NZ Seed Savers
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    • Hemp Bread
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  • Contact
  • SEED SAVING
    • OUR SEED SAVERS >
      • Alice Le Brun
      • Alison Macdonald
      • Amy Adams
      • Amy & Pearl Hodgson
      • Andrea Graham
      • Angela ​Van Wayenburg
      • Anna Hawkins
      • Anne Woods
      • Bryce Champness
      • Cath Henderson
      • Christina Knauf
      • Dana Thompson
      • Dawn Ballagh
      • Donna Fowles
      • Emma Galloway
      • Emma-Kate Lamb
      • Fiona Moorhouse
      • Hazel Vickers
      • Helena Boston
      • Helen Franklin
      • Hester Jackson-Scott
      • Jackie West
      • Jasmin Hill
      • Jon Berczely
      • Josie Blackshaw
      • Joy Wang
      • Karlene Herdman
      • Kay Feehney
      • Kim Francis
      • Lauren Stafford
      • Leila Macbeth
      • Matt Veevers
      • Melissa Bradford
      • Melissa Harkess
      • Minette Tonoli
      • Neil Bauer
      • Nicki Quinn
      • Niki White
      • Paul Left
      • Philip Wills
      • Quynh Mcleay
      • Rory Soden
      • Sandra Greaney
      • Sarah Williams
      • Silvia Mellen
      • Stephen Nesfield
      • Tony Gyde
      • Troy Boyer
      • Wainee So
      • Wendy Bertholet
      • Wendy Hill
    • PLANT FAMILIES >
      • Allium
      • Brassicaceae
      • Chenopodiaceae
      • Curcubitaceae
      • Leguminosae
      • Grammineae
      • Labiatae
      • Umbelliferae >
        • Apiaceae - Carrots, Celery, Parsnips and Fennel
      • Solanaceae >
        • Peppers
        • Tomatoes
        • Eggplant
        • Potato
        • Pepino
      • Herbs
      • Salad and Leaf
    • Seed Germination
    • Cross Pollination
    • Hybrid vs Heirloom
    • Genetic Diversity
    • Drying Seeds
    • Seed Storage
    • Diseases
    • Landraces >
      • Cucurbita moschata
    • GROW DOWNS >
      • Bean Grow Down 2022-23
      • Cucurbita Grow Down 2021-22
      • Corn Grow Down 2020-21
    • BLOG POSTS >
      • Seed Saving blog
      • Curcubitaceae blog
      • Beans blog
  • SEED SAVERS LIBRARY
    • BECOME A SEED SAVER
    • SEEDS >
      • HERBS
      • FLOWERS
      • FRUIT & BERRIES >
        • MELON
        • SOLANUM FRUITS
      • NATIVE & WILD
      • ORNAMENTAL
      • VEGETABLES >
        • ONIONS
        • BEANS
        • PEAS
        • CUCUMBER & CAIGUA
        • PUMPKIN, SQUASH & GOURD
        • CAPSICUM & CHILLIES
        • BRASSICAS
        • CORN - MAIZE
        • GRAINS
        • SALAD & LEAF
        • SPEARS, STEMS & STALKS
        • ROOTS & TUBERS
        • TOMATOES
    • HOW TO ORDER SEEDS
    • Registration Form
  • RECIPES
    • Hemp Bread
    • Seeded Crackers
    • Banana Bread
    • Carrot Cake
    • Cacao Crunch recipe
    • Honey Sweet chilli sauce
    • Cherry Tomato Confit
    • Comfrey Oil Infusion
    • Fruit Leather
    • Cauliflower Pizza Crust
    • Candied Orange Peel
    • Pumpkin & Pecan muffins
  • Contact

Solanaceae Family
Peppers

​SEED SAVING
PEPPERS - Capsicum spp.  
Capsicum spp. - Peppers
Family - Solanaceae
Genus - Capsicum
Species - Baccatum, Annum, Chinense, Frutescens and Pubescens.
Plant type - Annual and Perennial 
Flower type - Perfect and self fertile
Pollination - Self pollination (autogamous) and insect pollinated
Recommended isolation distance - 500m
Expected seed viability - 2-4 years
Genetic diversity - 
  • Viable seed - 1 plant
  • Variety maintenance - 5-20 plants
  • Genetic preservation - 50 plants
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Jasmin Hill
24 May 2022

Chillies Chillies Chillies!! 🌶🌶🌶
I have never seen so many chillies before in my whole life! Kilos and kilos of them, I'm blown away by my chillies! 
Chillies have perfect flowers, this means that they have both female and male parts in the same flower so they self pollinate, most flowers will pollinate themselves with a little disturbance. Sometimes this disturbance is from insects so they can cross pollinate if that insect has been sitting in another chilli flower from the same species. 

There are 5 different species of chillies
  1. C. annuum - your most common species of chilli, varieties including your sweet bell peppers, jalapeños, Jimmy nardello, paprika, cayenne.. etc
  2. C. baccatum - My favourite chilli to grow, originating from Peru and grown at altitudes so they can handle the cold here. Varieties including, Sugar Rush peach, bishops crown, most of the Aji's.. Aji pineapple, Aji limon, Aji amarillo.. etc. They are usually a nice medium heat 30,000-50,000 SHU similar to cayenne but less burny
  3. C. Chinense - Your hottest chillies and from tropical origins so they need more warmth especially to set good seeds, varieties include your super hots, habaneros, Reapers, Bhut jolokia, Fatalii, Scotch bonnet.. etc.
  4. C. frutescens - From Central or South America they are usually quite small and grow upright, typically short and bushy plants that are great for growing in pots. Varieties include Tobasco, Piri Piri.. I grow a variety that is a cross between C. frutescens and C. annum called Bangalore whippets tail, it's FABULOUS!
  5. C. pubescens - Often grown at altitudes, from Peru, Bolivia Ecuador and they can really handle the cold, easily identified by their black seeds. Only variety I know if is Rocoto, I have two Orange Rocoto plants growing and plenty of seeds for them. They pack a punch at about 100,000 SHU.. Nice big chillies with thick wall. 
The 5 different species will not likely cross pollinate with each other, although one of my chilli varieties is a cross between species.. The Bangalore Whippets tail is a cross between Bangalore Torpedo (C annuum) crossed with Whippets Tail (C frutescens), 
​I have three different glasshouses so I have been able to isolate many of these varieties by only having one of their species in each glasshouse however when I grow more than one of the same species in the same glasshouse then I plant them away from each. I have seen differing opinions on the likelyhood of chillies cross pollinating in this situation, other more experienced chilli seed savers I have spoken to have noted it to be very rare. 
I would be really interested to know if anyone gets any crossed seeds from me!
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Aji Pineapple (C. baccatum)
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Bangalore Whippets Tail (C. frutescens x C. annuum)
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Bishops Crown (C. baccatum)
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Cayenne Long Thin (C. annuum)
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Count Dracula (C. annuum)
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Fidalgo Roxa (C. chinense)
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Giallo Arancio (C. baccatum)
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Ljuti (C. annuum)
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Rocoto Orange (C. pubescens)
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Pink Tiger (C. chinense)
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Sugar Rush Peach (C. baccatum)
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Yellow Fatalii (C. chinense)
Solanum lycopersicum - Tomato
Family - Solanaceae
Genus - Solanum
Species - lycopersicum
Plant type - Annual
Flower type - Perfect and self fertile
Pollination - Self pollination (possible but rare insect pollination)
Recommended isolation distance - 3-15m
​Expected seed viability - 4-6 years (or longer)
​Genetic diversity - 
  • Viable seed - 1 plant
  • Variety maintenance - 5-10 plants
  • Genetic preservation - 20 plants
Picture
Jasmin Hill
10 August 2022

Lets talk Tomato Seed Saving
Tomatoes are absolutely one of my favourite plants to grow and I also really enjoy saving their seeds!
Tomato seeds are a great place to start for beginner seed savers, they are fun to grow with plenty of great variety, they rarely cross pollinate and the seeds are ripe and ready at the same time as the fruit are ready to eat.
My number one rule for saving any seeds it to be sure you are saving them from a strong and healthy plant. This will encourage future strong genetics and also avoid passing on seed borne virus's and disease. 
Cross pollination - Tomato flowers are Perfect (meaning that they have both male and female parts) so they are self pollinating. There is some variation in the flowers amongst the different varieties of tomatoes where the stigmas may be exerted, which can lead to insect cross pollination, this is more common in potato leaf varieties. 
Exerted stigmas (Pictured below) are also common in the double blossomed flowers that commonly occur in the first set of fruit especially from beefsteak varieties, this is why it is not recommended to save seeds from these fruit unless isolation techniques have been used. Generally though it is quite rare that tomatoes cross pollinate so home gardeners can usually feel quite comfortable saving seeds from many different varieties growing together.. If your plants are really close and you have a lot of insects around that could cause cross pollination easily then take a close look at your tomato flowers. If they have exerted stigmas then maybe consider bagging individual flowers, or bunches of flowers for seed saving purposes. Again it it very rare for tomatoes to cross.. but it is possible.
Genetic Diversity - There are some recommendations in my books about numbers of plants to grow for GD..
Viable Seeds - 1 Plant
Variety Maintenance - 5 - 10 plants
Genetic Preservation - 20 Plants
In breeding depression is not usually a problem with tomatoes so these are just guidelines to take into account for capturing a varieties full GD.
Selecting desirable fruit and nice strong plants for Seed Saving is important. Consider each varieties important traits such as fruit size, shape, colour and patterns, Also consider the plants overall growth habits, and leaf formation.
Cleaning and Storing - The most ideal way of saving your Tomato seeds is through the fermentation process. Saving your tomato seeds this way will remove the gel coating from around each seed which harbours pathogens and may contain germination inhibitors. Fermenting your seeds is also a great way to remove non-viable seeds, and allow you to store your seeds clean and dry to insure you have nice viable seeds for many years to come!
Ferment - 
Scoop the seeds out of your tomato into a jar and add about an equal amount of water to help begin fermentation. Label your jar and leave it in a warm spot for aprox 3 days to ferment, this time will vary greatly depending on the temperature. Smell your seeds and you will notice a distinct change in the smell when they begin fermenting. Give them a good stir to encourage the little gel coatings to fall away from the seed and help break away any excess pulp.
Rinse -
When you are confident your tomato seeds are ready, fill the jar with water and stir well, let the seeds settle to the bottom and tip off any excess floating pulp. Non viable seeds will most likely float so tip the floaters away. Repeat until your seeds look nice and clean. 
Dry -
Fill the jar with water and tip your seeds into a sieve, this will avoid them sticking to the jar. Fold a paper towel and place under the sieve to absorb any excess water then lay out on baking paper in a warm spot to dry (out of direct sunlight). As your seeds dry they will become beautiful and fluffy! Leave them for a few days before storing. 
As your seeds dry they will become beautiful and fluffy. Leave them for a few days before storing.
This is my process for fermenting tomato seeds, there are variations of course :) 

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TOMATO TERMINOLOGY SERIES
By Minette Tonoli @ www.meadowsweet.co.nz

​ -Heirlooms vs Hybrids

​-To Be(efsteak) or not to Be(efsteak)
-Indeterminate vs Determinate
Solanum melongena - Eggplant
Family - Solanaceae
Genus - Solanum

Species - melongena
Plant type - Annual
Flower type - Perfect and self fertile
Pollination - Self pollination and insect pollination
Recommended isolation distance - 500m
​Expected seed viability - 4-6 years 
​Genetic diversity - 
  • Viable seed - 1 plant
  • Variety maintenance - 5-20 plants
  • Genetic preservation - 50 plants
Solanum tuberous - Potato
Family - Solanaceae
Genus - Solanum

Species - tuberous
Plant type - Annual