How About Next Year's Seed? f.f.rockwell 



The Part You Can Do to Help the General Supply and Grow Better Things for Yourself 



IN SEEDS, if anywhere in the world, quality 

 comes first, and price is a matter of relatively 

 little importance. As a matter of fact the 

 home gardener and, in most cases, even a pro- 

 fessional gardener, cannot grow his own seed in 

 small quantities as cheaply as he can buy it; but 

 the fact of interest at present is that he can pro- 

 duce some, at least, of his own seed. And there 

 are good reasons why he should do so this year. 

 In the first place, seed is "short" and anybody 

 who will help in the production of seed will be 

 helping along in a good cause. 



What the Beginner Can Try 



DUT," says the man who has never saved a 

 -'-' seed in his life, "What can I grow? What 

 can I expect to succeed with?" 



The answer to that is like the answer to most 

 garden questions: "It depends on conditions." 

 But, under average conditions, a careful gardener 

 should be able to save all of the following; Beans, 

 corn, cucumber, lettuce, melons, peppers, po- 

 tatoes, squash, tomatoes. 



In addition to these, he can handle the root 

 crops, such as beets, carrots, onions, parsnips, 

 salsify, and turnips. Of course he will not get 

 seed from these this fall, but a few roots selected 

 now and carried over, and planted out in the 

 spring, will yield the following year. 



Cabbage, cauliflower, brussels sprouts, celery, 

 and peas, are the least likely to give satisfactory 

 results, as they require special climatic or other 

 conditions which the average home gardener is 

 not likely to meet. 



While all of these things may be grown, the 

 beginner will do much better to limit himself at 

 first to a few things, and make a success of those 



before attempting to grow a large part of his own 

 seeds. After he begins to get the "hang" of the 

 art, he will find two big advantages in growing 

 some of his own seeds, if he is a real garden en- 

 thusiast, and can take the time to do it. Many 

 of the best of the standard varieties of to-day 

 originated with private gardeners who never 

 made any attempt to grow seeds commercially, 

 but who had, for their own benefit and pleasure, 

 learned how to save seeds, and studied out the 

 general principles of plant selection and im- 

 provement. 



Another distinct advantage in home seed 

 saving is the benefit of what is called "local 

 adaptation." Everybody knows that some va- 

 rieties do better in certain sections than others 

 do. But every individual plant of a given variety 

 differs from its fellozvs; and some individuals are 

 better adapted to a particular locality than are 

 others of the same variety. The capacity for 

 local adaptation is much more marked in some 

 things than in others, but in general is a very 

 important factor. 



What to Look for and What to Avoid in Saving Seed 



' I ^HE first thing the beginner at seed saving 

 ■■■ must learn is that the unit is the plant, 

 not a single fruit or flower therefrom. A single 

 extra fine smooth tomato from a plant which 

 bears a large number of rough fruits is not as 

 good for seed purposes as a less handsome fruit 

 from a plant which has uniformly good specimens. 

 It is not a good method to select specimens for 

 seed by taking them from the bins or crates after 

 harvesting. 



Perhaps the most common mistake the begin- 

 ner makes is to select for size alone. Usually 

 size, especially for the home garden, is a secon- 

 dary consideration. Suppose, for instance, that 

 you have a row of Ponderosa tomatoes in your 

 garden. If you examine the plants carefully you 

 will find a few plants with smoother fruits than 

 the average for the row. The average size of the 

 tomatoes on these plants may be a little smaller 

 than those on the other plants; supposing them to 

 be equally solid and meaty, you probably would 

 prefer the medium-sized smooth fruit to extra 

 large fruits which are rough. 



Or take the root crops; here again it is usually 

 well worth while to sacrifice something of size 

 for smoothness and uniform shape. Commercial 

 seed growers have over-emphasized the factor of 

 size, because commercial market gardeners have 

 had to give the question of bulk yield precedence 

 over table quality. When you are growing your 

 own seed for your own use, you can place table 

 quality first: and size, earliness, and other char- 

 acteristics according to their relative importance 

 from your own point of view. 



Use a fine meshed sieve 

 to wash seed from toma- 

 toes or other pulpy fruits 



An ideal Golden Bantam corn plant. Consider the whole plant 

 when saving for seed 



What to Do With the Different Crops 



VX7'HILE the general principles of selecting the 

 * * plants to save seed from are the same, the 

 handling of the different vegetables to get the 

 seed in proper condition varies. 



Beans. Mark best plants and leave pods to mature. Gather 

 pods as they dry — if left on vines where weather conditions are un- 

 favorable the earlier pods may be spoiled before the later ones 

 mature. Use pods free from rust or anthracnose. Store pods in 

 dry airy place until all gathered. Shell out and spread in thin layer 

 until perfectly dry. Put away in tight containers. 



Corn. Select ears from best stalks as they mature. Mark care- 

 fully and leave until dry. (Husk can be held in place after examin- 

 ing ear by elastic bands.) Select ears well filled out over tips, and of 

 even shape clear to butts. Dry out under cover and store in a warm 

 dry place, such as house attic. 



Cucumber. Mark a few of the best shaped fruits as they mature, 

 and leave on the vines until they fully ripen. Then cut, remove the 

 seed, wash through a sieve to remove the pulp and fleshy fibres, 

 and spread out in the sun, under cover, in a thin layer to dry, stirring; 

 occasionally to keep from drying in lumps. 



Egg-Plant. Let one or two fruits attain full growth to mature 

 the seed. The fruits may then be used, the seed being carefully 

 saved, washed, and dried. 



Lettuce. Allow some of the best heads to remain, and when 

 they begin to "shoot" to seed, support by means of stakes and 

 twine. Hard heading varieties may have to be "crossed," or cut 

 both ways on top, to let the seed spike through readily. When the 

 seed heads begin to "fluff" and turn white, like a thistle, cut off the 

 tops, and cure them in a dry airy place until the seed is fully ripe and 

 can be rubbed out readily. 



Melons. As the fruits are not used until fully ripe, the seed may 

 be saved as they are used at table. Stake one or two of the strong- 

 est, most prolific vines, and save the seed from the most perfect mel- 

 ons from them. 



Peas. Allow some of the pods to mature fully and nearly ripen 

 on the vines, and gather as they begin to dry. Store in a dry airy 

 place and shell out as soon as hard. It is difficult to get good pea 

 seed in most localities, as the pods fail to mature or are attacked by 

 mildew. 



Peppers. Save seed from mature fruits of the best plants, wash 

 out and dry. 



Potatoes. Mark a number of the best looking hills, especially 

 those which have seemed to be most resistant to blight or insects. 

 Dig by hand, keeping each hill separate, and then take only the best 

 hills — occasionally a big top will have few or small tubers. Let 

 these cure in the sun until thoroughly "greened" (this will spoil them 

 for cooking, but they will keep better for seed.) Store in a cold 

 not too dry place. 



Squash and Pumpkins. Treat in same way as melons. 



Tomatoes. Choose carefully the best plant or plants, and save 

 a few fruits. Pick when fully ripe, cut open, and remove seed with 

 as little of the flesh and pulp as possible. Wash through a fine mesh 

 sieve; or put the pulp and seeds in a glass jar for two days to ferment, 

 and then wash the seed out in clean water. Don't leave too long or 

 the seed will begin to germinate, and spoil. 



84 



