Umbelleriferae:
The Carrot Family
This family contains a number of our garden veggies and it is quite easy to save seed from them. The flowers seem very attractive to a number of beneficial insects in the garden, including hoverflies whose lava eat aphis and a number of other little pests.
The life cycle of a carrot, for example, is seed germination, growth, flowering and seed set. If we just buy seed, grow carrots and harvest the lot when they become ready, beneficial insects are deprived a natural food source because the plants don't complete their life cycle.
If we let our best, let's say, 6-10 plants go full cycle we can have seed to plant from the ones most locally adapted and some beaut little critters get a feed as well!
We can save seed from many of our veggie types without any real effort or loss. What's involved in taking out the pumpkin seed and saving it? Who minds spitting a few watermelon seeds into a cup?
Saving seed from both the carrot and cabbage families often means we have to sacrifice a bit of food from the table and commit a bit of garden area that could be growing something else for a while. Seed saving from the plants that involve a bit of sacrifice not only gives the most benefit to beneficial insects, the flowering plants can be very attractive.
There is one other benefit from plants that don't flower until they are past their useful point, we can, for example, try six different varieties of carrot to see what suits our patch and only let plants from the best variety flower and set seed.
We can save seed from quite a number of members of this family without the risk of crossing. You Should be able to grow one of each of the following groups and save seed even if members of the other groups are also flowering at the same time.
Estimated Seed viability in Years
Group 1. Apium graveolens Celery, celeriac. 5
Group 2. Anethum graveolens Dill 3
Group 3. Anthriscus cerefolium Chervil 1-2
Group 4 Coriandrum sativum Coriander 3
Group 5 Daucus carota Carrot, Queen Anne’s Lace. 3
Group 6 Foeniculum vulgare Fennel 3
Group 7 Pastinaca sativa Parsnip 1
Group 8 Petroselinum crispum Parsley 1-3
Seed harvesting
Individual umbels (seed heads) are taken and when fully dry rubbed between the hands to remove seeds.
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References- Seed to Seed By Suzanne Ashworth, The Seed Savers Handbook by Michel and Jude Fanton.
Non-profit groups such as garden groups, organic groups, permaculture groups or similar are encouraged to distribute this material by computer printouts or photo-stating. Groups are encouraged to make their own pamphlets to photocopy and sell for profits for their group. It is asked that anyone intending to use this information in commercially published form ask the permission of Neil Barraclough RMB 1477 Stratford 3862
Copyright 19/5/2001 14/08/08
The Carrot Family
This family contains a number of our garden veggies and it is quite easy to save seed from them. The flowers seem very attractive to a number of beneficial insects in the garden, including hoverflies whose lava eat aphis and a number of other little pests.
The life cycle of a carrot, for example, is seed germination, growth, flowering and seed set. If we just buy seed, grow carrots and harvest the lot when they become ready, beneficial insects are deprived a natural food source because the plants don't complete their life cycle.
If we let our best, let's say, 6-10 plants go full cycle we can have seed to plant from the ones most locally adapted and some beaut little critters get a feed as well!
We can save seed from many of our veggie types without any real effort or loss. What's involved in taking out the pumpkin seed and saving it? Who minds spitting a few watermelon seeds into a cup?
Saving seed from both the carrot and cabbage families often means we have to sacrifice a bit of food from the table and commit a bit of garden area that could be growing something else for a while. Seed saving from the plants that involve a bit of sacrifice not only gives the most benefit to beneficial insects, the flowering plants can be very attractive.
There is one other benefit from plants that don't flower until they are past their useful point, we can, for example, try six different varieties of carrot to see what suits our patch and only let plants from the best variety flower and set seed.
We can save seed from quite a number of members of this family without the risk of crossing. You Should be able to grow one of each of the following groups and save seed even if members of the other groups are also flowering at the same time.
Estimated Seed viability in Years
Group 1. Apium graveolens Celery, celeriac. 5
Group 2. Anethum graveolens Dill 3
Group 3. Anthriscus cerefolium Chervil 1-2
Group 4 Coriandrum sativum Coriander 3
Group 5 Daucus carota Carrot, Queen Anne’s Lace. 3
Group 6 Foeniculum vulgare Fennel 3
Group 7 Pastinaca sativa Parsnip 1
Group 8 Petroselinum crispum Parsley 1-3
Seed harvesting
Individual umbels (seed heads) are taken and when fully dry rubbed between the hands to remove seeds.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
References- Seed to Seed By Suzanne Ashworth, The Seed Savers Handbook by Michel and Jude Fanton.
Non-profit groups such as garden groups, organic groups, permaculture groups or similar are encouraged to distribute this material by computer printouts or photo-stating. Groups are encouraged to make their own pamphlets to photocopy and sell for profits for their group. It is asked that anyone intending to use this information in commercially published form ask the permission of Neil Barraclough RMB 1477 Stratford 3862
Copyright 19/5/2001 14/08/08