Canadian Gardening – Site of the Month
September 2003.
“Sassy, unconventional and totally passionate about plants, You Grow Girl is refreshingly, um, fresh. The work of Toronto-based Gayla Trail and a host of volunteer contributors from around the world, You Grow Girl re-defines gardening for a new generation of gardeners. Under a cheeky veneer of scorn for conventional gardening wisdom lies a solid base of horticultural information delivered in Sex in the City style. From Jane Eaton Hamilton’s Adequate Gardener column (I admit it, I’m addicted) to the catnip test-off (which brand does your cat prefer?), the website is full of chuckles, surprises and, er, fun. Send a You Grow Girl e-card to a friend, read a plant journal, post a question to a forum or submit a gardening tip, whatever. Get real, get gardening with You Grow Girl.”
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There are a variety of reasons for harvesting your own seeds; some personal, some environmental. Perhaps you have a variety that you like and you are concerned that seed companies may discontinue stocking it. You saw some wildflowers while on an outdoor hike that you’d like to grow in your own garden. You have a heritage variety and you want to continue growing it in future years. You want to trade some of your seeds with some of a friend’s seeds, you want to grow organic seeds, or maybe you just want to save money and avoid buying new annuals next year. Whatever the reason, you don’t need to be a botanist or a farmer to do it. If you can grow plants, you can produce your own seeds. There are however, a few things you may want to know before you get started.
Plants either have all the parts to pollinate themselves, (called self-pollinators) or they are aided in accomplishing this by insects, the wind, or human intervention (cross-pollinators). Self-pollinators are commonly referred to as ‘perfect flowers’ as they contain all the parts to successfully pollinate themselves. The comparatively imperfect cross-pollinators produce all the parts to pollinate, but not all in one place. Parts are divided between blooms or are ‘self-incompatible’, identifying their own pollen as foreign material. Pollen must find its way from one plant to the next. This method is preferable for the survival of the species because it ensures that the plants produce genetically diverse seeds– seeds that contain different genetic information or traits then the original plant. This enables the plant to better adapt itself to the environment it is in, or acquire traits that will help it become more disease resistant. Self-pollinators on the other hand, essentially produce clones, which makes them more susceptible to any problems that may arise.
Open Pollenated, Heirloom, and Hybrid
Before long a seedpod will replace the spent flower. Don’t remove the seed head right away: leave it on the stems as long as possible, letting it ripen within the pod. Seeds are generally ready when the pod turns brown, dries out or cracks open. If you notice that the seed pod is prone to cracking open on it’s own (snapdragons, violas, pansies), attach a lunch-sized paper bag around it using an elastic or string, catching the seeds as they fall. When the seeds are fully ripe, cut the stem at the base of the plant and shake the seed head inside the bag to dislodge the seeds from the casing. If some seeds are lost to the soil they will come up on their own next year. This is called self-seeding, and many annuals reproduce themselves this way.
If the seed heads are not fully dry and ripe when you cut them off, either hang the stems (with the seed cases) or lay them flat to dry on a newspaper or paper towel pad away from direct light. Make sure that all seeds are completely dry before removing them from the pods: if you package them before they are fully dry they will go moldy in storage. This is the simplest way; it’s easier to dry the whole seed head then a bunch of loose seeds. When the pod is dry, extract the seeds by carefully crushing or breaking open the seedpods. Separate crushed debris from the seeds by sifting everything through a fine mesh screen. The debris will fall through and the seeds will remain on top of the screen. Some seeds such as those from marigolds or black-eyed susans can simply be pulled from the seed head.
Seeds from fruits and vegetables should be collected when plants are at their peak, before they are over-ripe and decay has set in. Some vegetables such as beans are the exception and should be harvested when the pods are dry. Seeds from most fruits and vegetables are incased inside a wet environment (the part usually eaten). In the case of very wet pulp such as tomatoes, the seeds can be washed from the pulp and then laid out to dry on newspaper or a screen. The same can be done with pumpkins, squash and other soft pulp vegetables. In the case of harder pulp fruits and vegetables they are simply opened up and the seeds removed manually.
Storing Seeds
Store seeds carefully by placing envelopes inside large glass jars with a bag of silica or powdered milk. These products absorb excess moisture. Reuse the tiny bags of silica gel that come inside new shoes–dry them for a few minutes at a very low temperature in your oven. Alternatively, make a tiny package of powdered milk by pouring a pile into the centre of a piece of breathable fabric or tissue paper. Pull the corners together and close it up with a piece of string or elastic to create a sachet. The best jars for storage are wide mouth mason jars used for canning. They have the proper airtight seal that is essential for long term storage. If you store the jars in a cool, dark place the seeds should last from a year to a few years, depending on the type.
You don’t need a lot of money to have classy-looking container plants.
The first place to look if you want a cheap, yet traditional terracotta pot is the second hand store. If you go during the winter, the gardening off-season, you can find used terracotta pots at fairly reasonable prices. Look around and stockpile when you do find a bargain. The closer to planting season you get, the harder it is to find them at a reasonable price. Even the second hand stores will try to gouge you. Used terracotta can actually be superior to new because they already have that aged patina everyone is trying so hard to achieve these days, and they often come in styles and shapes that aren’t produced. Believe it or not, all terracotta pots are not created equal. You will need to clean and sterilize your used pots. They often come with dirt and mineral build up still in them. Even if they are spotlessly clean, they will need to be sterilized using some sort of cleaning agent. The reason being, that the used pots could have been housing a diseased plant and you don’t want to pass that disease onto your own plants. The usual method of sterilization is to soak the pots in a tub filled with 1 part bleach to 10 parts very warm water. As an alternative, I use oxygenated bleach (hydrogen peroxide) or an all-purpose, environmentally friendly cleaner instead of bleach and have had no problems as a result. Scrub the pots clean with a brush. Rinse and lay them out to dry in a rack or a towel.
Second hand stores, auctions and garage sales are also good places to find more interesting containers from the last several decades. I’ve purchased many glazed ceramic pots form the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s that are far superior aesthetically to the contemporary offerings, and at greatly reduced prices. I have containers in the shape of cute elephants, deer and lambs even. I have a few that have a bamboo texture on the outside and even come with their own, attached drip tray. Again you will need to clean and sterilize these containers in the same manner as the terracotta pots. In some cases you may need to create a drainage hole in the bottom of the container so that the plant doesn’t drown when you water it. This can be accomplished easily with a drill or Dremel, and a masonry bit. Be sure to wear safety gear when you do this because the dust flies everywhere. Drill a few 1/4″ holes into the bottom of the container so that water can drain out. If you don’t want to modify your objet d’art then you can create drainage for the plant by putting a layer of gravel in the bottom of the container before adding soil and a plant. Another method is to simply slip a plant potted in a plain, plastic container that is slightly smaller, inside the larger, more stylish container. With this method you won’t need a plate to catch the dripping because the outer container will do that job.
You don’t have to limit yourself to containers that were specifically designed to hold plants. Just about anything made of plastic, galvanized metal, stainless steel, clay or ceramic will work as a plant pot. Once again you will need to clean, sterilize and possibly modify the container for drainage following the same methods above. I have used old buckets, tubs, children’s beach pails, ceramic bowls, vases, teacups and teapots in place of traditional containers. 
Baskets or old wooden crates found in the garbage can be lined with plastic (poke a few holes in the bottom for drainage) or spagnum moss, filled with soil and planted up. I even collect small saucers or plates with interesting patterns and designs to use as drip trays instead of purchasing the expensive terracotta ones. 
