Dear Grow a Row Stewards, (español)
Thank you for growing seeds for our community! Stewarding seeds locally will create more climate adapted plants and provide access to healthy nutritious food for our community. This webpage is here to help you grow your seeds from planting to harvesting and returning seeds.
Thank you for growing seeds for our community! Stewarding seeds locally will create more climate adapted plants and provide access to healthy nutritious food for our community. This webpage is here to help you grow your seeds from planting to harvesting and returning seeds.
General Seed Saving Guidelines
- Save from as many plants as you can. To maintain genetic diversity save from many plants.
- Label. Label. Label. Make sure the plants in your garden are labeled. Having a garden map is also handy. When you save seeds make sure they are always with a label. As a minimum, the label needs to have the species, variety, and year. Additional notes such as things you selected for and varietal information are very helpful. Since we gave you the seeds, we have some of the extra varietal information, but it is a good habit to save this information yourself when you share with friends and neighbors.
- Don't pamper your seeds. We want our seeds to be rigorous so don't spray with chemicals. Let nature weed out the less healthy plants.
- Storage matters: Make sure seeds are dry before storing them. Cool, dry, and dark is the best storage condition. If you have beans or peas, put dried seeds in a labeled glass jar for at least a week to kill and weevils. When taking the jar out of the freezer, don't open it for 24 hours to prevent condensation inside the jar.
- Return some: You can email us at [email protected] to let us know you have seeds to donate.
Spring Planting
|
Arugula: Rocket, Roquette
(Eruca sativa) Planting for seed saving: March - May Planting distances: 1/4 in. (0.5 cm) deep and thin to about 10 in. (25 cm) apart Population size: 5 minimum, 20+ recommended Seed saving: Let the plant send up a flower stalk and form seed pods. Let the pods dry on the plants. Remove from seed pods. It's helpful to put them upside down in a paper bag or old pillowcase to break up the seed pods. Video on seed cleaning. Cross-pollination risk: Easy to save. While it can cross with other arugula varieties, there aren't many varieties widely grown and we are open to genetic diversity. Resource from Seed Savers Exchange |
Beans
(Common: Phaseolus vulgaris) Planting for seed saving: mid-April-July (bush), mid-April-May Planting distance: 6 inches (15 cm) apart & rows 18-24 inches (45-60 cm) Population size: 1 viable seeds; 5-10 recommended Seed saving: Let beans dry completely on plant. Shell. Put in a labeled glass jar in the freezer for 1 week to kill bean weevils. Cross-pollination risk: Very low; beans are extremely self-pollinating. Runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus) will cross with other runners. To maintain varietal purity of runners, plant one variety. Resource from Seed Savers Exchange (Note: Their planting information isn't correct.) |
Cilantro & Coriander
(Coriandrum sativum) Planting for seed saving: April Planting distance: 1/4 in. (0.5 cm) deep and 6-8 inches (15-20 cm) apart Population size: 5 minimum; 20 recommended Seed saving: Let the plant send up a flower stalk and form seeds. Let the seeds dry on the plant. Cut off the tops. Rub the material between your fingers to remove the seeds. Video on seed cleaning. Cross-pollination risk: Insect pollinated. Will cross with other cilantro varieties. If trying to maintain varietal purity, plant one variety. |
|
Lettuce
(Lactuca sativa) Planting for seed saving: March-May Planting distance: 1/8 in. (0.3 cm) deep, thin to 6-8 in. (15-20 cm) apart Population size: Viable seeds 1, 5-10 plants recommended Seed saving: When starting to bolt thin to 12-16 in. (30-40 cm) apart. Let the plant develop flowers and when about half of them turn white and fluffy, cut them off and put upside down in a paper bag. Let them continue to dry for a couple of weeks and clean the seed. Video on seed cleaning. Cross-pollination risk: Extremely self-pollinating. To maintain varietal purity separate by 10 ft. Resource from Seed Savers Exchange 
|
Mustard
(Brassica juncea) Planting for seed saving: March-May Planting distance: Thin from 6-18 in. (15-20 cm) depending on the variety Population size: 5 minimum, 20 recommended Seed saving: When starting to bolt, thin to a minimum of 12 in. (30 cm) apart. Save from at least 5 plants to make sure that the seeds are viable. Let the plant send up flower stalks and produce seeds. The seed pods need to dry on the plant. When collecting, have an old sheet our tarp underneath as pods tend to shatter. Video on seed cleaning. Cross-pollination risk: Insect-pollinated. Will cross with other mustard varieties if flowering. Plant one variety to minimize cross-pollination. Resource from Seed Savers Exchange |
Spinach
(Spinacia oleracea)Spinacia Planting for seed saving: March-April Planting distance: 1/2 in. (1.5 cm) deep and 6-8 in. (15-20 cm) apart Population size: 10 minimum; 20+ recommended Seed saving: When starting to bolt, thin to at least 8-12 inches. Spinach is unisexual and has male and female plants so you need to save from at least 6 plants to ensure pollination. Let plant bolt, set flowers and let the seeds dry on the plant. Video on seed cleaning. Cross-pollination risk: Wind-pollination. Will cross with other spinach varieties. Plant one variety to minimize cross-pollination. Resource from Seed Savers Exchange 
|
Summer Planting
|
Cucumbers
(Cucumis sativus) Planting for seed saving: March - July Planting distances: Sow 1/2 inch (1.3 cm) deep with 2-3 ft (60-90 cm) apart or sow 3-4 seeds in a hill with 5-6 ft (150-180 cm) apart Population size: 1 viable seeds, 5+ recommended Seed Saving: Cucumbers are insect pollinated. If you want to maintain the variety, watch this video about squash pollination. It's the same process, but the flowers are just smaller. The other critical thing is the cucumber needs to stay on the vine way past the eating stage for the seeds to mature. See this video to see when it's time to harvest cucumbers for seed. |
Squash
(Cucurbita spp.) Planting for seed saving: March - July Planting distances (will vary with species and plant): 2 inches (5 cm) deep and sow them in hills, with 4 to 5 seeds per hill spaced 3 to 4 inches (8-10 cm) apart. 4 feet (120 cm) apart. Population size: 1 viable seeds, 5+ recommended Seed Saving: If you want to maintain the variety, watch this video about squash pollination. The other critical thing is the summer squash is that it needs to stay on the vine way past the eating stage for the seeds to mature. Basically, it will stay on the vine until it is a winter squash or in other words, the skin is tough. Here is a video. |
Tomato
(Solanum lycopersicum) Planting for seed saving: start indoors in February Planting distances: 2 ft (60 cm) apart determinate (bush-type); 3 feet (90 cm) apart indeterminate (sprawling-type) Population size: 1 viable seed, 5+ recommended Seed Saving: Watch this short video about how to ferment tomato seeds to save them for next year. |