Saving your own seeds from your garden is a rewarding practice and over time it will adapt your veggies to your garden’s specific microclimate. Here are a few tips for new seed savers and some veggies to get started with.

For a more detailed description on how to save seeds, check out this article here.

Beets were most likely first cultivated thousands of years ago by the Greeks and Romans. Early beets were primarily grown for their fleshy leaves which were similar to what we now call “Swiss Chard.” The first recorded evidence of beets being grown for their bulbous roots was in the 1500s in Germany and Italy. They are a great source of dietary fiber and carbohydrates and have a number of vitamins and antioxidants. In the United States, beets are...

The falling temperatures and falling leaves are signaling that soon the green in our gardens will turn brown as life moves into its annual winter dormancy. There’s a handful of plants that can survive—and even thrive—in the harshness of winter. One of those plants is garlic. Typically planted in the fall, garlic puts its roots down in the cooler temperatures of the winter, and its green sprouts become visible in the early part of spring while the...

Watermelon was likely first cultivated around 5,000 years ago by farmers in current-day Botswana. It is believed that its wild ancestor is a bitter melon known as “kengwe.” Originally the melon was used primarily as a source of water and the seeds were roasted and eaten for protein. Over time the melons were bred for sweetness and began to resemble what we know as watermelon about 4,000 years ago. We know this because big round watermelons are...