create and maintain a seed bank

So, the vials arrived (very quickly – hooray) and I’m really happy to have this essential tool at my disposal. Now if I want to collect seeds (or aquatic insects, for that matter), I’ll have somewhere to keep them. I may acquire some homemade seives (a small bottomless box of 2’ x 4’ with wire mesh stapled on as a bottom) and do some field collecting, just to see how I might go about organizing my work, as my tomatoes haven’t come in yet and won’t give me a whole lot to go on, besides.

I’ve ordered a 144-pack of 1 dram vials, which I have used before in entomology class for aquatic insect collecting, and I have some heirloom tomatoes growing out back that will be good candidates for seed harvesting. Unfortunately, I’ve got hybrids growing right next to them so they may not yield true heirloom stock. I’m going to do it anyway, as I work out my process for storing the seeds I harvest. I need to learn more about processing the seeds so they aren’t ruined in the dessication process.

Since this is my first post, I think I ought to clarify WHY I want to do this. I have always wanted to know more about horticulture, gardening, plant genetics in a very practical sense, and this activity will give me a very concrete set of actions that can serve as a stepping off point for a LOT of learning. It’s so hard for me to say, “Okay, I’m going to learn about X today” if there’s no activity to go along with the reading. Action gives me a place to begin, and keeps the energy invested in the right places.