with Irene Beebe, Alameda County Master Gardener
Not so long ago, seed saving was part of every garden. From ancient times until our grandparents’ day (or great-grandparents’, depending on your age!), favorite strains of vegetables and flowers were renewed from year to year and generation to generation, sometimes travelling long distances with a family to a new homeland. By the 1880s, seed companies had begun to make hybrid seeds widely and inexpensively available, and by the early 20th century many gardeners no longer saved their own seed. But there’s now a growing interest in the traditional practice of seed saving.
We’ll be talking about why it’s important to save seeds, how to collect and process the seeds, and how to store them. Plus, Irene will give us a short how-to demonstration on how to save bean, lettuce, and tomato seeds.
About our speaker: Irene Beebe is an Alameda County Master Gardener and a volunteer with the Hayward Seed Lending Library, and has a certificate in Landscape Horticulture from Merritt College. Irene was born and raised in a second floor flat in foggy San Francisco and considers herself a testament to the fact that anyone can garden.
Click here for a downloadable PDF with seed saving resources.