Growing Seeds

Purple Teepee Beans
I'm growing these for the seeds. 

I've just started getting serious about producing my own seeds and starts. Every year I've been buying them from the mainland, mostly. But as part of my efforts to being self-reliant, I'm learning to produce more of my own. I've successfully experimented with some veggies, the easy ones. So for now on, certain veggies will now be 100% homestead produced.

So you ask, which veggies?
...beans
...peas
...potatoes
...sweet potatoes
...tomatoes
...lettuce
...yacon
...taro
...dill
...summer savory
...chives
...basils
...winged beans
...jicama
...pipinola
...sugar cane
...coffee
...hibiscus
...strawberries
These are the ones that I know I can do successfully and easily.

I've also learned to do gourds. Since I can do gourds successfully, that means the I could do cucumbers, melons, squash, and pumkpins if I want to.  I haven't yet, but I will eventually.

Certain veggies don't go to flower here. At least I haven't seen them do it yet. I wonder if I could some how trick them into it. I have chard and parsley plants that are six years old. They have never bolted. So it looks like I won't be able to produce seed for these.

I've discovered that kale, some collards, and some broccoli can be produced vegetatively. I've taken stem cuttings and rooted them. Tomatoes also grow from tip cuttings quite easily. I'm still experimenting to see what grows. Will the stem suckers root from chard and parsley? What about eggplant and peppers? Might they grow from cuttings? I haven't tried them yet. Will onions flower here? How about beets?

I still have a lot to learn!