What is 'Selection' in Seed Saving? — Why Choosing by Appearance Alone Leads to Weakness
In the previous article, I talked about 'narrowing down the number of seeds to keep'.
This time, we will go one step further and delve into the 'philosophy of selection'—
what criteria to use for selection, that is.
Starting from failure
Several years ago, I experienced a year like this.
After I had spent 5 to 6 years selecting only the best-looking fruits,
starting from one year,the seeds became thin and the germination rate dropped.
'I was choosing good fruits, so why?'
What I realized then was that my definition of 'good fruit' might have been wrong.
The difference between the 'contest type' and the 'survival test type'
There are two ways of thinking about selection.
Contest type (selecting by appearance and size)
Well-formed shape
Large size
Deep color
Survival test type (selecting individuals that survived in that field and that year)
Did not stop growing even in midsummer
Did not collapse after a typhoon
Persisted even through prolonged drought
What natural farming originally seeks is the latter.
If you continue with contest-type selection, even if the number of 'visual honor students' increases,the repertoire for diverse stresseswill decrease.
Why focusing on one thing leads to weakness
Nature's conditions change every year.
Years of extreme heat
Years of cool summers
Years with many typhoons
Years of prolonged drought
If you lean too much toward one 'ideal form', you lose resistance (repertoire) to other stresses.
To use an analogy, it is the same as the risk of betting everything on one investment.
No matter how promising it looks, if you concentrate on one point, the damage when it fails is significant.
Seeds are the same; diversity is what provides risk diversification.
What does it mean to select for 'toughness'?
These are the criteria I actually use for selection.
Take from plants that didn't stop growing in midsummertake from
Take from plants that didn't collapse after a typhoontake from
Take from plants that persisted even under somewhat poor conditionstake from
Before looking at shape, look at what conditions they survived in. Of course, it is best if you have fruit that is both well-shaped and tough. But when you have to choose between 'shape vs. vitality,' prioritizing vitality is the essence of natural farming selection.
Shifting direction while maintaining diversity
Even though we 'avoid putting all our eggs in one basket,' it is meaningless to choose randomly every year. What is important is to
gradually shift toward a direction that suits the environment. The image is like the feeling of swimming without fighting the river's current. You adjust your direction little by little while moving with the flow. By observing and recording 'which plants persisted in this year's field' during each year's selection, that accumulation leads to stability three to five years later. <aside> 🌱
Home seed saving is the work of turning 'this year's observations' into next year's seeds. By keeping records, the accuracy of your selection will improve year by year.
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Summary: Selection is a 'question posed to the future'
How do you want them to live in next year's field? What kind of stress do you want them to overcome? The act of saving seeds while imagining this is selection.
Not shape, but vitality. Not a contest, but a survival test.
Next time, I will discuss how to choose and obtain heirloom and native seeds. I will organize a practical entry point on 'where to start.'