[Potiron]

 I was wondering if anyone would be interested in joining, starting,being a part of a Seed Saving Group. We are trying to get one started in France if we can get passed the bureaucracy, so what about it ? 

[little sweetpeas]

I'm trying to start one on our site but I'm really surprised at the lack of interest. The men don't seem interested apart from a young Dad also in his 30's and another lady on the plot.

I dedcided this year that I would turn my plot over to veg varities that I could save seed from and seem to have ordered most of the realseeds.co.uk product list.

I'd be happy to join you but be warned not sure how I'm going to get on. I have already saved my pepper and beans from last year but this year I really want to try leeks,cucumber,tomato's, lettuce and once I read up on it a lot more.

This year I sowed half my peppers from my seed and the other half used more new seed from realseeds. I was really pleased with mine. Both are doing really well and are now forming their third set of leaves.

[Stevens706]

Please count me in, last year I managed to save leek seeds and have been pleased that they have germinated and now intend to set an area aside to grow for seed.

[little sweetpeas]

Please count me in, last year I managed to save leek seeds and have been pleased that they have germinated and now intend to set an area aside to grow for seed.

Great stuff- how easyb did you find saving the leek seed and have you sown any of them this year.

Edited - just reread your post again and see that they have germinated.

[Cazzy]

I'd be really interested in this, I've bought most of my seed from realseed this year.

I'm planning to start saving just peppers, chilies and tomatos this year to see how I get on, thats providing I get cages built in time  :blink: i'm a bit behind with everything already.  I'd like to eventually save all my own seed.

[little sweetpeas]

I'd be really interested in this, I've bought most of my seed from realseed this year.

I'm planning to start saving just peppers, chilies and tomatos this year to see how I get on, thats providing I get cages built in time  :blink: i'm a bit behind with everything already.  I'd like to eventually save all my own seed.

Don't worry about the cages too much. Just make sure they are covered by the time the flowers form. Last year I only caged one pepper plant from each variety just used fleece tacked to four canes (might need batoning if growing outside rather than canes) . Made a cage in minutes. Once three flowers had set (if thats the right word) i marked the fruit with some ribbon and then removed the cage altogether.

[Cazzy]

used fleece tacked to four canes 

Do you think net curtain would do the job?  Its fairly tightly woven.

[little sweetpeas]

used fleece tacked to four canes 

Do you think net curtain would do the job?  Its fairly tightly woven.

Yes it would be fine. It's only to protect the flowers from bees. I used a paintbrush on my flowers to get them to set and like I said once you feel you have a enough peppers set by hand you can remove the curtain and let the bees do their work on the other flowers. Just remember to mark the fruit that's been pollunated by hand.

[Cazzy]

Thanx for the advice Sweetpeas, doesn't feel so daunting now, much appreciated. 

I'm looking forward to this.

[Robin Redbreast]

forgive if this a stupid question but if you save your own seed every year arent the chances of disease more apparent or is it something else like weaker crops or something to do with cross pollination? :blink:

[little sweetpeas]

forgive if this a stupid question but if you save your own seed every year arent the chances of disease more apparent or is it something else like weaker crops or something to do with cross pollination? :blink:

When saving seed you save from your best crops, the early ones the strongest ones. You wouldn't save seed from weak poor performing plants or diseased plants.

[Stripey_cat]

forgive if this a stupid question but if you save your own seed every year arent the chances of disease more apparent

Relatively few plant diseases are spread by seed, and you don't save seed from diseased plants anyway if you can avoid it, so the risk is quite small.  And in any case, buying in seed risks bringing in new disease, just as much as saving seed risks perpetuating existing disease.

or is it something else like weaker crops or something to do with cross pollination? :blink:

Um.  F1 hybrids don't come true from seed, but traditional (open-pollinated) types are required to by law.  So, so long as you don't cross two different varieties, you can maintain a strain just as well and as stably as any specialist (and possibly better than some because you're paying more attention on a smaller scale).  Also, any gradual change in the selection will be towards a plant that's more suited to your particular conditions, so you may actually end up with a better, more suitable strain than the one you originally bought.

If you cross two strains you create your own F1 hybrid, which may be brilliant or may be dodo, and then you have to either recreate the cross each year (which means you need to maintain both parent strains as well), or attempt to stabilise a new true-breeding strain, which is a PITA and a long, slow process! 

Bottom line is that, if you do a good job, you can get just as good (or better) seed from saving your own as from buying in.  The drawbacks are the amount of work needed (which is less than you might think, but still more than writing a cheque and filling in an order form), the difficulty of creating new varieties (most people eventually succumb and try their hand at breeding, but worthwhile new varieties almost always have to be bought in), and the impossibility of maintaining an F1 strain at home (if your favourite variety is an F1, you're stuffed).  The biggest benefit is cost saving; also, you can maintain rare varieties that the seedhouses don't stock for one reason or another.  Finally, there are ecological benefits to keeping as much genetic diversity as possible, including different selections of the same nominal variety.

[SpudtheBinx]

This is something that I am trying to do this year too. I started last year with tomatoes and this year I will be trying it with peppers and tomatoes and perhaps more. I would be happy to swap should I get enough seeds.

[Haz]

Hi,

Interesting topic and you count me on as well. 
I always try to save seeds and plant most of my tomatoes (about 10 different ones), peas, sweet peas, radish and papers from saved seeds.  This year i will try various aubergines as well as my precious middle eastern cucumber.

hazem