Saving vegetable seeds

Credit: Carolyn Herriot

The Red Russian kale is going to seed now the weather is warming up.

My garden is a mass of bright yellow flowers, which precede the seedpods. When pods turn brown and dry, it is time to collect the seeds, before they disperse naturally. I use labeled brown paper bags for this purpose, and leave them in the greenhouse to thoroughly dry the seeds.

I also want to save seeds of Brussels sprouts, a Brassica like kale. I have discovered that Remay tents (above) work well to prevent cross-pollinating.

You can simply construct a tent using bamboo poles or PVC pipes as we did. Small binder clips or zip ties also work wonders for this. The idea is to prevent bees from cross-pollinating the flowers of two different species of Brassica that open at the same time.

Back to the Victory Garden Program.