RE: Collecting Seed

Carleen wrote:

I don't wish to collect from the hybrids. Nor do I wish to cross
then. I hoped that I could collect seed from the heirloom if it would
not cross with the hybrid. But since you say they do cross, I guess I
just can't collect see here, unless I'm willing to ''cover'' the crop
and pollinate it by hand, right ?

You might want to look at any of the following: Nancy Bubel's "New Seed
Starters Handbook", Suzanne Ashworth's "Seed to Seed", Doug Miller's
"Vegetable and Herb Seed Saving" Miller's book may be harder to locate, but
Ashworth's and Bubel's are readily available.

Different vegetables cross more readily than others. Corn, for example,
crosses very readily, since pollination of corn is wind driven. Most tomato
varieties do not cross particularly easily; as a result, they can be grown
with closer spacing without fear of cross pollination. Squash cross
pollinates quicker than rabbits reproduce. A good general reference book
will tell you required/recommended spacing for each vegetable. And don't
forget that if you only grow one variety of a particular OP vegetable, you
can safely collect seed without worrying about isolating varieties. All bets
are off in the case of hybrids. They do not come true from seed.

Catharine/Atlanta, zone 7b
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index