SEED SAVING TIPS
Seed-saving is a gardener’s art and it doesn’t have to be difficult:
– always keep seed of strong healthy plants which look typical of the variety
– pull up weak or atypical plants before they flower
Three pollination methods are of concern to the home gardener:
Wind pollinated
There must be no other varieties within 1 ½ km that are shedding pollen at the same time, as cross-pollination can occur and the harvested seed won’t be pure.
Insect pollinated
A ½ km separation is generally required to avoid cross pollination.
Self-pollinated
Pollen is transferred directly to the stigma within the flower so cross pollination is unlikely.
To hand pollinate using a paintbrush
Each day choose newly opened flowers (on a runner bean plant for example) and push down the lower keel of each flower to mimic a bee landing, then brush the anthers and stigma. Move from one flower to the next, just as a bee does. Wash the paintbrush if you pollinate more than one variety.
