Savings Vegetable Seeds

Saving Vegetable Seeds
Lisa Greene - Los Angeles Gardening Examiner
http://www.examiner.com/x-15476-Gardening-Examiner~topic282474-Gard...

Saving vegetable seeds is a relatively easy and inexpensive project with the benefit of saving you money when it comes time to plant again in the spring. Instead of spending wheelbarrows full of cash on seed packets, you can just pull out your stash, knowing that you have seeds for plants that do well in your yard.

Part 1

Collecting seeds requires some very basic equipment that you probably already own.

The basic supplies:

1. Scissors or small pruners--you can even use your finger nails to pinch off the seed pods.

2. Container to catch the dried flower heads and/or seed pods. Use small bowls, cups, or plastic storage containers.

3. Pen or marker to label each container. If you're using some of your kitchen supplies as containers, you probably don't want to write on them. In this case, just write the name of the plant on a small piece of paper and place in the bottom of the container. The seed pods that you collect will hold the paper in place.

4. Small envelopes to store the mature dried seeds. You can make your own using scrap paper, newspaper or pages from old phone books. Just make sure the paper breathes, a gloss magazine page is not a good option. Try these templates to make your own seed-size envelopes. Store the labeled envelope in a cool dry place until planting time next year.

As you can see, the supplies needed are ridiculously simple. The process of harvesting the seeds isn't difficult either; the most challenging part is being able to identify the seed pod and getting the seeds before nature helps the plant disperse the seeds in your garden.

*Some seeds are easier to harvest than others. They all develop from the flowering part of the plant, but they end up in different types of carriers such as pods, flower heads, and fleshy fruit.

Part 2

Saving seeds from pods

Let the pods dry on the plants.Beans and peas are among the easiest to gather and save. Here's how:

1. Identify some of the best pods on the plant and tie a colored string around them to make sure you don't pick them before they're mature by mistake.

2. Try to identify 1.5 times as many seeds as you think you'll need next year since there will likely be a few seeds that won't germinate when it comes time to plant them in the spring.

3. Let the pods start to dry and turn brown on the plant.

4. Once the pod is brown, carefully remove it from the plant.

5. Collect all of the brown pods into a labeled paper bag.

6. If you have a clothes line available, hang the bag from the line so air can circulate around it completely, thus reducing the possibility that the seeds will mold. You could also place the seeds on a paper towel that's on top of a cooling rack to dry.

7. Let the seed pods dry out completely - usually 1,-2 weeks.

8. Split the pod open and pour the dry seeds into an envelope labeled with the plant type and the year. This will help you keep track of extra seeds carried over more than 1 year, since many seeds become less viable over time.

9. Store the labeled envelope in a cool dry place until planting time next year. Try these templates to make your own seed-size envelopes.


Depending upon the type of plant there are different steps based upon where the seeds actually reside on the plant. Pods are handled differently than flower heads, and harvesting the seeds from a fleshy vegetable like tomatoes and cucumbers is another story all together.

Step 3
Collecting seeds from tomatoes, cucumbers, etc.

One of the main differences in collecting the seeds from these fleshy fruits/vegetables is that you don't let the seeds dry out on the plant or inside the fruit. Instead:

Pick a completely ripe tomato, cucumber, etc. It has to be ripe or the seeds won't be mature enough to reproduce.

1. Cut it open and scoop or squeeze the the seeds along with the pulp into a glass or plastic container.

2. Add enough water to cover the collected mass and stir.

3. Let the mixture sit out several days at room temperature and stir occasionally.
The healthy, viable seeds will settle to the bottom, while the nonviable seeds will float.

4. Pour off the water along with the pulp and floating seeds.

5. Spread the viable seeds from the bottom of the container on a paper towel to dry, you may want to flip the seeds over to ensure they dry evenly.

6.Once dry,collect the seeds into a labeled paper envelope and keep them in a cool,dry place until it's time to plant again.

Try these templates to make your own seed-size envelopes.
http://www.cheapvegetablegardener.com/2009/08/make-your-own-seed-pa...

Lisa Green's Bio: Lisa Greene is a passionate gardener with 25+ years experience. She has created a beautiful landscape using fruit and vegetable plants as well as flowers, ornamental shrubs and shade trees. Lisa also shares her knowledge, tips and ideas for creating an edible landscape on her website and blog, ediblegardenlandscaping.com.

EmmaDear.eCrater.com