How to Save Your Own Seeds

This wonderful book from Seeds of Diversity Canada is an invaluable resource for anyone who wants to work with seeds. It is useful both for the beginner bewildered by Brassicas, and for the expert who likes a reliable source to confirm what they remember. The book first describes the basics of plant reproduction by seed, and the two sets of standards (community and commercial) which it offers; then it goes through all the major vegetable families, giving information specific to each crop, including techniques for growing and harvesting seed, how many plants to save seed from, how much isolation they require, how they are pollinated, and how long the seed can live.

This book is limited in two ways: it explains hand-pollination for squash, but generally does not get into the more complex tricks of seed-saving. It also does not give much attention to Poaceae, the grass family which includes small grains and corn. I have tried to address these deficiencies in my Seed Saving section.  However, this is still a truly great resource; my own well-thumbed copy spends more time off the shelf than on it. Softcover, 68 pages.