PDC LESSON 3.10 SEEDS – WHEN TO PICK THE PLANTS

  

                     

PERMA COURSE AGRO-ECONOMY

PDC LESSON 3.10 SEEDS – WHEN TO PICK THE PLANTS

 

When to pick the plants for seed saving

To make sure that the seed have matured enough, it is important to leave the plants in the ground until the plant has died and dried up. Tomatoes and other fruits that ripen and fall to the ground need to be collected when they are over-ripe, and beans and peas should be left on the vines until they are dried up. With plants that tend to shatter their seed, it is imperative to take them off the vine before this happens.

Generally, the best time of the day is around 10 am. As this is when the dew has evaporated.

 

Criteria for selection

you will have to observe to see which plants are the healthiest and most robust for seed collection.

Select the plants that are drought hardy and that perform well. When saving seed for lettuces, it is important to save the seed of the last lettuces that bolt as this ensures that the characteristics of a longer lasting lettuce are maintained. There is so much genetic variability in open-pollinated plants, that with the characteristics that are required, we have choices that we can make by selecting for certain traits. 

Take corn for instance. It is important to select the first plump juicy cobs that form on the stalks. This is to encourage the early forming of the corn cobs. With beans, it’s best to select a few bushes or vines that will be grown purely for seed. The first beans are especially important. The problem with beans is that when the beans are left on the vines it will slow down fruit production, so this is where some sacrifice has to be made as the more beans you pick, the more fruit-set.

With root crops, choose the largest, smoothest and most well-formed specimens that are the best representatives of that crop. It is those characteristics that you continuously select that will dominate over the next few generations. When selecting for certain characteristics to dominate and become localised, it will take up to ten years for these to take effect.

 

When selecting certain plants for seed saving, they need to be earmarked so that no one will touch them.

This also means YOU.

Tie a ribbon on the plant or place a sign near it to mark it.

Text from the roots, Elisabeth Ferkonia (Aus.) PDC studied with Bill Mollison,