Tips on Saving Your Own Seeds

Saving your own seed from your school garden is entirely possible and can be a fun activity at the start of the autumn term when you return to school. Lettuces, spinach and Swiss chard may have gone to seed - this means the usually leafy vegetables have formed flowers on the end of a long stalk and then these flowers have formed seeds. It is possible for the children to collect these seeds and save them to sow next year. Children can collect the seed, dry them, sort them and then design and make their own seed packets to give or sell to parents. See template at end of this document. Peas and beans that were not harvested in time for the end of term may have dried well on the plant and are ready to harvest for seed. The Borlotti type of French bean can be dried to be eaten in soups and casseroles. If you have space, leave one leek plant, an onion plant and maybe even a carrot and parsnip plant to over winter. The next year they will flower and you can save their seeds. The children will see the flowers of these vegetables and recognise similarities within the family groups. Some vegetables are easily cross pollinated by insects, so if you grow 2 varieties of the same vegetable at the same time they are likely to cross pollinate. Broad beans are an example, so the resulting seed would be a mixture of both these bean varieties. This could lead to some interesting results. Courgettes, pumpkins will cross pollinate and their offspring will often produce misshapen fruits! Vegetables that self pollinate will most likely produce seed that is the same as its parent. Easy and worth while Vegetable seeds to save RHS Top Crop Broad Beans French Beans Leeks Lettuce Peas Spinach Swiss Chard Tomato Seed Viability* ( years) 2 2 3 3 2 4 3 3 Save own Seed Yes if grown in isolation Yes self pollinate Yes self pollinate Yes self pollinate Yes self pollinate Yes Yes Yes self pollinate

*Seed viability - life expectancy of stored seed.

Saving seeds from herbs Coriander, dill, parsley, basil, and chives can all be grown from saved seed. Basil is easily cross pollinated, so if growing two varieties together only let one variety flower and seed. Saving seeds from Flowers Autumn is a great time to collect the seeds from annuals in the school garden. Hardy annuals such as cornflowers and marigolds can be sown in September and will flower earlier in the summer term than spring sown seeds. Hardy annuals attract beneficial insects in to your school garden which is good for pest control and pollination Easy hardyannuals English Marigold (Calendula officinalis) Californian poppies (Eschscholtzia californica) Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) Love-in the mist (Nigella damascena) Nasturtium spp.best - sown in spring term Poached egg plant (Limnanthes douglasii)i Sunflowers (Helianthus annus) best sown in spring Sweet peas (Lathyrus odoratus) sow in October protect until spring term

Important points to remember for seed saving Seed from F1 hybrids will not be the same as parent plant. Save seed from healthy looking plants Collect seed when seed heads appear to be ripening. Unripe pods will not ripen once picked. Collect on a dry day to avoid fungal rot on seeds Label with name and date to avoid confusion later Collect seeds directly from the plant into paper bags or into trays lined with newspaper. Dry capsules and pods in a warm dry place until seeds are released. Fleshy seeds such as tomatoes and cucumbers - ferment the seed for 3 days to remove the jelly like coating. Rinse in water then dry in a warm place. Separating seeds from the chaff the remains of the seed capsule. Use a tea strainer for small seeds, or garden sieves for larger seeds, blowing away the chaff.

Care and storage of seeds Seeds can be stored in paper envelopes or bags. It is important to store packets of seeds in a cool place. It is essential that it is not kept in a centrally heated classroom or dormancy may be induced Use a large plastic lidded box to keep moisture away. Add sachets of silica to absorb any moisture. Once seeds have been opened, carefully re-seal any remaining seeds in their packet. Look at the date on the seed packet to see if the seeds will keep for another year. Testing for Viability Seeds can fail because they were not fertile or fully developed, they may defective. They may have been stored too long or damaged by fungal or insect attack. To avoid sowing dead seeds you can perform this simple test. Put medium to large seeds in a jar of water. Viable seeds sink, dead seeds float. Sow only the viable seeds at once. Curriculum Links National Curriculum Key stage 1 and 2 Science Sc2 Life Processes and Living things Green plants QCA 2BPlants and animals in their local environment 4BHabitiats 5B Life Cycles. Literacy Key stage 1 and 2 References and further reading Royal Horticultural Society Growing from Seed Alan Toogood Real Seed Catalogue Basic Seedsaving information for beginners www.realseeds.co.uk Back Garden Seedsaving by Sue Stickland Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth

Cut out template along bold lines

ONLY GLUE ONCE SEEDS INSIDE

G L U E

G L U E H E R E

H E R E

Front of packet write name of seed and draw picture

Fold along dotted lines and glue flaps

Fold under and press against glued flaps to form back of packet Write growing instructions on back

Cut out template along bold lines

ONLY GLUE ONCE SEEDS INSIDE

Example of what to write

G L U E

Name

G L U E H E R E

H E R E

Picture

Front of packet write name of seed and draw picture

Fold along dotted lines and glue flaps

When to Sow

Where to Sow

Fold under and press against glued flaps to form back of packet Write growing instructions on back

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