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a rule. Isolation distances for vegetables are given in Carol Deppe's “Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties” and Suzanne Ashworth’s “Seed to Seed”. These are both terrific references for the seed saver.
Seed purity
Some other professional techniques for maintaining seed purity include: hand pollinating plants protected under row covers; growing crop barriers of sunflowers, com or amaranth as “walls” to surround seed-crop plants; staggered plantings of different varieties, so that one type of cosmos, for example, blooms and sets seed before a second variety flowers. Plants with seeds attractive to hungry birds should be bagged until ripe.
Unless you wish to experiment with an unusual deviation, select only true-toform plants that bloom in the peak of their season. Avoid weak, disease or insectprone plants or any plants that bolt early. If you get serious about saving your own seed, it is recommended to destroy or “rogue” weak plants before they even flower. Choose the best specimens, even if it means sacrificing your prize tomato! Mark plants intended for seed collection with a stake, twine, etc.
With most plants there is a minimum number of parent plants needed to donate seed that will be grow out dependably. Self-pollinating plants need between 6-25, insect/wind—pollinated plants need a range of 16-50. Com is an exception, requiring at least 200 ears. These are then sorted again, with kernels taken from each the best 50 ears in the bunch.
Drying process
Beans, okra, peas are left to dry in the pod, on the vine, then collected, Brassicas (kale, arugula, broccoli, turnips, radishes, mustards) are too, though they must usually overwinter to bloom the next spring. Fennel, dill, chervil and cilantro are left to dry outdoors on the flower head, or umbel. The whole heads may be brought in then, separated, dried further and stored.
Carrots, parsnips, celery, beets and chard must fulfill another season in the ground to form seeds. Lettuces are
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