By now, everyone should have their vegetable gardens started.
May 20th was given as the frost free date in my area this year, but most
people couldn't wait that long. I hope many of you chose to
plant some open pollinated plants this year and that some of those are
heirlooms. If so, it's not too late to think about saving seed.
Among the easiest vegetables for saving seed are beans. If you are just getting started, this is a great place to being, however, you will have to sacrifice some of your harvest to the cause. You can start small, just saving enough to increase your crop next year and each year putting aside a bit more for seed, until you've acquired a large enough stock to begin sharing.
The most awkward part of seed saving is getting used to the Latin names used for botanical classification. We've always avoided pretentious nomenclature in vegetable gardening circles. A cow pea is a cow pea, not Vigna unguiculata. But for seed saving purposes, this becomes a necessary evil. That's why I always include the latin names in my articles. If you'd like to learn more about the genetics involved, half a look at Genetics for Seed Savers.
To save seed that is true to its species, you have to know what else it might cross pollinate with and make sure that doesn't happen. For example, you might know that all types of carrots (Dacucus carota) will cross pollinate with one another, but you have to keep in mind that they will also cross pollinate with wild carrots or Queen Anne's lace, which might be growing in the field next to your garden. And squash plants will readily cross pollinate with other squash varieties within the same species. So buttercups (Cucurbita maxima) are more of a danger to hubbards than to cushaw squash (C. mixta).
Common beans are members of the Phaseolus genus and the species vulgaris. Most of the beans processed and sold at the grocery store are either "Blue Lake" or "Kentucky Wonder", names you are probably familiar with. The members of the seed savers exchange maintain well over 2,000 varieties of common beans. Growing them yourself is very likely the only way you are going to get to try this incredible diversity. The flowers of All P. vulgaris are perfect and self-pollinating, but they can be pollinated by bees and other insects. Risk of cross pollination is greatest in windy areas, where there is a large bee population and with large
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