How to Save Seeds: 5 Easy Crops to Start With (Beginner Guide)

Seed saving is how gardeners kept their favorite varieties for thousands of years, and it's easier than you think. Nicky and Dave Schauder of Permaculture Gardens show you how to harvest, clean, dry, and store seed from five crops at Bethany Farm in Leesburg, Virginia. Read the full written guide: https://www.permaculturegardens.org/h... You'll learn: Hybrid vs open-pollinated vs heirloom seed, and which ones you can save The one rule every seed saver needs: same species can cross 3 beginner seeds: tomatoes, beans, and lettuce 2 to grow into: kale and collards, and squash How to store seed so it lasts (the Rule of 100) Want to grow your 2027 garden from seed to harvest and back to seed again? Join the waitlist for our Grow-It-Yourself (GIY) short courses: https://permaculturegardens.org/giy Resources mentioned: Southern Exposure seed saving guide: https://www.southernexposure.com/grow... Johnny's seed storage chart: https://www.johnnyseeds.com/growers-l... Seed Savers Exchange: https://seedsavers.org Our heirloom seed article: https://www.permaculturegardens.org/h... Chapters: 0:00 Welcome 0:47 What is seed saving? 1:18 Why save seeds 4:15 Hybrid vs open-pollinated 4:25 Open-pollinated seeds 5:54 Hybrid seeds and F1 7:41 Taxonomy of a bean and a pea 8:45 Which kales can cross? 9:25 Same species can cross 10:24 The 5 seeds and tools 11:58 Saving tomato seeds 15:38 Saving bean seeds 19:43 Saving lettuce seeds 23:11 Kale, collards and crossing 26:14 Saving squash seeds 29:30 Summary and seed storage 32:26 Where we buy seed 35:55 Quiz and seed winners 38:49 GIY and the Leesburg Farmers Market We help families grow their own food, and medicine and find God in the garden at 🌻 Permaculture Gardens https://permaculturegardens.org 👉 Learn more about our garden planning tools here: 1️⃣ Simplify Your Garden: We know that growing your own food is often complicated – but it doesn’t have to be. Test drive our permaculture garden app called, SAGE! https://permaculturegardens.org/sage-app 2️⃣ Like learning gardening 'old-school' style? Get our new Permaculture Gardening book! https://store.motherearthnews.com/pro... 3️⃣ Start a garden from kitchen scraps. Join the Plant Your Pantry Challenge! https://permaculturegardens.vipmember... Grow abundantly, Nicky & Dave