Summary: It is wise to save seeds but only if they are from open-pollinated heirloom plants that will reward you year after year with glorious flowers and nutritious food.
Seed saving is a way to perpetuate plant varieties that might otherwise be lost. Nowadays we plant a lot of hybrid vegetables and flowers because that is what is made available to us at garden centers and greenhouses.
A hybrid is developed when we allow two unlike plants to cross-breed. The parents of the hybrid are generally chosen because they have certain characteristics that we find desirable. The plant produced from this cross-breeding is likely to be vigorous and bear much fruit.
Much to the dismay of the grower, the seeds from this plant are often lack-luster. Because their genetic background is unstable any new plant produced from the hybrid seed will prove to be losers in the garden taking on characteristics of a grandparent plant but lacking the robust characteristics of the hybrid parent.
Mother Nature is constantly telling us in subtle and sometimes not so subtle ways to stop messing with her. She can be fierce. Most humans pay her no mind and that is why our food system has turned into an industrial operation that favors rich men rather than hungry people.
In the United States there are ten companies that control more than half the food we eat and worldwide that number is approaching 15%. Three quarters of the worlds food sales involve processed food that lacks the real nutritional value our bodies need.
Convenience has taken priority over health and food is no longer celebrated but rather hastily consumed while driving or during the latest reality television program supplemented of course with advertising for more of the cheap processed food that has become the mainstay of the typical American diet.
If you grow some of your own food you are already taking responsibility for your health and well-being by including fresh vegetables and herbs in your diet. Consider saving some of the seeds from the plants you grew in your garden especially if they were non-hybrid varieties or heirloom varieties that have been open- pollinated.
Open-pollinated seeds come from plants that have adapted over time. They are pollinated naturally by bees, birds or wind. They are old varieties that have become resistant to unfavorable conditions and pests much like native plants in a region.
Heirloom seeds are not owned by giant companies or governments so once you get your garden-gloved hands on them they are yours forever. Mother Nature is all in favor if this partnership and will even provide the water and light needed to make the heirloom seeds grow.
Harvesting seeds from the flowers, herbs and vegetables you grow is rather simple. With flowers you need to wait until blooms have faded and turned brown. Harvest the seeds on a dry day. Some seeds dont necessarily look like seeds. Fortunately there are many books available at your local library and even online resources that can help you properly identify the seed of most any plant.
Vegetable and fruit seeds need to be separated from juicy material like in tomatoes or from a pod like in beans. It is important to dry seeds completely before storing them in a paper envelope within a tightly sealed glass jar.
To dry seeds simply lay them out on a piece of paper or in a shallow box turning them every few days for a couple of weeks.
While there is nothing wrong with eating food derived from hybrid plants they will not produce the seeds you can use to grow the plants again leaving you left to purchase more seeds or plants from the company that owns the lab-created seed.
Open-pollinated heirloom plants on the other hand reward you with delicious and nutritious food that will thrive in your Ohio garden and also leave you with seeds that will awaken next spring to reward you again and again.
