HARVESTING SEEDS

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIII, Issue 6, 8 January 1942, Page 10

HARVESTING SEEDS

As a rule it is more economical for the small gardener to purchase, such seeds as he may require, but there are occasions when something very special is produced, the seed of which it would

be advisable to collect. It. is necessary to remember, however, that there is no certainty that the resulting plants will produce .flowers identical with those of the parent, some plants being notoriously uncertain. r ' . In aIJ cases seed should be saved only from the very best plants, vigorous and free from disease. The aim should be to improve the strain, and this can only be done by careful selection. Another point worth remembering is that seeds produced while the plant is" at its full vigour will give better results than those .which come later when the plant is worn out and exhausted. . ■ , , ..." .

Seeds should be harvested when ripe, but before the pods burst, and only when quite dry. If gathered while damp they, are apt to mildew and become useless. After gathering, spread them out on shallow trays in a dry, sunny place, and when thoroughly dry, clean off the husks and store away in packets, which should, of course, be clearly marked.

There is a fascination in raising plants from one's own seeds, as there is always the possibility, of getting something quite new—not that the new things are necessarily better than the old. Unless they have some marked superiority they should.be discarded, only the very.best being retained, so that the strain may be kept up to standard or improved. . • . .