Why Seed Saving Actually Begins in the Spring
The first step is critical
When you think of all the activities that go along with gardening in the spring, seed saving is rarely on anyone’s list. Afterall, you first have to plant something, have it flower and produce food, and THEN you get to save seeds. Right?
Not exactly. While the most active part of seed saving does indeed happen towards the late summer and fall, there are still key decisions to be made in the spring that can have big implications for your seed saving success.
Hi for those of you just joining in, my name is Sue and I have been saving my own seed for the last 27 or so years. This post is part of a series I am doing in 2024 called Successful Seed Saving 101. Each week I will post about the steps and methods of seed saving as we journey through the 2024 growing season. This series is open to paid subscribers.
What does spring have to do with seed saving?
Beyond the obvious of having your own seeds to plant each spring, seed saving concepts need to become part of your garden routine from start to finish to generate the best results.
The name of the game for seed saving is quality.
Quality Plants Quality Food Quality Seed
Because let’s face it, there’s work and time and space involved in getting those seeds out of the garden and into storage. If you are going to put the effort into saving seed, then it is totally worth it to set yourself up for success right from the beginning.
And that beginning is in the spring.
I’ve already started to cover the WHAT of spring planting for seed saving. You need to understand the basics of plant families and who crosses with whom, types of seeds found in catalogues, isolation distances, and testing seed germination.
Today let’s focus on setting seed saving goals in the spring that change how you garden for the rest of the season.
