Why save vegetable seeds?

Saving seeds from vegetables that your family has grown for years will help preserve old strains that are not available from your local nursery. Newer and better, as in hybrids varieties, is not necessarily best with vegetables. 

Hybrids are varieties that have been developed for ease of growth, mechanical harvesting, long shelf life and easy shipping. Thisdoes not always mean that they taste better. It is not a good idea to save seeds from hybrids because they are either sterile meaning they do not produce seeds or they will not produce offspring true to the parent plants. 

Heirlooms or heritage varieties, the living antiques, will produce offspring true to the parent plant so it is a good idea to save seeds from these varieties. Heirlooms are open-pollinated. Pollination occurs naturally by wind, birds or insects, without interference from plant breeders. Many times they also have a shorter shelf life than hybrids but they taste better. Some open-pollinated varieties even have a higher nutritional value. 

Many of the vegetable varieties once available in the United States have been lost but there are a number of heirloom varieties still available. Most heirloom vegetables must be grown from seed because few nurseries carry the heirloom plants. However, some seed companies are now beginning to carry heirloom seed varieties. 

When saving seeds, it is a good idea to save and replant seeds from your most productive and desirable plants. Over a period of years, consistent seed selection from your best plants can give you an improved strain that has better qualities than the original seed, like disease resistance and higher yields. 

I have grown several different heirloom vegetables over the years from seeds saved and shared with me by gardening friends. Two of the heirloom tomato varieties, 'Horace Colwell' and one I call a chili pepper tomato are wonderful. It is hard to beat a 'Horace Colwell' for taste; it is a beautiful, meaty, yellow tomato with a red center. The chili pepper tomato is shaped like a chili pepper, hence its name, and is a large, non-acid, great tasting tomato with very few seeds. 

'Old Wagon Wheel' is an heirloom pumpkin seed given to me by another gardening friend. I have not grown any of these yet but plan to do so this next season. It is a beautiful tan colored pumpkin, excellent to use for pies. 

Heirloom strains of garden vegetables like the 'Horace Colwell' and chili pepper tomato and 'Old Wagon Wheel' pumpkin can only be preserved by means of home-saved seeds. The dying out of an irreplaceable heirloom variety is a loss to gardeners and eaters both present and future. 

The Preservation Committee of the Community Council of UGA's Mountain Research and Education Center has two outreach programs targeted at preserving our native landscape. The Appalachian Native Botanical Sanctuary Program encourages landowners to set aside a portion of their property as a native plant sanctuary. The Plant Rescue Project provides trained volunteers to help identify native plants that may be in harm's way during land development, so they may be worked around or relocated to a safe area.