Seed Saving Chart

SEED SAVING CHART
This chart is for open-pollinated varieties, as most hybrids (F1) will not produce true to type nor uniform seed.
Common name
Botanical name:
Genus species
Amaranth
Arugula
Bean, Common
Bean, Lima
Bean, Runner
Bean, Fava
Bean, Yard Long
Beet
Broccoli
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celery
Chard, Swiss
Collards
Corn, Sweet
Corn, Pop
Corn, Flour
Cucumber
Eggplant
Kale, European
Kale, Siberian
Kohlrabi
Leek
Lettuce
Melon
Mustard Greens
Okra
Onion
Parsnip
Pea
Pepper
Pepper
Pepper
Pumpkin
Radicchio
Radish
Rutabaga
Spinach
Squash, Summer
Squash, Winter
Squash, Winter
Squash, Winter
Tomato
Tomato, Currant
Turnip
Watermelon
Amaranthus hypochondriacus
Eruca sativa
Phaseolus vulgaris
Phaseolus lunatus
Phaseolus coccineus
Vicia faba
Vigna unguiculata
Beta vulgaris
Brassica oleracea
Brassica oleracea
Brassica oleracea
Daucus carota
Brassica oleracea
Apium graveolens
Beta vulgaris
Brassica oleracea
Zea mays
Zea mays
Zea mays
Cucumis sativus
Solanum melongena
Brassica oleracea
Brassica napus
Brassica oleracea
Allium ampeloprasum
Lactuca sativa
Cucumis melo
Brassica juncea
Abelmoschus escuelentum
Allium cepa
Pastinaca sativa
Pisum sativum
Capsicum annuum
Capsicum baccatum
Capsicum frutescens
Same as Squash
Cichorium intybus
Raphanus sativus
Brassica napus
Spinacea oleracea
Cucurbita pepo
Cucurbita moschata
Cucurbita maxima
Cucurbita agryosperma
Lycopersicon lycopersicum
Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium
Brassica rapa
Citrullus lunatus
Vegetables
Plant
life
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
B
A
A
A
A
A
B
B
B
B
A
A
B
A
B
B
A
A
A
A
A
B
A
B
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
B
A
Pollination
Wind
Insects
Self
Self, insects
Insects
Self, insects
Self
Wind
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Wind
Insects
Wind
Wind
Wind
Insects
Self, insects
Insects
Self, insects
Insects
Insect
Self
Insects
Insects
Self, insects
Insects
Insects
Self
Self, insects
Self, insects
Self, insects
Insect
Insects
Insects
Insects
Wind
Insect
Insect
Insect
Insect
Self, insects
Self, insects
Insects
Insects
# of
plants
Isolation
distance
Seed
life
Notes
10
40
10
20
20
20
20
30
20
20
20
60
20
30
30
20
150
150
150
10
10
20
20
20
20
10
10
20
20
50
20
20
10
10
10
10
20
30
20
6
10
10
10
10
10
10
25
10
2 miles
mile
10
1 mile
mile
50
20
1 mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
1 mile
mile
1 mile
1 mile
1 mile
mile
50
mile
1 mile
mile
1 mile
25
mile
mile
800
1 mile
1 mile
20
160
200
500
mile
mile
mile
mile
2 miles
mile
mile
mile
mile
15
150
mile
mile
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
4 yrs.
2 yrs.
2 yrs.
4 yrs.
3 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
3 yrs.
5 yrs.
7 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
6 yrs.
6 yrs.
6 yrs.
8 yrs.
6 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
2 yrs.
3 yrs.
6 yrs.
5 yrs.
4 yrs.
2 yrs.
1 yr.
5 yrs.
3 yrs.
3 yrs.
3 yrs.
7 yrs.
4 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
4 yrs.
7 yrs.
7 yrs.
7 yrs.
7 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
6 yrs.
Harvest when seed falls, sharp

Harvest pods at yellow brown
Harvest dry pods from plant
(var. sesquipedalis) pods 12-30
Will cross with Chards
Crosses with other B. oleracea
Crosses with Queen Annes Lace
Crosses with Celeriac & Smallage
Crosses with Beets
Harvest ears from dry stalks
Collect yellow fruit, ferment seed
Harvest hard off-colored fruit
Crosses with Rutabagas
Crosses with other B. Oleracea
Harvest dried head
Harvest plant, or seed tufts
Mature seed when fruit is edible
Crosses with wild species
Harvest dry split pods-can irritate
Harvest dried pods, shatters
Seed heads can be 6 tall
Harvest when pods dry
Hot peppers- use gloves
Pumpkins are technically squash
Crosses w/ wild chicory & endive
Harvest dry pods- can be 4 tall
Crosses with Siberian Kale
2 male & 4 female plants needed
Harvest as winter squash (in fall)
Wont cross with diff. species
Bath seeds, remove floaters
Wont cross with diff. species
Seeds need to ferment (4 days)
Seeds need to ferment (4 days)
Crosses with other B. rapa
Common name
Botanical name:
Genus species
Plant
life
Pollination
Bells of Ireland
Calendula
Canna
Castor Bean
Celosia
Cockscomb
Cosmos
Cosmos
Dahlia
Dahlia
Carnations/ Pinks
Carnations/ Pinks
Four OClocks
Hollyhocks
Hyssop
Irish Tassel Flower
Love in a Mist
Love Lies Bleeding
Marigold
Marigold
Moonflower
Morning Glory
Morning Glory
Nasturtium
Pansy
Petunia
Petunia
Pincushion Flower
Poppy, California
Poppy, Pompom
Poppy, Shirley
Poppy, Oriental
Poppy, Iceland
Salvia/ Sage
Snapdragon
Spider Flower
Stocks
Stocks
Sunflower
Sunflower, Mexican
Sweet Pea
Tobacco
Tobacco
Tobacco
Zinnia, Common
Zinnia, Mexican
Zinnia, Peruvian
Moluccella laevis
Calendula officinalis
Canna indica
Ricinus communis
Celosia plumosa
Celosia cristata
Cosmos sulphureus
Cosmos bipinnatus
Dahlia xhybrida
Dahlia variabilis
Dianthus chinensis
Dianthus caryophyllus
Mirabilis jalapa
Alcea rosea
Agastache xhybrid
Emilia javanica
Nigella damascena
Amaranthus caudatus
Tagetes patula
Tagetes erecta nana
Ipomea alba
Ipomea purpurea
Ipomea nil
Tropaeolum majus
Viola tricolor
Petunia xhybrida grandiflora
Petunia multiflora
Scabiosa stellata
Eschscholzia californica
Papaver somniferum
Papaver rhoeas
Papaver orientale
Papaver nudicaule
Salvia coccinea
Antirrhinum majus
Cleome hassleriana
Matthiola longipetala
Matthiola incana
Helianthus annuus
Tithonia rotundifolia
Lathyrus odoratus
Nicotiana alata
Nicotiana rustica
Nicotiana langsdorffii
Zinnia elegans
Zinnia haageana
Zinnia peruviana
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
P
P
A
B
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A,B,P
A
A
A
A
A
A
P
B
A
A,P
A
B
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
A
Insects
Insects
Insects
Self, wind
Self, insects
Self, insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Self, insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Wind
Self, insects
Self, insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Self, insects
Insects
Insects
Self, insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Self, insects
Insects
Self, insects
Self, insects
Insects
Insects
Self, insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Self, insects
Self, insects
Self, insects
Flowers
# of
plants
Isolation
distance
Seed
life
Notes
10
10
10
5
10
10
10
10
15
15
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
5
5
5
5
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
10
15
15
10
10
10
5
5
5
5
5
5
300
700
300
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
2 miles
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
600
700
700
mile
300
300
300
300
300
mile
600
mile
25
25
mile
mile
25
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
?
9 yrs.
8 yr.
2 yrs.
4 yrs.
4 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
3 yrs.
3 yrs.
9 yrs.
9 yrs.
5 yrs.
9 yrs.
?
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
4 yrs.
4 yrs.
4 yrs.
10 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
10 yrs.
2 yrs.
10 yrs.
2 yrs.
2 yrs.
1 yr.
3 yrs.
1 yr.
10 yrs.
10 yrs.
3 yrs.
3 yrs.
5 yrs.
3 yrs.
3 yrs.
3 yrs.
10 yrs.
10 yrs.
10 yrs.
Harvest whole plant for seed

Harvest browning seed head
Collect dry seed heads
Caution- highly toxic
Harvest spent flower heads
Harvest spent flower heads
Harvest brown seed heads
Harvest dried pods- shatter
Harvest dried pods- shatter
Collect fruits when dry
Harvest brown spikes
Harvest brown flower heads
Harvest dry balloon-like pods
Edible leaves & seed, prickly
Collect brown seed pods
Collect brown drooping pods
Collect brown capsules
Seed pods are small
Seed pods are small
Harvest brown flower heads
Harvest dry pods- shatter
Harvest dry pods
Harvest dry pods
Harvest dry pods
Harvest dry pods
Harvest dry flowers or stalks
Pods dry from bottom-up
Collect dry seed pods
Collect yellow seed pods
Collect yellow seed pods
Harvest when seeds rub off
Harvest whole plant for seed
Harvest as soon as fruit dries
Collect brown seed heads
Same as Z. angustifolia
Collect brown seed heads
Common name
Botanical name:
Genus species
Anise
Anise Hyssop
Basil, Sweet
Basil, Thai
Basil, Lemon/ Lime
Basil, Purple Leaf
Basil, Licorice
Borage
Catmint
Chamomile, German
Cilantro, Coriander
Cumin
Dill
Fennel
Fennel, Bronze
Hyssop
Lavender
Lemon Balm
Lemongrass
Marjoram, Sweet
Mint, Horsemint
Mint, Peppermint
Mint, Spearmint
Mint, Apple
Oregano
Parsley
Parsley, Curled
Purslane
Rosemary
Sage
Sage, Pineapple
Stevia
Stinging Nettle
Thyme
Thyme, Lemon
Thyme, Creeping
Toothache Plant
Wormwood
Pimpinella anisum
Agastache foeniculum
Ocimum americanum
Ocimum basilicum
Ocimum basilicum
Ocimum basilicum
Ocimum basilicum
Borago officinalis
Nepeta cataria
Matricaria chamomilla
Coriandrum sativum
Cuminum cyminum
Anethum graveolens
Foeniculum vulgare
Foeniculum vulgare
Hyssopus officinalis
Lavandula angustifolia
Melissa officinalis
Cymbopogon citratus
Origanum Majorana
Mentha longifolia
Mentha x piperita
Mentha spicata
Mentha suaveolens
Origanum vulgare
Petroselinium crispum
Petroselinium hortensis
Portulaca oleracea
Rosmarinus officinalis
Salvia officinalis
Salvia elegans
Stevia rebaudiana
Urtica dioica
Thymus vulgaris
Thymus x citriodorus
Thymus serpyllum
Spilanthes acmella
Artemisia absinthium
HERBS
Plant
life
A
P
A
A
A
A
A
A
P
A
A
A
A
A
A
P
P
P
A
A
P
P
P
P
P,A
B
B
A
P
P
P
A,P
P
P
P
P
P
P
Pollination
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Self, insects
Wind, bugs
Insects
Self, insects
Self, insects
Self, insects
Self, insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Self, insects
Self, insects
Self, insects
Self, insects
Self, insects
Self, insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Insects
Self, insects
# of
plants
10
10
15
15
15
15
15
10
10
15
15
15
15
10
10
10
5
10
5
10
10
10
10
10
5
15
15
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
5
10
Isolation
distance
Seed
life
Notes
mile
mile
150
150
150
150
150
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
1 mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
1 mile
1 mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
mile
?
?
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
?
?
?
2 yrs.
?
4 yrs.
4 yrs.
4 yrs.
?
?
?
2 yrs.
1 yr.
?
?
?
?
1 yr.
5 yrs.
5 yrs.
3 yrs.
3 yrs.
1 yr.
1 yr.
3 yrs.
6 yrs.
?
?
?
4 yrs.
?
Collect browning seed heads

Harvest brown spikes
Harvest brown clustered pods
Harvest brown clustered pods
v. citriodium
v. purpurascens
v. thyrsiflora
Harvest darkened seeds, drop easy
Collect dried flowers and spikes
Collect dried flower heads
Collect browning umbels- shatter easy
Harvest dried spikes
Harvest dried spikes
Collect browning seed heads, small
Collect dry seed heads, difficult
Harvest dry flower clusters
Mints are difficult for seed
Spreads by rhizome
Spreads by rhizome
Spreads by rhizome
Harvest dry flower clusters
Harvest brown capsules- shatter easy
Harvest brown capsules
Harvest dry clusters
Harvest dry clusters
Harvest dried flower heads
Collect in fall, seed after ripens
Collect dried flowers
Medicinal uses, tender perennial
Collect brown pods
Saving seeds has taught me a lot about plants and community. Through observation and engagement I have
witnessed transformations; a plethora of colors and sizes; the waitingfor flowers, food, and seed; insects that are
attracted to particular plants; significance of diversity; different seed pods and seed dispersion; and did I mention the
waiting (ha). I have gathered some data both personal and through the work of others to create this chart with the
hope that it helps in your seed saving adventure. And while on this adventure, take notes, and date your notes;
weather can have a big impact on why that normally high producing vegetable/fruit did not produce so well. This chart
is for open-pollinated varieties, as most hybrids (F1) will not produce true to type nor uniform seed.
Botanical names are important, they can indicate whether or not a cross is possible between two plants among
other things. If two different plants share the same species then a cross is possible. This is a big deal when trying to
save seed for reasons that vary: a backyard favorite; preserving an endangered variety; large scale seed production.
There are a large # of Brassica oleracea on the vegetable seed chart which represent several different plants: broccoli,
cabbage, kohlrabi, etc. Because of this, it would prove difficult to save seed from all of these in the backyard, providing
the minimum # of plants per variety, without them cross-pollinating each other, in the same year.
The life of a plant is important to know, especially if you mistakenly keep waiting for the biennial plant to flower and
produce seed in the first year. There are techniques such as planting some biennials early to harvest seed the first year.
Annuals grow, flower, fruit and die after one growing season. Biennials typically produce flowers the second year, seed
soon after, then die. Most vegetable crops are treated as annuals or biennials. Perennials grow and die back to the
ground, are survived by their roots, and repeat the process for at least 3 years- but typically longer.
Pollination can occur in different ways; these charts cover the 3 main ways pollen is transferred to produce seed.
Self-pollination occurs when the flowers own anthers pollinate the stigma, typically before the flower opens all the
way. Some insects can still transfer pollen from self-pollinating plants. Insects help move lots of pollen, and can do it
traveling great distances, hence the greater isolation distances for Insect pollinated crops vs self-pollinating crops.
Wind is another mover of pollen, however it tends to move pollen that is very small such as that of corn and spinach.
And yet a great distance can be covered by wind carried pollen; there has been reports of corn pollen traveling 5 miles
by wind.
Collecting seed from the # of plants on this chart is highly important and should be used as a minimum; this helps to
maintain genetic diversity that cannot be obtained by collecting from one flower or plant alone. What exactly does this
diversity look like? It means that one plant might produce early fruit, while another is very drought tolerant; the list
continues with such characteristics as: seedling vigor, plant stalk strength, nutrient utilization efficiency, heat and/or
cold tolerance, disease resistance, and taste. The more plants collected from, the higher diversity of genes within your
seed collection. Over time your seed bank will exhibit plant characteristics that have been developed to withstand and
even thrive in your region. Collecting seed depends upon when the seed matures which varies from Genus to Genus.
We harvest food to eat when it is horticulturally ripe, seed should be harvested when the fruit has become
physiologically ripe; some crops become unpalatable at this stage. Some seed is poisonous or hot (spicy), use gloves.
Isolation distances are listed as minimums on this chart; the farther the isolation distance the better when trying to
collect pure seed. Pollinators move pollen, so techniques such as caging plants, or covering flowers might be needed in
addition to maintaining the isolation distance. Alternating years of saving seed from different varieties in the same
species can help reduce the complexities and madness of trying to save all the seed during one growing season. Handpollination is also a great method, especially with squash, that allows you to save seed from multiple varieties of the
same species. Make sure to take the necessary precautions such as taping up the female flowers after pollinating them,
as well as labeling which fruits have been hand pollinated.
Seed life varies by Genus as well as storage methods. Ideally seed should be cleaned and then dried (14 days), stored
in jars or sealable plastic bags, and placed in a dark cool environment until ready for use. The sum of the temperature
and humidity should not exceed 100 in the storage area or the vigor and life of the seeds can be adversely affected.
Resources: www.seedsavers.org; Seed to Seed, Suzanne Ashworth; The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds, Robert Gough and
Cheryl Moore-Gough; www.victoryseeds.com; the trial and error of Joshua Fietz- can be reached at toledoseeds@gmail.com
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SEED SAVING CHART

Harvest when seed falls, sharp

Harvest whole plant for seed

Collect browning seed heads

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