Very often things come down to us just that way, Tom. At one time it may have had an "official" name. But the folks growing and saving it don't remember what it was. Sometimes, however, they do. Get as much info as you can from your wife's granny. How long it's been in the family, who grew it and where, etc. Saving this information can be as important as saving the variety itself. >I certainly agree that the best way to keep them going is to pass them along to people with an interest in preserving seed. Too right, Tom. That's one of the reasons AHSC (Appalachian Heirloom Seed Conservancy) started its Living Seed Bank project. The best way of preserving a variety is to assure that somebody (hopefully, several somebodies) somewhere is growing it every year. For your own seed saving efforts, make sure to set aside at least two year's worth of seed. That way, if there's a crop failure for any reason, you still have enough stock to start over the following season.

I dont really save vegetable seeds very often, since you never know what you will get next year, but I recomend taking cuttings(such as tomatoes) or small plants inside for the winter if you can? If you have only one variety of the plant then you might get pure seeds, but you never know if your neighbors are growing another variety of that veggy too. I cant remember the exact safe distance but I think its too far unless you have more property. I'm sure you can look it up somewhere, since I see this a lot on saving seed articles. My recomendation is just to try to research the types of plants which you can take cuttings from, and then the rest just buy more seeds. But I love saving my own seeds too! Even cheap things like pansies. Other people I know are like why dont you just buy seeds? I guess its the "experience"?

Yes I/ve saved seed from a fresh tomato , it became known as the variety Sara's Galapagos. I removed no gel, I did nothing with those seeds and there was 100% germination. No fermentation is needed nor any of the oxidative methods such as Oxiclean Comet, etc. We already had a discussion here about the fact that while we know what fermentation can accomplish in terms ridding the seed exterior of pathogens, bad guys, and all the other plusses from fermentation, but while folks looked high and low there is no data to date to indicate the efficacy of the oxidative methods. So go for it. Just take the seeds out, don't bother to take the gel off, b'c the purpose of the gel is to prevent seed germination when conditions are NOT favorable for germination, like over the winter from dropped fruits, and it's part of the larger life cycle of tomatoes, and nothing more. It's the germination inhibitor that the gel has that affords that protection, but you'd be sowing the seed under favorable conditions for germination. Carolyn

First some basics. This may seem obvious, but you must leave flower heads on plants that you want to set seed. Deadheading to prolong bloom is not an option unless the plant produces enough flower stalks that you can deadhead some and leave others to fall off naturally while seeds form. If you grow vegetables and fruits to eat, allowing plants to go to seed may spoil the intended product (for example, lettuce leaves taste bitter once plants flower) or reduce the quantity of edibles, or the seeds themselves may be what you plan on eating (peas, for instance). A further consideration is that many popular garden plants, grown for flowers or for food, are hybrids and either do not produce seed or their seeds are not viable (viable means able to germinate and grow). In any case, before you can collect seed from any plant it must go through the whole cycle of flowering, being pollinated, developing seed, and ripening. Some plants develop seeds within pods of varying descriptions, others hide their seeds inside fruits or berries, and still others harbor their seeds directly inside the dying flower heads. In all cases, any seeds produced will develop in close proximity to the spot where the flowers originally appeared. If you can not locate seeds on a particular plant, try posting a question to the Growing From Seed forum here at GardenWeb for assistance. It's best to let seeds ripen on the plants until they are *almost* ready to disperse on their own. It's a common mistake to separate seeds from the plant before they've finished developing; any collected too early will not be viable. Once seeds have finished enlarging, they will generally change color (from whitish or green to tan, brown, or black) and begin to dry out. Pods will start splitting open, berries or fruits will shrink and wrinkle, or flower heads will begin to fall apart, dropping the seeds within. On many plants the seeds don't ripen all at once (check daily), and it can be useful to tie a small paper bag or the toe cut from panty hose over the seed heads to prevent dispersal before you can harvest. If this method isn't practical, collect the seed heads or pods before they are completely dried out (i.e. papery dry), or the seed may either have dispersed or will fall out when you shake the plant stems while breaking off the pods or heads. *Cutting* the stems will help to prevent this sort of seed loss. As long as you wait until the flower seed heads have turned dark and fairly dry, or until the bracts ("leafy" shape that surrounds the petals of a flower where it attaches to its stem) or the pods themselves have quit enlarging and begun to dry out, you can cut and take these indoors to finish ripening in a cool, shaded place inside a closed paper bag (this will prevent you from losing seeds which disperse *explosively*, such as Impatiens and Phlox). How do I know if my plants are hybrids that may not produce seed true to the parent plant? Always save any tags or labels on plants you buy and ask questions about plants you obtain from other gardeners. Unfortunately, many commercial growers don't tag their plants very informatively (even the conscientious ones make mistakes), and many gardeners only know their plants by common names, which can vary widely throughout different parts of the country and world. Your best bet is to learn all you can about the plants you have or want and post questions about specific ones on the Growing From Seed forum to get additional advice.