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The Seed Garden: The Art and Practice of Seed Saving
Winner of the American Horticultural Society Award for Excellence In Garden Book Publishing Winner of the Silver Medal for Best Reference from the Garden Writer’s Association
Filled with advice for the home gardener and the more seasoned horticulturist alike, The Seed The Art and Practice of Seed Saving provides straightforward instruction on collecting seed that is true-to-type and ready for sowing in next year’s garden. In this comprehensive book, Seed Savers Exchange, one of the foremost American authorities on the subject, and the Organic Seed Alliance bring together decades of knowledge to demystify the time-honored tradition of saving the seed of more than seventy-five coveted vegetable and herb crops―from heirloom tomatoes and long-favored varieties of beans, lettuces, and cabbages to centuries-old varieties of peppers and grains. With clear instructions, lush photographs, and easy-to-comprehend profiles on individual vegetable crops, this book not only teaches us how to go about conserving these important varieties for future generations and for planting out in next year’s garden, it also provides a deeper understanding of the importance of saving these genetically valuable varieties of vegetables that have evolved over the centuries through careful selection by farmers and home gardeners. Through simple lessons and master classes on crop selection, pollination, roguing, and the processes of harvesting and storing seeds, this book ensures that these time-honored traditions can continue. Many of these vegetable varieties are treasured for traits that are singular to their strain, whether that is a resistance to disease, an ability to grow well in a region for which that crop is not typically well suited, resistance to early bolting, or simply because it is a great-tasting variety. In an age of genetically modified crops and hybrid seed, a growing appreciation for saving seeds of these time-tested, open-pollinated cultivars has found a new audience from home vegetable gardeners and cooks to restaurant chefs and local farmers. Whether interested in simply saving seeds for home use or working to conserve rare varieties of beloved squashes and tomatoes, this book provides a deeper understanding of the art, the science, and the joy of saving seeds.
Filled with advice for the home gardener and the more seasoned horticulturist alike, The Seed The Art and Practice of Seed Saving provides straightforward instruction on collecting seed that is true-to-type and ready for sowing in next year’s garden. In this comprehensive book, Seed Savers Exchange, one of the foremost American authorities on the subject, and the Organic Seed Alliance bring together decades of knowledge to demystify the time-honored tradition of saving the seed of more than seventy-five coveted vegetable and herb crops―from heirloom tomatoes and long-favored varieties of beans, lettuces, and cabbages to centuries-old varieties of peppers and grains. With clear instructions, lush photographs, and easy-to-comprehend profiles on individual vegetable crops, this book not only teaches us how to go about conserving these important varieties for future generations and for planting out in next year’s garden, it also provides a deeper understanding of the importance of saving these genetically valuable varieties of vegetables that have evolved over the centuries through careful selection by farmers and home gardeners. Through simple lessons and master classes on crop selection, pollination, roguing, and the processes of harvesting and storing seeds, this book ensures that these time-honored traditions can continue. Many of these vegetable varieties are treasured for traits that are singular to their strain, whether that is a resistance to disease, an ability to grow well in a region for which that crop is not typically well suited, resistance to early bolting, or simply because it is a great-tasting variety. In an age of genetically modified crops and hybrid seed, a growing appreciation for saving seeds of these time-tested, open-pollinated cultivars has found a new audience from home vegetable gardeners and cooks to restaurant chefs and local farmers. Whether interested in simply saving seeds for home use or working to conserve rare varieties of beloved squashes and tomatoes, this book provides a deeper understanding of the art, the science, and the joy of saving seeds.
350 pages, Paperback
First published March 23, 2015
10 people are currently reading
334 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
March 3, 2016
Beautifully put together, this comprehensive book will make the novice seed saver confident and offers lots of information, including an extensive section on individual species, for the experienced seed saver. A reference book I will turn to many times!
December 29, 2025
This is a beautiful, inspiring and informative book, which provides all you need to know to start seed growing, or to start saving seeds from a crop new to you. The explanations are clear. The technical information that you need is in a very readable, accessible form. Many mysteries and confusions are cleared up. With this book, you have all you need to understand how to reliably get plentiful viable pure seed.
The Seed Garden is written for home gardeners as well as farmers, and is divided into two sections. First comes the Art and Practice of Seed Saving, then come the individual Crop Profiles.
Section 1 covers the botany of seed saving, pollination methods, plant life cycles, maturity indicators, seed harvesting and drying methods, seed-borne diseases, seed longevity and how to store seeds.
Section 2 includes information on population size (how many plants you need to preserve genetic diversity), and isolation distances (how much distance is needed between your seed crop and other crops it could cross with).
Throughout the book are “Master Class” sections, giving two or three pages of practical advice (such as how to hand pollinate squash) and explanations of important phenomena such as inbreeding depression, photoperiodism and vernalization. There is an excellent glossary and a good index.
The Seed Garden is written for home gardeners as well as farmers, and is divided into two sections. First comes the Art and Practice of Seed Saving, then come the individual Crop Profiles.
Section 1 covers the botany of seed saving, pollination methods, plant life cycles, maturity indicators, seed harvesting and drying methods, seed-borne diseases, seed longevity and how to store seeds.
Section 2 includes information on population size (how many plants you need to preserve genetic diversity), and isolation distances (how much distance is needed between your seed crop and other crops it could cross with).
Throughout the book are “Master Class” sections, giving two or three pages of practical advice (such as how to hand pollinate squash) and explanations of important phenomena such as inbreeding depression, photoperiodism and vernalization. There is an excellent glossary and a good index.
September 19, 2017
Great book if you are seriously interested in saving vegetable seeds and some herbs. This is a technical book which addresses items such as isolation distances required for plants that can cross pollinated. It includes very thorough background information on plants and how seeds are formed, information on harvesting seeds from dry as well as fleshy vegetables, and the ideal storage methods. The end of the book addresses each vegetable and herb specifically with detailed information. The photography in the book is gorgeous. While the information is valuable for any seed collectors, unfortunately the book does not address collecting seeds from flowers, trees, or shrubs.
June 12, 2018
A very thorough and well-presented guide to saving seeds. However, this is a resource certainly more geared towards the homesteader and or those really interested in saving seeds from vegetables and or herbs. Sadly, for me at least, this book misses a huge element and that is saving seeds from flowers, which was a bit of a let down in that respect.
March 14, 2024
Really great for library collections. There's a ton that would be of interest in people who own garden shops and want to do seed saving on a much higher level, but the individual plant section at the end would be of interest to the general gardener - they give you advice on specific plants and how to save the seeds. Very thorough. I wish I had found this book a year ago.
October 2, 2017
Contains a great deal of detail on the general and seed specific level and good pictures!
October 25, 2017
Really interesting read, but it's much more advanced than I needed. This would be excellent for homesteaders or folks who farm for profit.
November 21, 2018
An easy to understand and comprehensive book of saving seed. Seed savers from beginner to expert will enjoy this well thought out guide to saving open pollinated heirloom varieties.
December 17, 2018
Sweet profiles.
April 20, 2021
Very good resource for those learning to save seeds. I would have also liked information on how long (on average) it takes for the seeds to develop once the flowering begins.
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October 14, 2021This will remain a constant resource on my garden bookshelf!
December 16, 2022
The one book that can possibly answer all of your seed saving questions!
December 29, 2022
Excellent guide and reference to get started saving seed from a home garden. Thorough but to the point, well suited to amateur gardeners with general science literacy.
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January 23, 2024Everything about growing and saving mainly veggie seeds. Botany. Read again
November 18, 2024
Excellent, thorough book almost like a textbook. Good to keep for a reference if you like seed saving or learning about seeds.
June 25, 2015
Well organized, beautifully put together and a general pleasure to read. This is a must for any home gardeners reference collection!
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews