How does a person do that with what's currently in their garden? Does anyone here do this? Is it worth the effort?

Definitely worth the effort, but only if you're growing open-pollinated, non-hybrid plants. If they're hybrids, they won't come true from seed you save, that is, the baby plants won't be like the parent plants. Also, if you're growing two open-pollinated varieties of the same species, such as two kinds of tomatoes, they may cross (hybridize) and the babies not be like either of the parents.

Seed saving links:

http://homepage.tinet.ie/~merlyn/seedsaving.html

:stinkeye: I have no idea if my plants are open pollinated non-hybrids.

Seed saving links:

http://homepage.tinet.ie/~merlyn/seedsaving.html

Wow, I think I need the kindergartener's version of that website.

dont' let monsanto hear of this. ;)

what are you growing, sally?

I think saving seed is SO important! It is one of our basic freedoms, to have the power to grow our own food!

I'll try to find a basic guide to seed saving, might take me a bit to get back with it...

I've done that.

The corn I grew two or three years ago was "Golden Bantam", an heirloom open-pollinated (non-hybrid) variety. A few ears got moldy and I thought it best not to eat them, but I dried them and planted the seeds last year and this year. They germinated and grew quite well.

I've saved and planted bean seeds, too. My dill usually scatters its own seeds around and comes up the next year with no help from me.

Both corn and beans are easy- they dry with no difficulty. Tomatoes might be another story, but one year I grew cherry tomatoes and missed harvesting a few. The next year they came up like weeds.

Basic seed saving:

http://www.virtualseeds.com/seedsaving.html

There is a 'Southern Exposure' seed company with a downloadable PDF catalog. They are based in Virginia, USA, and sell mostly heirloom seeds. The catalog includes information about how far you need to space certain strains of plants to ensure a mostly 'pure' seed for next year.

Worth downloading and looking through, IMHO. Next year I'm tempted to try seed saving by trying to save some dry beans. While I suspect it may be cheaper to buy the seeds directly than spend the time harvesting my own, I find it emotionally satisfying to limit the amount of cold hard cash I spend on my garden each year.

Depending on the seeds you're saving, you can save considerable money. I collected and grew out some wildflower seeds and probably saved $20, because these wildflower seeds are quite expensive if purchased.