Seed Saving 101

For those who were unable to make it to the Seed Saving workshop this month, here are some tips, notes and photos!



Why save seeds?

• It's Cheap! And you end up with basically a free crop for next year
• It's an important way to save heirloom varieties that are otherwise being lost from our food system
• Plants adapt to local conditions and can grow better next year

What do I need?

 

Depending on the seeds you are planning to save, basic tools you'll need are knife, cutting board and paper towel. If tomato seeds are on your list, then you'll also need a jar with lid and water.

Which seeds to save or not save?

• Squash and sweet corn (male/female flower parts) can cross-pollinate and may not necessarily be good the second year
• Carrots/beets are biennial plants, so it takes two years for them to go to seed. It's possible, just more difficult.
• Tomatoes, peppers, beans and peas are easy plants to save seed from.
• F1 hybrid seeds were cross-bred and may not produce desirable results (or not even produce at all!) Open pollinated seeds are heirloom varieties that will yield 'true' generations.

How to save seeds, some common examples:

• Save seed from the most vigorous, healthy plants as these will have the 'strongest' seeds (e.g. natural selection)
• Tomatoes/Cucumbers (see photos below): allow fruit to fully ripen and scoop out seeds and pulp. Place in jar of water for 24-76 hours, to ferment (this releases the lining on the seed, allowing for future germination), stirring the seeds every day. Once seeds have sunk to the bottom, pour liquid away and rinse. Dry on paper towel (preferably out of sunlight) and once completely dry (up to 3 weeks!) place in envelope.
• Peppers: Let pepper fully ripen on fruit and wait until skin starts wrinkle. Remove from pepper and let dry on paper towel. Then place in envelope.
• Peas/Beans: Allow pod to ripen on stalk and start to dry and turn brown. Spread them out on a tray indoors to dry, waiting at least two weeks before shelling. Or you can leave them in the pod until next spring when ready to plant.
• Carrots/Beets: As a biennial plant, carrots (like beets) won't flower until early into the second year after planting. If you want to collect carrot seeds, leave a few in the ground to overwinter and collect seeds once the flowers have seeded and dried the following spring/early summer.

How to store seed:

• Seeds are best stored in paper envelopes in a cool, dark area where temperatures don't fluctuate much.
• Make sure to label your envelopes well with variety type and year. You may even want to leave a few  notes for yourself to remember for next year.

Tomato Seed Saving Photos

When you cut open your tomatoes, you'll see the seeds surrounded by their pulp/coating.
Squeeze all of this out into the jar.

After you squeeze out the pulp and seeds into your jar, throw the rest of your
tomatoes into a blender to make a quick salsa or add them
to your compost pile for next year's crop.

Planting Beds are Taking Shape

I visited the Clock Shadow building today for some inspiration as I continue to put together the farm plan and start to set-up operation systems for our first year.  The rooftop - a long with our indoor office spaces - is really starting to take shape.  We are exactly FOUR weeks from moving in and it's exciting to see the walls going up!

You can see in the pictures, we will have four long planting beds, as well as one L-shaped bed surrounding the deck/movement and meditation space.  In addition to the beds you see here, which are built into the rooftop, we also have the recycled Earthbox planters that I highlighted last August. This will give us a total of over 3,000 sq feet for vegetable, herb, and (in future years) fruit production!!!  Let the planning begin!

Construction Update

The building at 538 S. 2nd St has its exterior nearly finished.   The recycled cream city brick building will be home to, among other exciting things, the Edible Skyline project of CORE/El Centro. In addition to on-site geothermal heating and grey water retention/recycling, this Living Building will use passive cooling and ventilation strategies to keep energy costs down. Our 3,000 square foot rooftop farm is another energy- and water-saving aspect of the building.  Access to the roof will be available via the open-concept, sunlit staircase or the nation's first-ever energy regenerative Otis elevator. The elevator, currently in use in China, will actually feed energy back INTO the energy grid to support lighting, computers and other electrical equipment.  Please visit MilwaukeeFix.com for other building information, including the innovative funding structure and more information about building tenants. CORE/El Centro is also updating construction photos on its website.

Our rooftop farm is part of a 7,000 square foot rooftop which will also offer a small movement space (for evening yoga or meditation groups) and a 2,000 square foot meditation garden looking out on Lake Michigan. As the Plan above shows, there will be space for composting and educational demos, as well as some seating areas.  The meditation garden (shown here on the far right section of the rooftop) will also have seating and possibly a water fountain or other landscaping elements.  There are also plans to offer the rooftop area for event rentals, celebrations and/or corporate gatherings.  This innovative space is intended for public use and involvement. Rosheen Styczinski, FASLA, of New Eden Landscape Architecture, LLC has been working with the building developer and myself to design the rooftop elements. Construction is currently on schedule and CORE/El Centro is planning to open its new doors on Monday, March 19th.  We have much planning and organizing to do until then - stay tuned for more updates.