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Heirloom Plants & Gardens

Heirloom Newbie... How To Stop Cross Pollination

19 years ago

Hi Everyone, this is a great forum. I have always grown your standard garden center veggie varieties, but last year stumbled upon heirlooms.... and I will Never go back! :) I've got some rare seeds coming to me and I want to save them for next years planting, so while Im planning out my garden on paper can anyone give me tips on how to keep these varieties from cross pollinating? I am planting

Tomatos 15 kinds

Eggplant 4 Kinds

Watermelon 4 Kinds (Did you know rareseeds.com has a white fleshed watermelon.. how cool is that!)

Beans, Peas and Radishes.

Any tips or suggestions would be welcome!!!

Thanks!

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Comments (3)

gardenlad
19 years ago
Best bet, Loopi, is to get a copy of "Seed To Seed," which details precisely how to isolate various types of plants for seed purity.

There are three basic categories of isolation. You can isolate by time, by distance, or by using physical barriers. Sometimes other techniques are needed as well. For instance, you'll have to combine hand-pollinating with physical barriers to keep your watermelon's pure, unless you have a lot of room. If you want to isolate by distance they require a minimum separation of a half mile.
carolyn137
19 years ago
I second the recommendation that you get Suzanne Ashworth's book Seed to Seed, and very strongly.

As for tomatoes, for kind of instant input , go to the Tomato Forum,link above on this first page, click on the FA Q's and near the bottom you'll find a brand new FAQ on how to save seed from tomatoes.

And yes, there are several white fleshed watermelons that have been around for a long time. ( smile)

For any of us here to type out all that you need to know about saving seed for all those veggies is just not practicable in my opinion, so do consider getting Ashworth's book.

Carolyn
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How do you prevent cross pollination?
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The easiest way is to put a small bag made of something bees can't get into around a flower cluster before it opens and take it off when small fruit form, making sure to mark that cluster for saving. This applies to peppers and tomatoes but not squash and melons of course. Many seed savers save tomato seed without bagging but peppers will more readily cross with the aid of bees. 50-150 feet between pepper varieties would be necessary for purity if you did not bag. As for bags, any mesh fabric like row cover or those little tie top jewelry bags or even waxed paper will work. If you wiggle the cluster in the bag it helps distribute pollen.
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Sunflowers generally have a self-incompatability trait which results in most seeds being hybrid. If you want to ensure seeds will produce plants like the parent, you could try preventing cross-pollenation by covering the developing flower head with a light fabric bag. I haven't done this, so I can't give specific directions.
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keever, any tomato variety can cross, hybrid or OP ( open pollinated). All heirlooms are OP but not all OP's are heirlooms. Please go to the top of this first page and click on the FAQ link and scroll down to the article on How To prevent cross pollination and I think all your questions will be answered. It includes picturs and bagging blossoms and all else tht I think you might want to know. If not, please just ask here in your own thread. Carolyn
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Cross Pollinating
Q
Comments (3)
I don't know a good article I could point you to any better than yourself doing a web search, but I would first recommend that a good understanding begins with learning plant families and how each family tends to reproduce. For example... does the plant family have what are called 'perfect flowers'? Do they generally have separate 'male' and 'female' flowers that require a vector to transfer pollen. Then, if cross-pollination becomes a concern, a good understanding about choosing to grow more than one variety from any particular plant family, and if you do... how to protect variety crosses (unless it's purposeful) with such techniques as bagging, or even 'safe proximity'. For plant families which easily cross-pollinate, you can do what I call... rotated flowering. One year, let your broccoli go to seed. The next year let your cauliflower bloom. Etc... For detail, keep asking here, or search around the web. I use a fairly well-trusted seed source, and they have a very knowledgeable phone support for the basic questions concerning their varieties.
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Loopi2001
Original Author
19 years ago
Thank you Carolyn and Gardenlad! I am ordering a copy of that book as we speak. 1/2 a mile is pretty far to walk when you want to check on each plant LOL! There is so much info out there a straightfordward book seems to be just what I need. Thanks guys, your help is much appreciated!

Lisa

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