Saving Seeds from Your Garden

Learn how to save seeds from your vegetable garden in this series
for beginning seed savers.

 

I'll be giving two presentations on the art and science of saving seeds via Zoom, through the Mountain View Public Library . 

 See the descriptions below:

You must register separately for each, part I and part II. See the links below:

Seed Saving Basics, Part I: Thursday, September 17, 5pm- 6:30pm

Description: This talk is an introduction to the art and science of saving your own seeds. Learn the basic techniques for saving seeds from popular annual vegetable garden plants. Covered in part I: why we save seeds, the basic botany of flowers and pollination, saving pure seed and when to worry about species crossing.Vegetables discussed: lettuce, tomatoes, beans (includes peas), and peppers. Storing seeds will also be discussed.

Register for Part I: September 17, Part I

 

Seed Saving Basics Part II : Thursday, September 24, 5pm- 6:30pm

Description: this talk is a continuation of Part I, and will cover saving seeds from cucumbers and squashes, and biennial crops, such as brassicas (kale, broccoli etc) and carrots. If time allows popular herbs such as sweet basil and cilantro will be discussed. Plus simple ways to test the viability of your stored seeds (germination testing).

Resources for learning more about saving seeds and plant propagation will be provided.

Register for Part II: September 24, Part II

Lettuce seeds 

Photo credits: Patricia Larenas

Saving Seeds is an Essential Activity

In this time of the pandemic and sheltering-in-place, I'm abundantly grateful that I have a seed saving habit. As the pandemic began to make inroads in Silicon Valley, I had the sudden urgent desire to plant as many edibles as I could, and to reclaim some of the nooks and cranies of our yard that host ornamental plants instead of edible ones. 

I wasn't alone.

The rush to order seeds seemed to be a global reflex that caused seed companies to be quickly overwhelmed with orders: so much that it caused several of the large seed suppliers to temporarily close their online stores in order to keep up with the demand. If you are a gardener you know that the season marches forward and some crops need to be started in a certain window of time.

Therefore, I rushed to my seed collection and got growing without delay. I had most of the varieties I wanted to grow, and I was able to share extra seeds with others.

I'm even more committed now to saving seeds- it's essential, and even when we appear to be in times of stability, changes can occur at a frightening speed.

Save seeds. Sow them. Grow them. Repeat.

Small amounts of seed in coin envelopes for sharing

Pole beans can easily be grown in a sunny small space, even in the front yard!

Photos: Patricia Larenas

Grow Vegetables for All Seasons, a Lecture on Wednesday, Feb. 10

I hope to see you Wednesday night, Feb 10th, at 7:00pm in Los Altos for the next lecture in the series sponsored by the Western Horticultural Society, (WHS)!

Vegetables For All Seasons, a Talk by Drew Harwell

Drew Harwell has been eating out of local gardens everyday for the past 13 years. He recognizes (and champions) that living in the Bay Area, we have the luxury to grow food year-round. Drew will share ways to organize and plan your garden for year-round harvest. Topics will include diversified crop rotations, techniques such as biointensive gardening and permaculture, which maximize food production and maintain soil health and fertility.

Drew Harwell, Edible Garden and Permaculture Consultant, Palo Alto, CA  

Who:

Drew is an edible garden and permaculture consultant in Palo Alto, California. He is the manager of Chef Jesse Cool’s Seeds of Change Garden and a Stanford University lecturer. He has managed the Stanford Community Farm and the Common Ground Demonstration Gardens. A native of Palo Alto, he grew up gardening with his family in their community garden plot behind the main library.

When:

Doors open at 7:00 pm & the meeting starts at 7:30 pm.

Where:

We meet at the Christ Episcopal Church, 1040 Border Road, Los Altos. Park in upper lot. For details go to: the WHS website. You can check our Newsletters on the website for direction and a map. We meet at the Christ Episcopal Church, 1040 Border Road, Los Altos. Park in upper lot. Founded in 1963, the Western

About WHS

Founded in 1963, the Western Horticultural Society is made up of horticulturists, botanists, landscape designers and architects, nursery people, students and avid gardeners & Master Gardeners.

Lectures are free to WHS members and students with current student ID, and $5 for non-members. The public is welcome to attend!

Using a Cold Frame to Start Your Summer garden

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You can build your own or buy a cold frame that is a mini-greenhouse

Using a cold frame is a fantastic low-tech way to start your seeds for a summer vegetable garden ahead of the summer/spring growing season.

I mentioned using a cold frame in my previous posts, How to Grow From Seeds and Growing and Transplanting Seedlings.  A cold frame can be used in different ways and will give you more flexibility in starting your plants for a summer vegetable garden. Even if you have a long growing season, you'll have your yummy veggies on the table earlier in the summer than if you wait to sow your seeds directly in the soil.

What is a Cold Frame?

Cold frames are a great low-tech way to create a protected mini-environment for cold sensitive plants. They can be made with wooden sides, with a glass lid using old windows, or with fiberglass or plastic (polycarbonate or acrylic) sheets to let in sunlight. Some are made entirely of plastic or glass, like a small greenhouse. The top is movable for venting, because cold frames will heat up quickly (think of how fast your car heats up with all the windows rolled up). You will need to prop the top open varying degrees, and it’s also helpful to be able to remove it. They can be set on bare ground over a planting bed, or on paved areas. They are generally small for home use, about 4 to 6 feet long, 2 to 3 feet wide, and 1-2 feet high.

My cold frame is a Juwel BioStar 1500 with polycarbonate panels, and beagle proof!

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Managing the Cold Frame Environment

Place your cold frame in an area that gets the most hours of direct sunlight. On sunny days you’ll have to be very careful to prop the cold frame’s top open so that your plants (especially tender young seedlings) don’t dry out or get damaged by too much heat. You can start to acclimate your seedlings to ambient temperatures by propping the lid open just an inch or two at first on cold days, then wider as it gets warmer.

I leave it closed up at night, and prop the top open (or remove it) when the sun starts to hit the structure, depending on the air temperature. If it’s below 60° F and cloudy I leave the top on, but propped open. At 60° F and above I’ll remove the top until the sun sets, then put it back on for the night. For daytime temperatures on in the 40's and lower you may just leave it closed. High humidity could cause problems fungal diseases, but if temperatures are cool, it’s less likely.

Check your young plants for moisture at least every day, and more often if the cold frame is warm. If you are germinating seeds, remember that they have to remain evenly moist at all times.

Save $$ by Growing Your Own

If you like growing vegetables from seed I think you'll discover as I did, that a cold frame is a fantastic way to have nursery-quality seedlings ready for your summer vegetable garden when planting time rolls around.

 This post was also published on Eat Drink Better.

Photos: Patricia Larenas, Urban Artichoke

Reclaiming Our Heritage: Growing Heirloom Plants and Saving Seed

Heirloom beans I'm growing this year, clockwise from left: Hidatsa 
Shield Figure, Good Mother Stallard, Hutterite, and Tiger's Eye

The popularity of heirloom fruits and vegetables is much deserved; their flavor, variety, and beauty are clearly superior. But there are also other compelling reasons to preserve heirloom edibles, and they have serious implications for our future.

Organizations such as Seed Savers Exchange are dedicated to actively preserving the legacy of heirloom plants by operating a seed bank and a heritage farm for propagation. Most important, however, is their large grassroots membership of local gardeners and farmers that continue to grow and save seeds of heirloom edible fruits and vegetables:

"The genetic diversity of the world's food crops is eroding at an unprecedented and accelerating rate. The vegetables and fruits currently being lost are the result of thousands of years of adaptation and selection in diverse ecological niches around the world.
Each variety is genetically unique and has developed resistance to the diseases and pests with which it evolved. Plant breeders use the old varieties to breed resistance into modern crops that are constantly being attacked by rapidly evolving diseases and pests. Without these infusions of genetic diversity, food production is at risk from epidemics and infestations.” - Seed Savers Exchange

The Evolution of Localized Seed

Over the history of human agriculture, food plants became adapted to specific regions as they were nurtured, propagated, shared, and passed on through generations to preserve their special flavors and unique attributes. No matter where people have been born and raised, they all lovingly recall favorite foods that they dearly miss after moving from their home regions, and whenever possible they brought their food plants with them. At a minimum, this is the definition of heirloom seeds and plants.

Some sources define heirloom plants by the age of the particular cultivar, that is, how long ago the plant type came into existence, ranging from 50 to over 100 years ago. But the most important point is that they must be open pollinated, which means that they can be propagated through their seeds and that they are adaptable to different regions by growing them and selecting the plants that thrive and produce well under local conditions.

This dynamic quality is possible due to the genetic diversity retained by the plant, and this is a critical advantage in creating new adaptable varieties that have disease resistance, tolerance to either heat or cold, or the amount of water necessary for successful cultivation, and so on. They are also known for their unsurpassed range of flavors.

Regional seed swaps are still an effective way to share seeds and
build community among like-minded growers

In contrast, hybrid plants, those that have been purposefully crossed under controlled conditions to select for commercially advantageous traits such as color, durability under transport, high production, etc., have lost genetic diversity and are dependent on high fertilizer input, the use of pesticides and herbicides, and the seeds are either sterile or do not breed true. Hybrids began to be used extensively at around 1945, the end of World War II, and during the 1970’s the distribution of hybrid seeds was firmly established by commercial seed companies.

To grow hybrid varieties of vegetables or fruit you must depend on a commercial supplier for the seeds or seedlings, not on seeds saved by your grandparent or neighbor. This industrialization of agriculture has had a profound effect on farmers, and has limited the types of vegetables and fruits available to consumers. The proliferation of farmer’s markets across the nation is an attempt to regain access to the wonderful array of edibles not available in supermarkets, because they are grown on a small scale, and many are grown using organic practices.

Gardeners Help Preserve Our Agricultural Heritage

Organizations such as Seed Savers Exchange are dedicated to actively preserving the legacy of heirloom plants by operating a seed bank and a heritage farm for propagation. Most important, however, is their large grassroots membership of gardeners and farmers nationwide that continue to grow and save seeds of heirloom edible fruits and vegetables, and they also share them with other growers. 

The sharing piece is critical- the ultimate goal is to keep these cultural gems in cultivation.

Taos Blue corn with reddish coloration on the husk;
this is a visible sign of genetic variation and diversity

Each variety is genetically unique and has developed resistance to the diseases and pests with which it evolved. They also become locally adapted (referred to as a land race). Plant breeders use the old varieties to breed resistance into modern crops that are constantly being attacked by rapidly evolving diseases and pests. Without access to this genetic diversity, food production is at risk from epidemics of plant diseases and infestations. 

Seed Exchange members are listed in a database and offer their seeds to other gardeners for a small fee to cover shipping. There are literally thousands of varieties with interesting stories, and some are known only as “My grandmother’s sweet pepper“.

Members can also join the Citizen Science Corps (formally known as the Member-Grower Evaluation Network (M-GEN)) and volunteer to grow plant varieties from the collection in order to provide valuable information on how the variety grows in their region. 

For the home gardener there is a wealth of delicious and fascinating heirloom vegetables to discover; these are the holders of our diverse cultures, linking us to all humanity around the globe.

Photos: Patricia Larenas

Gardeners Help End Hunger in Their Communities

 It's planting time - this season plant a little extra to donate to your local food bank. In my city of Mountain View, CA go to the Community Services Agency with your home grown fresh produce, including herbs. You'll make a lot of people happy and healthy!

Growing food is a fundamental human activity and part of our social legacy that leads naturally  to sharing the abundance with our neighbors. Planting extra edibles and donating the surplus for those in need is not only a simple way for gardeners to contribute to alleviating hunger, but it's also a way to feel a real connection to your community.

If you have any space at all to grow vegetables or fruit, you can have a significant impact on not only reducing hunger, but also on promoting better nutrition. Fresh fruits and vegetables are expensive when you are struggling to make ends meet and feed your family, but they are essential for better health and proper nutrition. All that is required is that you grow a little extra and donate what you don't need to your local food bank.

As our economy continues to flounder, and the number of people who go hungry increases each day, local produce grown from your backyard garden can make a big difference in the lives of others. Food banks, public service agencies, and charities are reaching out to the public to get donations of fresh produce to distribute to the hungry, and the home gardener plays a key role. In addition to suburban gardens, community and school gardens and even company gardens can make produce donation a special part of their gardening programs.

How to Share Your Harvest

Programs such as "Plant a Row for the Hungry", started by the Garden Writers Association (GWA) as a public service project, highlight that there are over 84 million households in the USA that have yards or gardens, and if each of them planted just one extra row of vegetables and donated the produce to their local food bank or other service agency, significant progress would be made towards reducing hunger.

The GWA provides guidance and support on how start a program at the local level. There are now numerous local Plant a Row for the Hungry projects throughout the country, and to date over 14 million pounds of produce has been donated by gardeners. 

At the Community Services Agency (CSA) in Mountain View California, on average over 200 people a day shop at the agency’s Food and Nutrition Center for food to supplement what they and their families have to eat. The most popular items are fresh fruit and vegetables, and often there are not enough of these to distribute. Even donations of fresh herbs are welcome, and most gardeners have an abundance of prolific herbs (oregano, thyme, mint, basil, etc.).

We recently brought a big box of Meyer lemons from our large tree and bundles of freshly cut organic herbs to the Community Services Agency in Silicon Valley. As we laid our donations out several people immediately began taking handfuls of fragrant herbs and seemed most delighted to have them. It was very obvious that fresh produce is very much in need and appreciated.

The Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties also  requests donations of produce, which they distribute to other food distribution agencies:

"By sharing fresh fruits and vegetables lovingly grown in the backyard, the community can help nourish their neighbors in need."

They have also partnered with Village Harvest, an organization of volunteers that will come to your house and harvest surplus fruit from your trees for donation to food banks.

 

Transforming Ecosystems and Local Communities

Gardeners not only have the power to  transform their local urban and suburban ecosystems into thriving habitats while growing food, we also have the power for transformative social good. Most gardeners would be happy to contribute their surplus garden produce to feed the hungry, but the challenge is raising awareness about this simple but critical act of caring for the poor that makes an enormous difference in the health and nutrition in our local communities.

Find your local food bank today and get the most out of growing your own food – share it with others!

This post was published on Ecolocalizer 

Garden Features We Love Living With

Two garden features we love are the pergola, which functions as an outdoor dining space, and the raised bed that we assembled from a kit for growing vegetables (dog-proof!).

Pergola (aka arbor):

The fellow who built a fence for us turned out to be the go–to-guy for building the pergola we envisioned (Peninsula Fence) :

Our ex-gardener (we no longer needed his services after we remodeled) laid the flagstone on sand, with some planting soil on top so we could plant wooly thyme in between (note: some types of sand are not compatible with planting).

We put a round tile-topped table with four chairs underneath the pergola. The roses were preserved to provide green “walls” with lovely flowers spring through fall, and grape vines quickly grew to start filling in the top. We’ve spent many a pleasant day since then having breakfast, lunch or dinner under the grape vines!

Modular Raised Bed Kit:

We needed a space safe from our lovely greyhounds for growing edibles. Maui and Zippo love to race around the backyard, which resulted in removal of the raggedy lawn we inherited with the house. They did us a favor and jump-started our backyard remodel, which included getting rid of water-wasting lawns, planting native and low water plants, and spaces for growing vegetables and herbs. We also added some young fruit trees and blueberry bushes.

We are not carpenters, and we both work during the week, so for us it was a great choice to order this kit from Gardens to Gro :

We liked that they are a mom 'n pop company, and that it would not have to ship too far (from San Diego to SF Bay Area). It came with wire mesh to lay down to foil gophers, and also with a watering system. It also has a cute gate, to keep out the pooches. We got the 20 inch high beds to minimize back strain while planting.

The beds have herbs planted around them, and they have provided fresh food year round. We are in our second winter with the beds, experimenting with what grows best and tolerates our frost, and we look forward to our third spring and summer coming up! By the way, we use no pesticides, and we are committed to keeping our yards free of that stuff- besides, we have found it's really not necessary. Common Ground, our local organic gardening center in Palo Alto, provided lots of inspiration and resources.