Lyne Bellemare from Seeds of Diversity gave an energetic workshop on seed saving. I had the chance to assist (and being a beginner gardener, learned a lot).

Did you know that when cross-pollination occur,  two types of plants of the same species, like Cherry tomatoes and Italian tomatoes, will end up creating a tomato with characteristics from both! The taste that can come out of these kinds of mixes doesn’t necessarily ensure goodness; however, it can be interesting to discover a new kind of fruit or vegetable.

To ensure a level of purity in the plant seeds, you need to respect certain distances.

If we look at parsley, your field or gardening space would either have to have nothing but parsley for 2km or just a few parsley and nothing else around for that space. Of course, mixing can happen between plants of the same family only. So I don’t think you need to worry about it that much ;)

On another note, buying seeds from certain stores (more specifically, the big chains) does not mean you can save seed with them. There’s this terminator gene called F1 which, overly simplified, means the seeds that your plants will make won’t grow. Personally, I find that strange and amazing at the same time.

That’s a few facts from the workshop. A big thank you to Lyne and Seeds of Diversity for having experts on hand.

If you’d like more information on Lyne Bellemare or detailed guide on Seed Saving, you can contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit their website.