Tuesday, 6 February 2018

Selecting Carrots For Seed Saving

So the seed saving bug was strong on Sunday after the swap!
Pulled up all my Heritage Seed Library carrots, Red Elephant, today for selection. Some are real beauties!


 I laid out the 70 or so carrots and then selected the best 32 of the roots for growing on for seed. I could get away with about 20 but more gives them a bigger genetic pool and prevents inbreeding depression. I would have liked to have selected from a bigger group as well but we've eaten quite a few! 

These will get planted in a bed in the spring, quite close together, to flower and pollinate each other.
This will hopefully give me plenty of seed for next year's swap and to send back to the heritage seed library, as well as leaving me enough to feed our family next year. Believe me when i say we eat a lot of carrots!

Anyone else saving carrot seed this year?
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11 comments:

  1. Frugal in Derbyshire 6 February 2018 at 12:39

    I've never saved carrot seed. I shall follow this with interest.
    Gill

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sarah Shoesmith6 February 2018 at 16:46

    I've never saved carrot seed, but I have left carrots to flower, and the pollinators adored them!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kev Alviti7 February 2018 at 11:06

      I love a garden full of flowers (but only food related ones!)

      Delete
  3. Living Alone in Your 60's6 February 2018 at 17:23

    It's our favourite and most versatile vegetable too

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kev Alviti7 February 2018 at 11:07

      I'm surprised my kids haven't turned orange to be honest!

      Delete
  4. Cottontailfarm7 February 2018 at 03:43

    Ok, I have wondered how one decides which plants to save seeds from when we're talking root crops. It never occurred to me to just dig them up and check. *smacks forehead with palm*.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Kev Alviti7 February 2018 at 11:08

      Selection is key to make sure you're breeding ones that will stay true to type. I did it with parsnips a few years ago and it was great fun. A long time to get seed but they tend to look after themselves so not much effort.

      Delete
  5. Anonymous12 February 2018 at 09:06

    Nice Post. I've never saved carrot seed.

    ReplyDelete
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