Tips on Saving Seeds

Learning to propagate your own seeds can be an extremely rewarding aspect of gardening. While many gardeners today order their seeds through a variety of different catalogs for many generations the only way to obtain seeds for the next year was to save seeds from the previous year’s garden. Even though we may many more options available to us today, saving your own seeds certainly provides numerous advantages. In addition to the fact that it is less expensive than purchasing new seeds each year, you also gain the benefit of knowing without a doubt that the seeds you plant next year will be well suited to your particular climate and area growing conditions because they come from plants that have already been proven successful.

Many beginning gardeners may shy away from the idea of saving their own seeds, mistakenly believing it to be complicated and difficult. It is actually quite simple; however, and once you get into the swing of things you’ll wonder why you ever did it any other way. There are some guidelines you should observe in order to make sure you save only the best seeds; however.

First, realize that not all seeds should be saved. Despite all your efforts, you will sometimes have plants that are not perfectly healthy. So, don’t save seeds from plants that appear to be diseased. The disease will be passed right on to next year’s crops through the seeds. Save only seeds from plants that have been healthy and strong all season long.

If you have hybrid plants, be aware that it is really not a good idea to save those seeds. Hybrid plants are bred to obtain the best characteristics of two different plants. Succeeding generations of hybrid plants tend to demonstrate some of the less desirable characteristics of the original plants; however. To make sure your new plants have only the best characteristics, save only seeds that have been open pollinated.

Be sure to time the collection of your seeds just right. It is best collect seeds on a day that is sunny and dry. If you’re collecting flower seeds, be sure the heads of the flowers have become dry before attempting collection. This remains true for vegetables that flower as well. Just make sure not to wait until the seeds drop from the pod.

For vegetables that contain pulp you will need to separate the seeds from the pulp and allow them to dry. It helps to lay them out on a newspaper for the drying process. Once they are completely dry, which usually takes about a week, you can then place them into storage. Do so by placing them into tightly sealed containers. Be sure to label each container and do not mix seeds. Place them in a cool area, such as either the basement or even the refrigerator.

 
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