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Seed security
By Zahrah Nasir
Obtaining a reliable supply of good quality seed can be
extremely problematic here in Pakistan and one way around this
is, when you have grown something that you consider to be
worth increasing, or if an annual for replanting the following
season, then simply save your own seed from existing plants.
 Seed
saving, it must be pointed out, is, on the whole, not a
difficult prospect as long as you keep in mind that seed
collected from Hybrid varieties, particularly if they are Fl
hybrids, is unlikely to reproduce itself in its original form.
Fl Hybrids can be successfully increased from cuttings as long
as the plant variety, e.g., geraniums, lends itself to this
form of propagation, but seeds from these may produce poor
plants which always seem to have smaller blooms.
The same goes for vegetable seeds of Fl plants as these are
most definitely smaller than their parent plants. It is always
better to collect seeds from 'Heirloom' varieties of flowers
and vegetables as, even though the majority of these are
'open-pollinated', which means that bees and other insects
transfer pollen from one plant to another causing some
'crossing', in the process, you are still liable to get good
reproduction for a number of years.
Some varieties of seeds are far easier to collect than others
as there can be no mistaking as to when they are ripe.
Larkspur must be one of the easiest flower seeds to collect
as, when the flowers dry up and drop off, the elongated seed
pod is clearly visible. At first it is light green and soft,
then slowly, weather conditions being suitably dry, the pods
turn various shades of brown, become crisp and papery, and if
you forget to keep a regular check on them they will have
split and dispersed there 'kalonji' like seeds before you've
had time to collect them. To be honest I've just had a mad
rush around my own garden to collect larkspur seeds as the
ominous growl of approaching thunder, heralding rain, reminded
me that this job must be done.
Once collected, on a dry day, seeds should be further dried
off either in wicker baskets or on sheets of newspaper. I
prefer the basket method as these allow for plenty of air
circulation and are much easier to move around, if you wish,
than millions of tiny-seeds rolling hither and thither on a
hard-to-balance sheet of newspaper. It is okay to dry seeds
off in direct sunlight as, let's face it, this is generally
their natural habitat. Whilst some seeds, larkspur, nigella
and members of the amaranthus family are easy to spot, as are
the curved-shaped light brown ones of calendulas, others can
be a little more difficult.
Not everyone realizes that zinnias and cornflowers for
example, whose petals dry to an almost fluffy consistency, are
absolutely loaded with seed. With these and other similar
varieties it is best to cut off the entire dry flower heads,
put them into paper bags for 'finishing off' and then break up
and scatter the heads, petals and all when the next planting
season comes around. In fact, if you are not at all sure what
the seeds look like and not all seeds actually look like
seeds, then this is the best method to follow, always bearing
in mind that everything must be perfectly dry prior to
storage.
Birds and insects can cause havoc with some seeds, sunflowers
being at the top of the list, everything with feathers and
creepy crawlies just love them. One way around this, strange
as it may look to puzzled observers, is to encase the faded,
seed rich flower heads in tightly tied muslin, old nylon
stockings or tights. This is not always 100 per cent
successful but you should be able to save some seeds for the
following year.
Some, but not all, vegetable seeds are easy to collect
although not everyone has the patience. Pumpkins must be
thoroughly ripe, then preferably stored in a cool, dark place
for at least three months after harvesting in order to obtain
quality seed. Extracting seed from bazaar purchased pumpkins
is a very hit and miss affair, much depends on the season and
hence on the location of origin as they ripen at different
times in different parts of the country. Good pumpkin seeds
are often quite plump and useless ones thin and brittle. You
can check pumpkin seeds by opening one and checking if there
appears to be anything inside or not. If the seed case is
obviously empty then simply forget it.
Lettuce seeds are not very difficult to collect from the
garden. Lettuce for seed suddenly starts to 'bolt' i.e., reach
for the sky. The plants spiral upwards at an amazing rate, (as
do cabbage and cauliflower), then they send out candles of
yellow flowers which get tufts of feathery stuff sticking out
of the top.
The seeds are attached to this fluff and a strong breeze blows
them all over the place when they are fully ripe. These seeds
are so tiny that it is best to cut off entire flowering heads,
fluff attached of course, and stuff them into paper bags to
dry off. Indeed leave them in the paper bags until next
planting time and then scatter them where they are to grow,
raking them in, or watering them in, as the case may be.
Lettuce and flowering cabbage must be one of the weirdest
seeding plants around and will raise more than your own
eyebrows I promise. Correct storage of seed is a vital factor.
All seeds must be thoroughly dry, not a trace of moisture
around and adding a few sachets of damp absorbent stuff, the
little bags often found in medicine bottles, and whose correct
chemical name totally escapes me at the moment (sorry), so
adding this to your seeds, then removing and replacing them
(after giving them a good dose of dry heat), can help to
prevent your seeds from deteriorating.
Seeds, each variety carefully packed in airtight containers,
preferably dark coloured ones, should then be stored in a
cool, dry, dark place until they are needed. In very hot and
humid conditions it can be best to pack all of your seeds in a
sealable container, add extra insulation tape around the lid,
and store it in the bottom of your fridge if you can find the
room.
The problem with fridge storage though is, yes, you've guessed
it, the notorious power cuts which if prolonged, as they often
are and if you don't have a back-up generator and most of us
don't, then condensation can get in and spoil the lot! Be
warned, but please, don't be put off. Also remember that
excess seed can always be traded with other gardeners for
varieties that you yourself didn't previously have. Seed
saving and seed swapping can be really good fun and a very
social enterprise at that.
Source: The DAWN
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