by Nicole Wines
There are so many gardening books out there, it’s easy to build a huge library of books with a lot of nice plant photos that you never really use. But for each topic or area of gardening, you really only need one great reference book to help you out when you are puzzled or want to learn something new. For the technical aspects of seed saving, “Seed to Seed” is that perfect reference book and comes highly recommended by other gardeners and seed savers we know. Here’s the book’s description:
“Complete seed-saving guide that describes specific techniques for 160 vegetables, including botanical classifications, flower structure and pollination, population size, isolation distances, and techniques for caging, hand-pollination, harvesting, drying, cleaning and storage. This updated and greatly expanded Second Edition now includes how to start each vegetable from seed, which has turned the book into a complete growing guide. Expert gardeners from seven regions of the U.S. have shared their seed-starting techniques. An invaluable, comprehensive reference book for maintaining heirlooms and preserving our vegetable heritage. 80 black-and-white photos. Softcover, 228 pages.”
We have it in our local library and check it out often to use as reference in our gardens. If you want to have it on hand to keep, it’s best to order through the Seed Savers Exchange’s online store so your purchase can help support an organization dedicated to seed saving, instead of amazon.com. Happy seed saving!