Why save seeds?
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ON THE GARDEN PATH
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CAROLYN HERRIOT
ORGANICS
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Madeson Basie • Dentistry for the love and care of patients • Alternative and complementary approaches • Western Canada’s first and most experienced holistic / biological dentist (20 years) • We recognize dentistry’s impact on the human mind, body, and spirit.
B.Sc., DDS, FAGD
305 – 2083 Alma Street Vancouver, B.C. 604.222.8292 / 604.222.8297 fax drbasie@shawlink.ca
Wellness Centered Dentistry
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OCTOBER 2006
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here are many benefits to saving year. Hybrids result from crossing your own seeds. One is that you two distantly related parent plants. If are collecting seeds from plants that you save seeds of hybrids, the plants have adapted to the specific growing will not grow true in the next generaconditions in your garden. Another tion. The resulting plant may revert to characteristics from one or the is that you can choose the healthiest plants and select for the traits you other of the parent plants or display want, such as high yields, large fruit, an undesirable mix of both. Species of plants that have not been hybridearly ripening, great fragrance or ized will reproduce to the original wonderful flavour. By saving your own seeds, you plant. Open-pollinated vegetables know you are starting with the fresh- will grow into the same vegetable as est seeds with the the parent plant as highest germination long as cross-polrate – the best start By saving seeds you lination with a difa plant can hope for. are empowering your- ferent variety of the same species has not You can also grow plants that may not self to look out for your occurred. 2) Determine be commercially future security. In these whether plants are available, such as hollyhocks that have times of climate change, self-pollinating or been growing in threats of war and rapid cross-pollinating: Plants such as tomayour grandmother’s garden for 50 years. population increase, toes, peppers, beans, and peas have Instead of paywho knows what’s going lettuce ing a lot for a little “perfect flowers,” pinch of seeds, you to happen to the global which means their will have containers flowers hold both full of them for free food supply? male and female to share with family parts so they can be and friends. Best of all, you can barter pollinated without the assistance of your precious seeds at a community bees, insects or the wind to carry the seed show, such as Seedy Saturday, pollen. This allows the gardener to and exchange them for specialty seeds grow different varieties in close proximity to one another. collected by other gardeners. 3) Use isolation distances to be sure Most importantly, by saving seeds accidental crossing does not occur: you are empowering yourself to look Different tomato varieties should be out for your future security. In these separated by a distance of six feet (30 times of climate change, threats of war and rapid population increase, feet if they are heritage potato-leaf varieties). Different varieties of letwho knows what’s going to happen to tuce should be 10 feet apart. Bush the global food supply? It’s reassuring beans need to be separated by 10 feet, to know that you can collect the seeds and pole beans by 30 feet. These are you’ll need to grow your own food. all self-pollinating vegetables. Saving seeds successfully Many plants, such as squash, have As a seed saver, you participate in “imperfect flowers,” which means the selection process to encourage those qualities in a plant you most each plant has separate male and value. Choose flowers for beauty, female flowers. In this case, the garcolour or fragrance. For vegetables, dener must take further isolation traits such as early ripening, disease distances into account when planting. Squash needs to be isolated by resistance, high yields, size and good flavour are all important. Of course, a quarter of a mile to prevent insects spreading pollen from the male flowit always makes sense to select seeds from the healthiest and best-per- ers of one variety to the female flowforming plants in the garden. These ers of another variety. If you’ve ever seeds will grow plants displaying the had an unidentified squash volunteer greatest vigour. in your garden, it was the result of Here are a few basics about saving cross pollination between varieties seeds: of squash grown there the previous 1) Choose open-pollinated rather year. than hybrid seeds to guarantee that Biennial crops, such as beets, caryou get the same plant year after continued on p.42