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Growing Vegetables for Seed - Crossers and Selfers

The end of farm-saved seed?
This briefing traces the recent discussions within the seed industry and explores what will happen if a plant variety right becomes virtually indistinguishable from a patent.
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Differences in Seed Saving Methods by Chris Wells

On the weekend of November 21, 2003 I was lucky enough to be in attendance at John Navazzio's seed growing workshop at UBC in Vancouver. This severely intensive three day workshop was an incredible journey through the genetic life of plants, leaving all of the workshop's participants overwhelmed with ecstasy at the workshop's end. I would like to share one of the most interesting aspects of the workshop for me - the difference in methods of saving seeds for self-pollinating and cross-pollinating crops.


Self-Pollinating:

dioecious Self-pollinating crops include plants like tomatoes, peppers, peas, beans, and lettuce. These crops, like all self-pollinating species, have perfect flowers (contain both male parts - stamen, and female parts - pistil) and each flower supplies its own pollen. The flowers on these plants also stay closed until after pollination and fertilization has occurred. This ensures less than a 5% chance of the plant out-crossing (being pollinated by a plant other than itself).

Although most people grow these plants side by side even when growing for seed, John recommends leaving 100 meters between varieties to ensure cross-pollination does not occur.

This is especially important in organic agriculture ecosystems which are generally more diverse than conventional agricultural ecosystems (if they can even be called such). Increased insect activity in a diverse ecosystem is a major factor in cross-pollination in self-crossing species of plants. Other factors include seasonal weather, temperature, and varietal influences of the crop you are growing.

To save your seeds from self-pollinating crops, individually select the plants which have the attributes that you are looking for (frost tolerance, fruit production, etc.). Then plant these seeds out and carefully observe their growth including germination rates, growth rates, and other attributes relevant to your crop. Careful observations and record-keeping are essential in improving varieties and ensuring the attributes you desire will be present in your seed stock.


Cross-Pollinating:

monoeciousCross-pollinating crops include the brassicas, beets and other chenopodiae, alliums, corn, and squash. Some of these crops have monoecious flowers (male and female flowers on same plant - squash, corn, cucumbers) and some have dioecious flowers (male and female flowers on different plants - asparagus, spinach, cannabis). In general, each flower must be pollinated by another flower's pollen (or another plant's flower pollen). John recommends at least half a mile between different varieties of cross-pollinating to ensure no cross pollination occurs. Be sure to inquire with your neighbours to see what crops they are growing. As much as humans love fences, insects and wind don't see them..

To save seeds from your cross-pollinating crops, eliminate the poor plants from your field. This ensures that their pollen will not get mixed in with your seed stock and you can thus improve the quality of your seed. These plants can still be utilized and harvested, just do not let them go to seed.


Caveats:

However, a couple of caveats. First, environmental factors play a huge role in plant and seed quality. Unless plants are maintained very carefully, unexpected out-crossing and environmental factors can make good seed appear bad and bad seed appear good. Do not be discouraged! Make careful observations and keep immaculate records. Second, one plant doing way better than the rest of your plants does not mean that it will have better seed quality. According to John , it is likely that the plant just happens to be sitting on a nice piece of dinosaur turd. Make sure you grow your plants in varying conditions to ensure the quality of your seed production..

Confused? Basically, when saving seeds from self-pollinating crops, just save your best plants for seed; when saving seeds from cross-pollinating crops, do not let the poor plants go to seed (eat them instead).


As agribusiness takes over traditional farming, and transnational companies negotiate legal patents on everything from wheat to soybeans, there's a real danger that hundreds of non-commercial varieties of tomatoes, beans, squash, garlic, potatoes, rhubarbs, asparagus, you name it, could vanish from the landscape of which they are a natural part.
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