Seed saving can be simple or complex depending on what you are growing and also what your goal is. If you want to save a specific variety, and keep the genetics intact, you may need to isolate the blossoms to prevent crossing with other varieties. Tomatoes are easy and mostly just self-fertile, and pretty forgiving about seed saving techniques. So you don't need to worry so much about another variety cross-pollinating with your toms. Lettuce is another easy one. Corn is wind pollinated, and pollen can travel 2 miles, so depending where you live, all sorts of things could blow in. Many root vegetables, such as carrots, are biennial, so you need to leave some of them them in the ground for a second season to get seed. There is a lot to learn, but if it's just for your own use and you aren't a perfectionist, you can experiment freely.

I would say yes. Just choose cultivars that are hardy to at least zone 3 or 4. I would be sure to cover them with mulch once the ground starts to freeze in the winter and remove it in the Spring. You don't want them to rot. Irises are pretty tough. I would suggest planting them no more than one per square foot since they spread pretty quickly. Kim Here is a link that might be useful: Kim's Garden

me,cuz they only put on the label what is so much of this and that, HELLOOOOOOOO!!!!! what if its gonna kill my baby's???? i know soap and oil and water won't, LOL i know, i'm a little ( and that's putting it nicely LOL) about the insectisides, but i worry, i think it was the cat collar that threw one of my cats into a seizure for a few hourse, nothing the vet could do, and it was the right age for it. so i freak. LOL ~Medo

ROFL!!! Now we can obsess about which veggie or fruit is going to be the next one we try, huh? Momma S - I definitely think you can handle a 4x8. This method makes it easy enough that if you wanted to, you could probably even start a little bigger than that even, although Mel suggests start small so that you don't get overwhelmed. I think 4x8 is far from being overwhelmed. It's a perfect start. My only other advice that I think helped me a great deal is using the baggie method to germinate my seeds. It helped me knowing that it was a viable seed that was rooting before I planted the seed. Since you're in zone 9, depending on how hot it is there right now, some seeds won't do so well coming up if it's too hot. You might consider planting some indoors and then hardening them off to the outdoors. Mel put a great chart in the back of the book with germination rates depending on temperature. I wish I had read that really good before planting my first few seeds. ~Angela