free to download, an expert guide to seed-saving

AROUND NOW, THE HOOKS on my mudroom walls offer no space for coats (though the weather hints I’ll be needing mine). Too many paper shopping bags are hanging there instead (photo above), one after another with faded, upside-down plants inside, meant to let go of their increasingly dry seed.  That’s my primitive tactic, but there are better ways to save seed, and the Organic Seed Alliance shares them—from which variety you grow with eventual saving in mind, to maintaining that crop in the garden, to drying and even storing it–in a free, 30-page book-like pdf download loaded with both the botanical science and sensible tips, too.  roguing, and isolation distances

YES, IN THE BEST-CASE SCENARIO, preparing to save seeds starts with decisions about what variety to plant in the first place, and rouging out weak and then “off types” that don’t measure up, or conform to the desired traits of that particular tomato or squash or zinnia. Inferior or atypical? Out you go!

It’s a process that is repeated throughout the life cycle. For instance, you might pull the lettuce seedlings that are slowest to germinate from your row or cellpack; later pull and eat any with off-type foliage, and perhaps even rogue a third time if some individuals prove more inclined toward disease than others. Only let the best and brightest go to seed and provide the genetics for next year.

Want to guard against inadvertent cross-pollination? A chart in the OSA’s guide clarifies what crops are vulnerable (and what close cousins they can cross with—such as carrots with wild Queen Anne’s lace, or that many brassicas, such as Brussels sprouts and kale and cabbage and broccoli, among themselves). Crop-by-crop “isolation distances” for both home gardening and Read more on awaytogarden.com