Saving your own seed

Saving seed is satisfying, cheap, and occasionally disappointing - usually because of one misunderstanding about what will come true.

What comes true

Open-pollinated and heirloom varieties largely come true, particularly self-pollinating ones like tomatoes, peas and beans. Species poppies, nigella and calendula will all give you something close to the parent.

What will not

Anything labelled F1 will not. The seed is viable, but the offspring segregate into a mixture of the grandparents, often shorter and less uniform. Grow it for curiosity, not for a repeat of what you had.

Drying and storing

Collect on a dry day, spread on paper somewhere airy for a fortnight, then store in paper envelopes - never plastic - somewhere cool, dark and genuinely dry. A sealed tin in an unheated room beats a drawer in a warm kitchen every time.