Distance in planting heirooms so they don't cross

[Liberty7]

Like many others, I got the tomato seeds from WinterSown. In order that they do not cross pollinate (so we can save seeds for another year) how should these plants be handled?

Should they be planted individually in pots and placed around the yard far away from each other and the main tomato crop in the garden?

 

[tinychicken]

This is from a booklet I bought called "How to Save Your Own Vegetable Seeds" from the Heritage Seed Program in Ontario, Canada.

Re tomatoes: "Varieties should be separated by 20 to 150 feet. The old fashioned 'potato leaf' varieties which have a flower that is more open to insects should always be separated from other varieites by a minimum of 150 feet."

Now this booklet is written from the perspective of keeping seed sources pure, genetic diversity, safe food supplies, etc., not necessarily geared toward the home gardener. And there are work-arounds, like covering your plants while blooming to keep insects out to avoid cross pollination. But 150 feet is quite a distance, especially if you have neighbors who also garden.

Hopefully someone else with actual seed saving experience will jump in to offer some first-hand info!

 

[vfem]

Well I have several kinds and one kind goes in each raises bed... they'll only be maybe 4ft apart... guess I can't save the seeds! I didn't think about that last year when I potted my tomatoes on the porch either.

 

[patandchickens]

My understanding is that tomatoes mostly self; so if you do not separate them your seed will not usually be badly off.

If you want to keep things 'pure' though all you have to do is hand-pollinate virgin flowers and then bag them to exclude bees. It is really not particularly difficult. AFAIK that's what tomato hobbyists do -- people who grow like 50 varieties a year obviously aren't separating them by any hundred feet <vbg>

Pat

 

[rebbetzin]

I am not sure about tomatoes, but... some plants they say to separate by 1/2 mile to a mile!! I suppose it really depends on what kind of plant it is and how "promiscuous" it is.


They say pepper plants are very "promiscuous" in their pollination!!

 

[vfem]

My understanding is that tomatoes mostly self; so if you do not separate them your seed will not usually be badly off.

If you want to keep things 'pure' though all you have to do is hand-pollinate virgin flowers and then bag them to exclude bees. It is really not particularly difficult. AFAIK that's what tomato hobbyists do -- people who grow like 50 varieties a year obviously aren't separating them by any hundred feet <vbg>

Pat

I may have to do that. I have some winter white's I would like to keep pretty safe from cross pollination. If the are as good as they sound, I would like to keep seeds for years to come. I think doing this to 2 plants wouldn't be a whole lot of extra work. I just don't think I'll do that with 100 plants!!! LOL

 

[patandchickens]

Yeah, and you just do it with a little mesh baggie for insect-pollinated plants, so it's not even the whole plant, just one or a few flower spikes (that's not the right word, my mind is blank) on a plant. REALLY not brain surgery

Pat

 

[Arklady]

Couldn't you just like grow the ones you want to save seed from in a mini green house?

Arklady

 

[vfem]

I don't have a greenhouse this year, maybe next year. I did find a good how-to on making greenhouses out of the mounds your plants are growing on... but they are mainly to start your cool weather crops early.

Just need some plastic and create tunnels over your plants. I'm sure with some wire you could do this with larger plants by making a cage around them you can remove when you need to self pollinate with your paintbrush/eraser or what not!

I need to find the how-to and pics of this thing again.

 

[obsessed]

How do you know what a virgin flower is?