Last Tuesday, August 28, 2012 about 40 enthusiastic participants gathered at the Hudson Valley Seed Library on Mettacohonts Road in Accord, New York to experience the craft of saving seeds.
- Signing in at the Field Day
Participants learned through a simple exercise of matching cards of photographs of various flowering plants to their seed, which helped us recognize the importance of observation in the process of learning to save seeds.
Isolating plants
Then the group moved out into the gardens where various isolation and seed saving techniques were demonstrated in the field.
Tomatoes are among the seeds that should be fermented for a few days to remove the coating that prevents germination. Removing the seeds from the tomatoes, soaking and rinsing techniques were demonstrated in the processing area of the farm.
Upstate Oxblood Tomato
Hudson Valley Seed Library offers seed saving tips on their webpage http://www.seedlibrary.org/wp/seeds-eye-view-3-a-living-seed-library/
This NOFA-NY field day was supported bythe Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program of the National Institute of Food and Agriculture USDA, Grant #2011-49400-30510
