Seeds of doubt
Amateur Gardening|March 11, 2023
Saving and sowing seeds can be fun, but there are times when it is best not to use self-saved seed, says Bob
- Bob Flowerdew
Seeds of doubt

BE careful if you save your own seed, as sometimes you might not get the result you expected. Although many of our flowers and crops set seed that comes ‘true’ (which means they are like their parents), when we sow some, they may not.

First to watch out for are any plants said to be ‘F1’, which simply means that two different strains were crossed to give a certain outcome (the F1). However, seed from an F1 is itself remarkably variable and not ‘true’. Many modern flower varieties are F1s, so take care to avoid saving their seed.

Sweetcorn is a very tempting one to save – it’s obviously easy to save the seed, and it’s expensive to buy. But almost every current sweetcorn is F1 or similar, so the results you get from sowing your own will be variable and generally disappointing – believe me, I’ve tried. You can save an old variety such as ‘Golden Bantam’, but only if you have just one variety.

この蚘事は Amateur Gardening の March 11, 2023 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は Amateur Gardening の March 11, 2023 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。