Kay and Ngaio Te Rito check the Pukekohe Long Keeper onion crop in the main seed … Watch out for insects in stored seed. When it’s bone dry (in a week or two) store in a sterilised, labelled jar. Once all of the pumpkin seeds are clean, place them on the lined cookie sheet in a single layer. The seeds are large and easy to collect. Birds are a menace too – they love snacking on dried seeds – so you'll need to cover seeding beds with a frame covered in bird netting, or tie recycled pillowcases over large seedheads such as sunflowers. At the heart of our organization is a seed bank that houses a collection of 20,000+ rare, open-pollinated varieties. My world may seem to be a great big mess at the moment – my herb, flower and vegetable gardens look a bit ramshackle and dishevelled, and my dining room table is strewn with a cacophony of bags, boxes, baskets and buckets. I've saved yellow mustard seeds to make my own Colman's hot English mustard, coriander seed for my spice jars, speckled Italian borlotti beans for winter stews and purple-podded heirloom 'Capucijner' peas for pea and ham soup. • To collect, process and store seed. All bean seeds are edible, so eat any you're not intending to sow. Or perhaps you're on the hunt for heirloom or hard-to-find seed varieties? Place Seeds on Sheet . Setting seed is the secret aim of every plant that we grow. Premium Ingredients & DIY. Browse the latest baby, child, teen & women's clothing & accessories at Seed Heritage. CHB Seed Library recommends that when getting started with seed saving you try to save seeds from easy plants first. Leave seeds to air dry inside. We’ll delve into the different plant families, how to identify and select for the best genetic traits. Your own approach can be as free-spirited or scientific as you like. Saving seed and sharing the seed with friends, family, and neighbours is a great BUZZ that helps us to connect with our food and build more resilient communities A lot of the older seed varieties introduced to new Zealand by our indigenous Maori and by settlers from all over the globe also play an important part in the history and culture of our country. It looks like this NZ food bill will pave the way to reduce the plant diversity and small owner operations in New Zealand, for example by way of controlling the legality of seed saving and trading/barter/giving away; all will be potentially illegal. Label them with a special note and give them as gifts, loves grows where you plant it. The collection and distribution of seed, can only continue, if you support it by saving seed and sending it to Anne Hurly. This will help them dry thoroughly on all sides. Join us and our mate Dave from Ecoseeds for this seed saver workshop 🌱. Much of the agricultural diversity that has taken 10,000 years to create is under threat due to industrialised agriculture. Harvesting unripe seed doesn’t work, and immature seeds never germinate. Lay on a plate (still with the label if you are saving more than one variety) and whenever you walk past shuffle the seed about to stop it sticking together. Pick and pop the ripe pods from swan plants. Over the years I have saved all sorts of seeds – some rare, others quite common – for all sorts of reasons, some practical, some romantic. It was written in 1993 by Michel and Jude Fanton, founders of The Seed Savers’ Network, especially for Australian and New Zealand cultures. Save seeds from herb flowers or reserve from vegetables. Store seed in envelopes in a cool, dry, dark place. Shop with Afterpay. You will learn about the basics of seed saving including how; • A variety of plants are pollinated. Instead of collecting, storing and resowing my own seeds, I simply stand back and let one generation of plants propagate the next. Problem insects include Weevils, Moths, Mites and Trogoderma which are microscopic. If you are saving seed for home use only, you will not really need an electric dehydrator, just put the seeds in the sun on the window sill or in the greenhouse until very dry. Includes: US recycled steel case (5.25" x … To save your own bean seeds, leave the old pods to dry fully on the vine, until the seeds rattle inside. For her, the nutritional content of food plants is their most important quality. Saving seeds has many benefits and with a few tips and an understanding of what to grow, how to plant, and how to collect seeds, you'll be on your way to seed saving in no time. We support Bart Acres & otepoti organics to teach people about seed saving in Dunedin . Living in Northland and wanting to grow her own fruit, Kay Baxter looked around to see which fruit trees were doing well in the area, but noticed that few people were growing their own and that those sold at the garden centres did not fare well. Dried love-in-the-mist seed pods (Nigella damascena). The Seed Savers’ Handbook is a complete reference for growing, preparing and conserving 117 traditional varieties of food plants. Meet the seed-saving couple living entirely off the land (except for salt) Nadene Hall 18:22, Jun 12 2015. How to be a save seeds with environmental educator Robina McCurdy. Nearly all plants produce seeds, the trick to knowing how to save them is watching to see when they are ripe. Separate the seeds from each other, taking care not to let them clump or touch. The following plants are all fairly easy to save seeds from because the seeds will grow plants that are the same as their parents. Tui Performance Naturals Tomato & Vegetable Liquid Fertiliser. Basic seed saving requires little more than a friendly relationship with nature and plenty of paper bags. tubers) from vegetables, grain, herbs, and flowers for use from year to year for annuals and nuts, tree fruits, and berries for perennials and trees. You’ll learn and practice the basic techniques for seed extraction and storage. As late as 1900 there were over 1500 different food crops, each further represented by thousands of different cultivated varieties. With over 20 years of experience in organic seed saving, Dave will explore the importance of local seeds and cover the basic principles to get started on saving your own. Even seedheads that feel crackly and crispy will still need a few more days in an airy warm, room (or garden shed). Free shipping on purchases over $100. Always clearly label what the seeds are, or else you may find when you come to sow in spring it’s a bit like a lottery seeing what germinates! Lowest prices guaranteed. • To plan a garden so seed will grow true to type. Whether your style is fiddle leaf figs, or maidenhair ferns, creating your very own indoor oasis is the perfect finishing touch to your living spaces. This kit includes everything you will ever need and more! Wash vegetable seeds of any excess flesh and spread onto newspaper to dry. Single-flowered dahlias are a magnet for bees, and produce plenty of seed to save and resow. Come along and help harvest seed from my seed garden. This results in a very untidy shambles of an autumn garden followed by a wonderful lolly scramble of free seedlings in spring. We are here to inspire and support your ‘journey’ in regenerative living. We encourage you to spend more time in the garden during this Covid challenge. Large seeds are easiest to save. Collect your favourite flowers and mix them all up in a bag or envelope. Soap – Castile, Bars, & Dispensers Most of us who save seeds have far too much (it's easy to do when you consider that a single lettuce yields thousands of ripe seeds) so let's help each other get growing rather than stockpiling. It will give you an abundance of seed that you can plant, swap, give and store for next year. Both philosophies work because seedy plants are no fools. Tap the container gently on … Kay began saving seeds in 1986, the year of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, when she realised New Zealand was reliant on seeds imported from the Northern Hemisphere. Be sure to make a note of the seeds you are drying, as many varieties appear similar. As a general rule, you can save seeds from any plant that produces them in sufficient quantity to collect. Welcome to the Kōanga Institute Home of New Zealand largest heritage food plant collection. It's easy to collect, clean and save. A plant often indicates its seeds are ready to harvest by producing pods, seed heads, fluffy tufts or the berries turn brown or begin to shrivel and die. (Don't bother with modern F1 hybrids as they are unlikely to come true from seed (be a genetic match of their parents.). All seed has a shelf life. Seed Saving. We are pleased to be able to share some of our Garden to Table gardening, cooking and education resources to support families during this lockdown period. This desire to reproduce can be harnessed by us and assisted as we collect and store seed at the end of a growing season - saving it to start the next season’s crop. If you are an experienced seed saver and keen to help keep some of our valuable heritage varieties going, please order some of our Guardian seeds. Stake plants with tall seed spikes, such as silverbeet and brassicas, so they don't fall over, and keep them well watered even if they look past it, as drought-stressed plants are more vulnerable to pest and disease problems. Today … Read More Place the envelopes in tins or containers to keep insects and mice away. I am a horticultural hoarder who likes to grow a wide range of edible and ornamental plants, many of which are annuals that willingly set copious quantities of seed when they've done their dash. “Nutrient-dense food is the key to our health. My late Uncle John, a fine organic grower in Pukekohe, grew huge bulbs of purple-skinned garlic and shared his seed cloves with me. Want to raise a walnut seedling? Saving seeds is a good way to practice sustainable gardening. Saving seeds can be a little addictive, and there are many different ways to save them – this humorous excerpt from A Home Companion discusses how to successfully save tomato seeds. Learn the basics of how to save seeds from your garden. Start while the nuts are still fresh. NZ Gardener is driving a Great April Seed Swap on Neighbourly. In agriculture and gardening, seed saving (sometimes known as brown bagging) is the practice of saving seeds or other reproductive material (e.g. We really are lucky here in NZ, there are a plethora of fantastic varieties to choose from. After threshing and cleaning, the Koanga Institute dries its seeds in an electric dehydrator set at 30°C to reduce the moisture content (so the  cell walls aren't damaged by freezing and thawing) prior to popping it in the freezer for a few days to kill any bugs that might hatch out. Save loads of broad beans to sow as cover crops for winter soil protection. READ MORE: * Cash crops: money-saving edibles to grow * How to grow sweet peas - and why you should * Build raised garden beds for $10. Some seeds are best sown directly into the garden, like peas, beans and carrots; whereas other seeds are best sown in seed raising trays. There, your very own seed. This is the traditional way farms and gardens were maintained for the last 12,000 years. Pumpkins and melons: seeds need to be washed and set aside to dry for a week or so before storage. Purple-fleshed 'Blackboy' peaches sprout reliably and come true from seed (aka cracked pits). Thoughts on Seed Saving. Buckwheat is great as an insect habitat and a cover crop. The Seed Savers’ Network, since 1986. Since 1975, we have grown, saved, and shared heirloom seeds and led a movement to protect biodiversity and preserve heirloom varieties. Saving seeds is easy, cost-effective and rewarding. Thoughts on saving your herb and plant seeds. If we select strong healthy plants to save seed from, we are also producing plants that will thrive in our own environment. We built a movement, not a seed company. Only save cloves to resow from rust-free crops. Until I had enough spare seeds to share with green-fingered friends, I didn't actually eat any of the pods. Here are a couple of our books now free to download- “Seed to Seed Food Gardens“ on how to start a food garden, “Local Seed Network Manual” on how to start a group that collects, uses and distributes locally adapted seeds and other planting material. If you have seed to swap and share, or want seed of a particular type, register as a member (if you aren't already) to join your local NZ Gardener group and connect to gardeners near you. To save your own bean seeds, leave the old pods to dry fully on the vine, until the seeds rattle inside. Shop now! Dry seeds thoroughly prior to storing in jars, or they'll sweat under glass and start to rot. Seed saving at Koanga Gardens. Seed Savers Aotearoa New Zealand (SSANZ) facilitates the sharing of information and resources between regional seed saving groups. Remember that while most saved seeds remain viable for many years, some – such as parsnips, corn and parsley – germinate best when fresh. Most cheap dehydrators in NZ are on 70°C and they can not be turned down. Watch out for weevils hatching out in jars of saved borlotti beans. Do the right thing and learn how to save your seeds! March 28, 2017. To clean big batches of seed, I wait for a windy-ish day then use a pair of old soil sieves to sort the seed from the chaff, literally tossing the seed (winnowing) from one sieve to the next until all the debris blows away. A few years ago, having been gifted a handful of pretty crimson-flowered broad bean seeds, I grew back-to-back crops purely to bulk up my supply. Because I'm never in any rush to tidy up my garden at the end of the season, much of this seed matures in pods on the plants, and all I have to do is collect, dry, clean and store it. It means saving money as we don’t have to keep buying seeds. Seeds stored in airtight and dry conditions should last at least 12 months, maybe a little longer. Some will germinate, and some won't, and the best way to find that out is to give it a go. Allow to hang somewhere dry and warm for a week or so. If you are just beginning your seed saving journey, please order from the Beginners Seed Savers Catalogue as these are varieties that are more common place and will be good to practice saving with. The institute also provides more information about saving requirements of each plant family on its website. The Gardener's Seed Saving Kit Seed saving is a smart and economical way to preserve your special plants for the next season and the next generation. ... 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Take a look around our website for 100% organic, regenerative and NZ grown seeds, trees, perennials, workshops, Guided Tours or check out our publications, and apprenticeship opportunities. The hard-necked Spanish red variety pictured here is 'Aja Rojo', which I sourced from Mototara Farm Produce in Muriwai Valley, West Auckland. Contact us if this is something you would like to know more about. Resilient, and big time special. Coriander always bolts to seed. Seed Saving. I also save giant sunflower and plump pumpkin seeds (the latter to roast, rather than to resow, because pumpkins are promiscuous hussies so you never quite know what you're going to end up with). Do you have spare seeds? It all started with fruit trees. Saving seeds is one of the more rewarding things you can do in your garden. Save ripe seed that has matured fully prior to harvesting, from healthy and disease-free plants. STORED SEED. 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