Home Harvest - seed libraries and seed saving

The Home Harvest Seed Libraries are located at:

Nillumbik

• Eltham Library - Panther Place, Eltham - 9439 9266
• Diamond Valley Library - Civic Drive, Greensborough - 9439 3809
• Edendale Community Farm - 30 Gastons Road, Eltham - 9433 3711
• Hurstbridge Hub - 50 Graysharps Road, Hurstbridge - 9433 3732

Banyule

• Rosanna Library - 72 Turnham Avenue, Rosanna - 9459 6171
• Ivanhoe Library and Cultural Hub - 255 Upper Heidelberg Road, Ivanhoe - 9497 5780
• Watsonia Library - 4/6 Ibbottson Street, Watsonia - 9435 2397
• Shop48 The Harmony Centre - 46/48 The Mall, Heidelberg West - 8582 9501

How the Seed Libraries work

Using the seed libraries is easy and follows the simple philosophy of:

• Take – Visit any of the libraries and take the seeds you would like to grow
• Grow – Grow the seeds at home and hopefully enjoy a bountiful harvest
• Save  – Save some seeds for next year from the healthiest plants and fruits
• Share – Return some of the saved seeds to a Home Harvest Seed Library for the next person to grow

The seed libraries form a network. You can get seeds from any seed library and, when you have some to share, you can give back to any of the locations.

Why save seeds?

There are many reasons why you might want to save seeds from your harvest.

• Home saved and shared seeds are free
• It’s fun and educational
• You can share with family and friends
• It encourages you to eat healthily
• You can experience a greater range of fruit and veggie types and flavours
• Fresh home harvested seeds can geminate better
• Over time plants (seeds) adapt to the local growing climate and conditions
• It helps improve the resilience of our food system to shocks
• It creates stronger personal links to the environment and where our food comes from
• Helps preserve the genetic diversity of open pollinated plants

Which plants should I save seed from?

The best seeds to save are from open pollinated plants (those that are pollinated naturally by birds, insects or wind).

One thing about saved seeds to be aware of is that they can hybridise with neighbouring plants from the same species unless strict pollination processes are followed. Brassicas and Cucurbits are known for this. This means that the resulting plant from the seeds you saved may have traits of both parents and not be true to the original plant that you thought you were saving the seed from.   While this can be annoying for those planting the seeds, it also adds an element of mystery to seed saving.

Unless you are taking care to eliminate the risk of cross pollination it may be best to not save seeds of the Brassica (broccoli) and Cucurbit (cucumber) families.

If you do want to save seeds from the more challenging families, refer to this this article from seedsaver.org. 

“Stand by One Variety”

“Stand by One Variety” is a great way to start your seed saving career and also help preserve the genetic diversity of open pollinated plants.

Decide on one veggie that you are going to “stand by”. Maybe one that is a little unique or rare, or maybe it’s just your favourite. Commit to grow that every year and provide those seeds into the seed library for others to grow.

When to plant seeds in the northeast of Melbourne 

Our community partners at Local Food Connect have a great Veggie Planting Guide for Northeast Melbourne on their website.  The guide provides lots of info on a range of veggies including when to sow, planting method, spacing and seed viability.

LFC Veggie Planting Guide

We encourage the use of recycled materials for envelopes. For example you can use repurposed books to make origami envelopes for seed storage. 

Please write the following information on your envelopes/packets

• Plant name
• Suburb grown
• Date harvested
• Any growing notes/tips you have

Here is a simple template to make your own seed envelopes using an A4 piece of paper:

Source: https://gardensnorth.wordpress.com/2015/04/07/folding-seed-packets/

If it helps, check with your Home Harvest Seed Library location as some might be happy to take bulk seeds and to package them up for the seed library – but all will prefer it if you can do this yourself.

Local food sharing organisations that accept fresh food donations include (subject to change):

• Greenhills Neighbourhood House, Community Drive Greensborough -  Open for donations Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 9am - 1pm
• Secondbite, Diamond Creek Uniting Church, Cnr Wensley St and Main Hurstbridge Road - Open for donations Friday 11am - 12pm and Saturday 8.30am - 9am
• BANSIC @ the Hub, 153 Oriel Road, Heidelberg West - Open for donations Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays 12pm - 3pm 

Eltham Farmers’ Market is held every Sunday, from 8.00am to 12.30pm. 

 On the 4th Sunday of each month, there is a Food Swap from 9.30am to 10.30am. On selected Sundays, there is also a Community Market Stall.

The market is located on the car park at Eltham Town Mall, which is in the centre of Eltham at 10-18 Arthur Street. Entry is free.

The market offers a large range of stalls, from veggies and fruit to condiments and sweet treats. All the stallholders are from within Victoria, with around half from within North East Melbourne (around 15 from Nillumbik and a further 30 from the surrounding municipalities). This is a much higher number of truly local stallholders than at any other farmers’ market in Melbourne. All are selling their own produce. For more information visit Local Food Connect - Eltham Farmers Market 

Wet seed develops inside a fruit where it is moist and surrounded by the flesh of the fruit. Examples of wet seeds are tomatoes, pumpkins, cucumbers.

These seeds need to be mature before harvesting which means the fruit will be past the ripening point that you would pick It for eating. As an example, we tend to eat cucumbers and zucchini when the fruit is very immature so to save these seeds the fruit will need to be left on the vines till the fruit has fully grown, matured, hardened and most likely the vine is dying. Tomato seeds can be collected from an over ripe tomato.

The seeds need to be extracted from the mature fruit and washed thoroughly to remove any flesh and coatings. Once clean the seed need to be dried thoroughly in a protected place (not direct sun light).

Some wet seeds like tomatoes or cucumbers are encased in a protective gel that should be removed.  This can be done by fermenting the seeds.  For a detailed explanation of fermenting tomato seeds visit Sustainable Macleod

Dry seed develops directly on flower stalks or in pods. Examples of dry seeds are peas, beans, carrots, radish, broccoli, coriander.

To harvest dry seed, you need to leave them on the parent plant until they reach full maturity and dry out. You may need to place a paper or netting bag over flower stalks to collect any seed as it dries out and falls.

Once harvested you can roll, crush and sieve to remove any husks and dry plant material.

For a more detailed explanation of harvesting dry seeds visit Sustainable Macleod.

 Many seeds will last for 3 to 5 years before there is a substantial reduction in germination rates although some seeds like parsnip only have a 1-year viability. As a general rule smaller seeds have shorter viability vs. larger seeds that can last is storage longer.

As seeds age their germination rate decrease but some seeds may still be viable. You can test the viability of old seed by placing a damp tissue in a saucer and sprinkle some seeds onto it and see what % germinate in the follow days.  This will give you a guide on how much you will need to sow to get your desired number of plants.

How you store seeds is very important, as this contributes to how long they will remain viable and also future germination rates. At its simplest you need to keep seeds cool, dark and dry and preferably at a relatively constant temperature. Screw-top jars are a good option. It is also important to make sure the seeds are fully dry before storing them.

Keeping your seed containers in a larger rodent and weevil proof container is also a good idea.  Maybe an old cool box / eski stored in the coolest room in the house.  Definitely not in the garden shed or greenhouse.

There are a couple of insects that you need to be aware of.  Bean seeds can attract the bean weevil beetle and grains can be attractive to grain (pantry) moth. A great way to reduce the risk of these two seed pests is to make sure the beans / grains are very well dried, place them into a well-sealed container with minimum air then freeze them for a few days.  When you take them out, let them return to normal temperature slowly without opening the containers to reduce risk condensation. Make sure they are very dry when put them back in a sealed storage container. Please note: If there is too much moisture in the seed when you freeze it you may harm its viability and therefore ability to germinate

Veggies included: Beans, broad beans, peas, snow peas

Seed collection rating: Easy

Pollination: Self-pollinating, but some cross-pollination from insects can occur. Can bag blossoms with light polyester mesh to allow light without increasing temperature and humidity, but control generally not required for home gardeners
Seed read to harvest when pods begin to turn yellow and dry

Cleaning method: Thresh or hand pod and sieve or winnow chaff. When dry, freeze for 2 days to kill bean weevil eggs.

Seed viability: 3-6 years 

YouTube video: Rob Bob's Aquaponics & Backyard Farm

Veggies included: Tomatoes, capsicums, chillis, eggplant

Seed collection rating: Easy

Pollination: Self-pollinating, some cross-pollination from insects can occur between currant (Lycopersicon pimpinellifolium), beefsteak and potato-leaf tomatoes with protruding styles. Wind or mechanical agitation is required for pollination. Isolation or caging can be used to control pollination, but generally not required for home gardeners. Seed ready to harvest when fruit is overripe and becoming soft

Cleaning method: Capsicum and chilli seeds can be scraped out and dried. For species with juicy fruit, scoop pulp out and allow fruit to ferment for 1-3 days to break up gel pulp and avoid disease transmission. Or simply squeeze pulp onto kitchen paper and dry.

Seed viability: capsicum 3 years, tomatoes 3-10 years depending on variety, eggplant 7 years

Note: Potatoes are in the Solanaceae family but are propagated vegetatively 

YouTube videos: Rob Bob's Aquaponics & Backyard Farm

Veggies Included: Lettuce, Endive, Chicory, Sunflower

Seed saving rating: Moderate

Pollination: Mostly self-pollinated but require wind or insect agitation. Control pollination to keep varieties pure with isolation, hand pollination or other methods (caging). Seed ready to harvest when flower heads start to dry and a few seeds start falling

Cleaning method: Thresh seed and winnow to remove chaff

Seed viability: lettuce 3 years, endive, chicory and sunflower 7-8 years

Note: Jerusalem and Globe artichokes are in the Asteraceae family but are propagated vegetatively 

YouTube Video: Rob Bob's Aquaponics & Backyard Farm

Veggies included:  Onion, Spring Onions, Leek, Chives, Garlic, Chives

Seed saving rating: Moderate

Pollination: Insect pollinated, control pollination to keep varieties pure
Seed ready to harvest when flower heads start to dry and a few seeds start falling

Cleaning method: Thresh seed and winnow to remove chaff

Seed viability: 2-3 years

Note: Garlic and perennial onion varieties are in the Amaryllidaceae family but are propagated vegetatively 

YouTube video: Rob Bob's Aquaponics & Backyard Farm

Veggies included: Silverbeet, Chard, Beetroot, Spinach, Amaranth, Quinoa

Seed saving rating: Easy

Pollination: Wind pollinated, control pollination by bagging a number of seed stalks grown closely and tied to a stake. Seed ready to harvest when flower heads start to dry and a few seeds start falling. Can be stripped from the plant while in the garden and drying completed elsewhere.

Cleaning method: Thresh seed and winnow or sieve to remove chaff

Seed viability: 4-6 years

Note: Beetroot is biennial so plants will overwinter and flower in their second year 

Veggies included: Carrots, parsnips, parsley, fennel, dill, cilantro/coriander, celery

Seed saving rating: Moderate

Pollination: Insect pollinated, use isolation or bagging umbels to keep varieties pure. Seed ready to harvest when umbrells start to dry and a few seeds start falling

Cleaning method: Thresh seed and sieve to remove chaff

Seed viability: carrots and parsley 3 years, dill 5 years, celery 8 years, parsnip 1 year

Note: Many root crops in the Apiaceae are biennial and will overwinter and flower in their second year 

Veggies Include: Corn, Maize

Seed saving rating: Difficult

Pollination: Wind pollinated, plant in large blocks or hand pollinate. Strongly outbreeding so requires large number of plants to maintain genetic diversity (50-200). Control pollination with isolation or hand pollination.

Seed ready to harvest when ears of corn are completely mature, and can be dried in the field or picked for further drying

Cleaning method: Schuck the cobs when dry

Seed viability: sweet corn 3 years, maize 5-10 years 

Veggies Included:  Pumpkin, Cucumber, Zucchini, Squash, Watermelon

Seed saving rating: Moderate

Pollination: Insect pollinated, with male and female flowers on each vine. Members within the same species will cross-pollinate. Hand pollinate by selecting male and female flowers the night before they open and taping to prevent insect entry. In morning cut the male flower, remove petals and rub onto female flower. Tape female flower shut until it withers.

Seed will continue to increase in strength and size for 20 days after mature fruit is picked. Mature fruit for seeds is generally picked much later than fruit for cooking in this family, except in the case of pumpkins.

Cleaning method: Wet clean the seeds and dry. Seed in jelly-like sacks can be fermented (especially cucumbers) which may improve germination.

Seed viability: 5-6 years

Note: Chokos are also in the Cucurbitaceae family – their seed is unable to be removed from the fruit and therefore the entire fruit is planted 

YouTube videos: Rob Bob's Aquaponics & Backyard Farm

Veggies include:  Broccoli, Kale, Cabbage, Cauliflower, Brussels Sprouts, Radish, Mustard, Kohlrabi, Turnip, Bok Choi, Pak Choi, Tatsoi, Rocket etc etc

Seed saving rating: Difficult

Pollination: All members within a species can cross (Brassica oleracea includes broccoli, cabbage, kale, Brussels sprouts, kohlrabi, collards and cauliflower so they can all cross with each other!) Insect pollinated. Outbreeding so requires large number of individuals to maintain genetic diversity. Control pollination with caging and hand pollination or isolation, though home gardeners do okay for a few years without controls. Seed ready to harvest when seed pods are completely dry – they will not continue to develop if harvested earlier

Cleaning method: Complete drying in a warm, shaded position. Thresh seed and winnow or sieve.

Seed viability: 4-5 years 

YouTube video: Rob Bob's Aquaponics & Backyard Farm

Herbs include: Mints, Basil, Lavender, thyme, Sage (Salvia), lemon balm, oregano

Seed saving rating: Easy

Pollination: Mainly Pollinated by insects. When blooms have turned brown pick them from the plant and store in a bag or cardboard box to dry completely (2-3 weeks).  Basils can hybridise with other basils.

Extract seeds: Once pods are dry, crush them with your fingers to release the seeds. Winnow gently to separate the seed from the chaff.

Cleaning method: Winnow gently to separate the seed from the chaff.

Seed viability: 2-4 years

Note: Most perennial species 

YouTube video: Rob Bob's Aquaponics & Backyard Farm

Seed Library Construction by Ravi Sommerhalder

Australian 

• Seed Savers Network (Australian) - www.seedsavers.net
• Australia's Seed Savers Exchange (Facebook) - www.facebook.com/groups/250355258313070/
• Share the Seed Australia (Facebook)  - https://www.facebook.com/groups/305118499498211
• Local Food Connect Veggie Planting Guide:  https://localfoodconnect.org.au/community-gardening/planting-guide/

International

• Seeds Savers Exchange (American) - www.seedsavers.org
• MrBrownThumb: Seed Saving  Blog (American) -  http://mrbrownthumb.blogspot.com/p/seed-saving.htm 

• The Seed Savers Handbook - Michel and Jude Fanton
• Seed to Seed - Suzanne Ashworth
• Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties - Carol Deppe
• A Seed Saving Guide for Gardeners and Farmers ebook (American) 

• Open pollinated seeds

  Open pollinated seeds are produced through natural pollination processes (insects / wind) although can be assisted by gardeners. There is great diversity in their gene pool and over multiple generations are able to adapt over multiple generations. Seeds saved from open pollinated plants will regrow the same plant each time as they are genetically stable. 

• Hybrid seeds

  Hybrid seeds are a cross between two different varieties of plant from the same species and are generally labelled as F1. Hybridisation is carried out by hand (or sometimes accidentally by insects!) and is not the same as genetic modification. Hybrid seeds often display strong vigour, disease resistance, and desirable traits like flavour, colour, shape, size and increased yield. Seed saved from the resulting plants will usually not produce true to type plants but a variation of one of the parent plants. Hybrid seeds can be stabilised in 6-12 generations to create open pollinated seeds.

• Heirloom seeds

  Open pollinated seeds that have been saved and passed down generations. While all heirloom seeds will be open pollinated, not all open pollinated seeds are heirloom seeds.

• Organic seeds

  Seeds that have been grown without the use of industrial chemicals like pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, miticides.

• Certified organic seeds

  These are organic seeds that have met the standards of an organic certification scheme

• Certified biodynamic seeds

  Biodynamic seeds have met that met the standards of the Biodynamic certification scheme.

• Genetically modified seeds

  Seeds that have been engineered/modified in a laboratory through the addition of genes from another plant or animal species.

• Treated seed

  Seeds that are coated with chemicals like fungicides or pesticides. Treatments should be included on the packaging and can change the colour of the seed. E.g. pink corn seeds are treated with a fungicide. 

• Wind pollination

  Seeds that do not require the services of insects to pollinate but do use air movement. Usually unimpressive flowers and no nectar. E.g. Corn

• Insect pollination

  Seeds that are pollinated through the services of insects. Usually have an attractive flower and / or nectar to attract the pollinators (most fruit and veggies)

• Self-pollination

  A plant that provides its own pollen for pollination.

• Cross-pollination
  A plant that requires the services of a pollinator (insect) to move pollen from one plant to another to fertilise the seeds.