JOSEPH FERNANDES
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ALDONA: Kitchen gardening has become quite the rage among many families, particularly those in urban areas, as they make a conscious decision to grow their own food. While this certainly must be encouraged, the quality of produce is crucial too.
That is where the technique of preserving seeds comes into play, something that farmers in rural areas are adept at. The Alemao couple of Aldona’s Maina Vaddo is among them.
Jose and his wife Santan, who have been farming for over half a century, say there is no better joy than sowing the seeds obtained from the very plants one grows. This practice also helps perpetuate good quality vegetables or cereals, they say.
It has become something of a ritual for Jose to preserve seeds of his crops after each farming season, more so because good quality seeds are not easily available in the market. He and Santan grow a variety of crops ranging from cluster beans, ladies’ fingers and brinjals to red amaranth, onion, maize and chilli, and preserve seeds from each upon them being harvested.
Jose explains how it is done. “Once the vegetables, for example cluster beans, are harvested, we keep a small portion aside for sun-drying. Later, the seeds are extracted and are kept outside for drying for a week.
They are then stored in clean, dry plastic bottles and the cap of each bottle is fixed tightly to prevent any air from entering. If stored in this way in a cool, dry place, the seeds can last several years without spoiling,” he says.
Importantly, the Alemaos don’t open these seed bottles in-between but only when farming season nears. “We use the bulk of the seeds for cultivation and sell the rest to people who come to our home asking for them,” Jose says.
He warns that the process is not as easy as it seems and involves a lot of patience and precision. “Seed preservation has become second nature for me because I have been doing it for years, even when the quantum of the harvest is not up to my expectations. In fact, I have preserved enough vegetable seeds to use during the next cultivation season,” he smiles.
