Although I know it makes sense, I am still slow off the mark when it comes to seed saving. Having to construct a fly-proof cage, isolate a plant and then try to pollinate it myself without any biddies getting in to fluff it up, makes the whole process seem quite arduous. But I keep reading about it, thinking about it.
Last year we had a good crop of very tasty broad beans on the plot. The first batch were put in in October, but a brief snow fall in December burnt all the tops off and they didn't survive. So in Srping I replanted, in the only part of the plot with more than four inches of topsoil, and they grew, flowered and fruited well. I left about a dozen or so pods on the plants at the end of the season and then removed them after a couple of weeks. I now know I should have taken up the plants and hung them to dry before removing the pods, but no matter.
In the early part of the year, around half of the seeds I saved were put into large yoghurt pots, two to a pot. They were left outside and given no real looking after. After a month or so they started to show and gradually two plants showed from each pot. I had 100% success with the first batch.
I'm really pleased with the success of the germination and progress so far. Plus I feel like seed saving could actually be easier than I thought. While I have saved about a fiver, it's the satisfaction of knowing I grew them, I harvested them, and I kept the seed in good condition until this year. I saved some seeds from the runner beans too. A baker's dozen, which have also gone in yoghurt pots, one to a pot this time. I can see the top of the soil thrusting upwards but so far it's impossible to tell how many will germinate and grow.
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