The Complete Guide to Saving Seeds: 322 Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, Flowers, Trees, and Shrubs

by Robert E. Gough

Learn how to collect, save, and cultivate the seeds from more than 300 vegetables, herbs, fruits, flowers, trees, and shrubs. It’s easy, and it’s fun! Authors Robert Gough and Cheryl Moore-Gough thoroughly explain every step in the seed-saving process. Descriptions of seed biology; tips on how to select plants for the best seeds; and advice on harvesting and cleaning, proper storage and care, and propagating and caring for new seedlings are all presented with clear, easy-to-follow instructions. Chapters dedicated to individual plants contain species-specific directions and detailed information. Gardeners of any experience level will find all the information they need to extend the life of their favorite plants to the next generation and beyond.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Plants, Reference, Sustainability, Biology, Nature

320 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2011

Reviews

[Fernleaf · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good overview and reference for seed saving, with an extensive section covering details for individual plants. The great strength of this book is the wide variety of plants covered, with sections for vegetables, herbs, flowers, plus trees and other woody plants. Not many other books offer the same kind coverage, especially of the woody plants.

The first part of the book offers an intermediate introduction to seed saving covering floral anatomy, some terminology, seed harvest and storage for best germination rates, as well as information on propagating your seeds and caring for transplants. There is also a rudimentary discussion on breeding your own varieties of plants.

My biggest issues with the introductory chapters were the overall tone of the writing and the rather muddled scientific terminology. The tone really came across to me as garbled, the authors said on one hand that seed saving was easy and you should go for it, and then turned around and made a process sound so complicated that I could see people easily being quite daunted. The terminology they tossed at you didn't help at all. While I agree that some terminology is essential (including proper names) I don't think they did a good job of establishing the terms. Instead words were acknowledged, defined, and then never used again.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started this book (but haven't finished it yet) because I joined a seed saver group at my local library. I got some seeds from the library and I'm supposed to plant them, let some plants go to seed, then return the seeds to the library for others to use. I'm a gardener and I've saved the seeds of some of my plants before, so I thought, no big deal.

Well, who knew that plant reproduction and seed saving would be so complicated? Geez. I'll have to get back to this book later when I have more time. I returned the book to the library for now. I'm not sure I will ever be able to keep all the plant reproduction terminology straight though. This book goes into way more detail about plant reproduction than I ever got from Biology 101 in school.

This book is probably best used as reference material when you want to know how to save the seed for a specific plant and also how to get the saved seeds to germinate. Some seeds are easy, some are not, and with some, saving the seed is useless. The book also tells you how to control pollination so you end up with the seeds you want rather than the seeds for some weird crossbreed. Good stuff to know.

[Heydi Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is so packed with just the info you need and none of the jargon and run around you don't. I love this book!

[Andrea Doherty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very comprehensive book on saving seeds. It starts with some botany lessons and then separates seeds into veg, herb and flower so you can search the specific seed you want to save and it gives the how-to. It also shares how to plant the seed later.

[Garth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for those beginning to save seeds for heirloom plants, winter garden planing and conservation.

[Marjorie Elwood]

I had no idea that seed-saving was so complex....

[Sherri · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good explanation, photos and variety of plants.

[Crystal (Goddess in the Stacks) · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an amazing reference book. It begins with some general chapters on why you should save seeds, the anatomy of seeds, and some basic techniques for harvesting seeds, hand-pollinating, basic general principles of seed storage and the like. Then it dives into the real meat of the book, the chapters on the specific plants. They're divided into the six broad categories listed in the subtitle: vegetables, herbs, flowers, fruits, trees, and shrubs. Within those chapters, each species is listed separately, with notes on the scientific name, the species family, the plant type (annual, biennial, perennial), seed viability, how many plants to save seed from, spacing for seed saving, and then a few paragraphs on flowering and pollination, any isolation requirements, and specifics on how to harvest, clean, and store the seeds for that species. It also has germination and transplanting notes for each species.

This would be an invaluable reference manual if you intend to save seeds from your plants and become self-sufficient, but it's still useful if not, for its notes on the pollination of each species. The isolation requirements are especially interesting; there are some plants that will cross-pollinate with plants 10 miles away! The sidebar on pumpkins and squash was also fascinating - I didn't know so many squash were technically the same species as pumpkins, just different cultivars. And that means they'll cross-breed if you're not careful! Even more fascinating, giant pumpkins aren't the same species as jack o'lantern pumpkins, so they won't cross breed.

I will absolutely be adding this book to my collection as a reference manual.

You can find all my reviews at Goddess in the Stacks.

[Carla · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read. Very scientific explanation of seeds and how seeds are propagated. Learned lots of interesting tidbits. More in depth than what I was searching for, but still worthwhile for any gardener (hobbyist or summer break teacher stress reliever)

[Jaysun Aka-Rooster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must have for every gardener/homesteader.
This book gets right to the point. No egotistical personal story of why the author felt he needed to write the book.
A excellent source of information, from seed to harvest (repeat)

[Kristina Seleshanko · Rating 4 out of 5]

Textbook-like dry, but informative. The most through book on the topic that I've seen.

[Jan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for produce and ornamental plant gardening. Less helpful for native gardening, although the botanical introduction was thorough. Please consider callery (Bradford) pear invasive.

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful. Includes Latin botanical names as well as common names.
For the perennial flowers and woody species, you will have to look up which are native to your region, as the authors do not specify.

[Claire · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book goes into specifics of seed saving that are very helpful (isolation, collection, cleaning, storage, treatment, germination, and transplanting).
I kind of hate when plants are organized by their Latin name versus common name, because it makes it more difficult to find what you're looking for (who knows Latin names off the top of their head???). However the book is only organized like that for flowers, nuts, fruits and trees. Veggies are by common name. Whateva, it's still a pretty cool book.

[Lorie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't actually read this word for word, as that would be like reading the dictionary. The first half is a technical review of terminology and botanical physiology, very useful for the seed-saving-wannabe such as myself. The second half is a wonderful go-to reference. It is so refreshing to read a perfect book for a change, one that expects the reader to have gotten past sixth grade. This is well-edited, impeccably / thoroughly researched, and then written understandably without stooping to a dumbed-down level. An awesome reference to have.

[Tori · Rating 5 out of 5]

I needed a ton of books to collect ad many best practices as I could for beginner gardening from seed (as well as maintaining a garden of herbs that I’d inherited).

Even though I’m not interested in seed saving yet, there was a lot of really good notes about the parts of plants, how they grow and thrive, and why and how to things go wrong with crops.

It was an amazing first read and would double back again to see how much more I can learn.

It’s a book that I think is more for a slightly more experienced gardener.

[Melody Karle · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a helpful book on seed saving! Seeds of change is still my go-to, but this book have a concise description of seed-saving practices for most plants you might want, and it includes ranges for how far you need to keep plants from similar varieties to maintain the lineage. Very helpful, and also nicely laid out.

[Debra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible tome!

There is not only a ton of great information between the covers of this book, but there are wonderfully put together science and history courses as well. An awesome book for my shelf, a reference I will go to many more times and a truly wonderful reminder of how important the teachings were of all of those who came before us...Thank you.

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book, but didn't have good pics of plants. I would recommend The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Seed Saving instead. That being said, if you know what you are looking for this is also an excellent book

[AlmieMeg · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent guide to have for a number of reasons. It provides good background, clear instructions and scientific names which are a must for seed savers and the ability to handle cross pollination issues.

[Rosemary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good basic information in a colourful, glossy format. Having already read the more advanced Seed Savers Handbook by Michel and Jude Fanton, I only skimmed through this. I would recommend this as a good accessible introduction to seed saving for beginners.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some good practicle advice with sections on individual plants and what there requirements are for growth and seed collection.

[Sébastien · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect.

[PennsyLady (Bev) · Rating 5 out of 5]

softcover reference

4.5 ★

[Crystal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very informational!

[Raquel Alves · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super completo e bem explicadinho. A reler e consultar várias vezes no futuro.