PermaNews Guide: Seed Saving Basics with Suzanne Ashworth
TL;DR: Master home seed saving techniques for over 160 vegetables, covering everything from pollination to storage.
- Learn specific seed-saving techniques for diverse vegetables.
- Discover classification, pollination, and isolation methods.
- Gain expertise in harvesting, drying, cleaning, and storing seeds.
- Access comprehensive guides for all experience levels.
- Understand how to preserve genetic diversity and reduce costs.
Why it matters: Saving seeds from your garden ensures food security, preserves plant varieties adapted to your local environment, and significantly reduces gardening expenses.
Do this next: Choose one favorite open-pollinated vegetable from your garden and commit to saving its seeds this season.
Recommended for: Dedicated home gardeners who want to achieve self-sufficiency in seed production and contribute to biodiversity.
This resource provides access to comprehensive seed-saving references including "Seed to Seed" by Suzanne Ashworth, widely acknowledged as the best guide available for home gardeners learning to produce and store seeds on a small scale. The guide describes specific techniques for saving seeds from 160 different vegetables, with detailed information about each vegetable including botanical classification, flower structure, pollination methods, required population size, isolation distance, techniques for caging or hand-pollination, and proper methods for harvesting, drying, cleaning, and storing seeds. The author has personally grown seed crops of every vegetable featured and thoroughly researched and tested all recommended techniques for home garden implementation. The second edition includes additional information about starting each vegetable from seed, transforming it into a complete growing guide. Another key resource is "The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds" by Robert E. Gough and Cheryl Moore-Gough, which provides simple, clear instructions explaining the entire process from basic plant biology to proper seed storage and successful propagation. This guide helps gardeners of any experience level preserve genetic diversity, cut costs, and extend the life of favorite plants across generations. The resource also references "A Seed Saving Guide for Gardeners and Farmers," a manual providing basics from choosing appropriate varieties for seed saving through harvesting, processing, and storing seeds, assuming readers have basic vegetable-growing knowledge. Additionally, Adaptive Seeds offers a free downloadable seed-saving booklet providing accessible instruction for beginners.