times (how long the seed will last in storage). And remember, if you have any surplus seeds, please consider donating some to us so we can share them through the seed library.
The next Wild Bunch gathering is on Thursday 17th July – book free tickets to join a discussion about wildlife-friendly gardening at the town hall at https://bit.ly/wild-bunch-july25.
