Gathering and saving seeds from a homegrown harvest is easy, cost effective and rewarding.
Once you have saved enough for yourself, keep saving more! Seeds are well sort after – share with others at a local Crop Swap or make them a thoughtful ‘gardeners gift’ for someone who loves growing as much as you do.
Seeds are best sown fresh from last season. Depending on the seed, its packaging and conditions, seeds may last 2-3 years so be sure to plant when seeds are in their prime.
On that note, if pondering whether old seeds have ‘passed their date’, test their germination. Layer a damp paper towel on a saucer, scatter some seeds and wrap loosely in a plastic bag. Keep in a warm place and check after several days to (a) keep moist and (b) check on any signs of life. If only a small proportion of your test seeds grow, sow remaining seeds thickly to increase the odds of a successful germination rate.
Seeds should last several years before they lose the will to germinate and the trick to successful seed saving is ensuring you:
- select the best seeds in the first place
- dry them thoroughly
- store them in a dark space, tightly sealed
Saving Seeds
There are so many types of seeds and many ways of saving them. You can scrape out the seeds of virtually anything, and treated well, they make produce untold seedlings for you next season. The ‘best seeds’ are those that are mature, found in mature fruit and vegetable flowers. They will be plump!
Pithy fruit and vegetables
If you are harvesting the seeds of a fleshy fruit or vegetable (such as stone fruit or from the pumpkin family) wash off any excess flesh by swirling the freshly harvested seeds in a bowl of water. Discard any pith or material that may be prone to going moldy. Also discard any seeds that look weak or transparent. It will be obvious to you which seeds are more robust than the others.
You don’t need to wash capsicum or chilli seeds as the pith is easy to remove as you go.
Wet fruit and vegetables
I dry seeds directly onto newspaper, paper towel or baking paper. While the likes of pumpkin (once dried) will be easy to remove from the paper before packing into a seed envelope, this is not the same for tomato which is a very wet fruit. So, when saving tomato seeds, I squeeze them (pulp and all) onto a paper towel, then using a utensil, spread them into spaced rows. Come planting season, tear off as required and plant (along with the paper as it will compost).
Mystery seeds
That’s what happens when you don’t make a note of what seeds you are drying! Tomato seeds generally look the same, so if you want to grow Roma tomatoes next season, rather than Black Cherry tomatoes, be sure to make a note of the variety before you get confused. It’s handy to scribble this on the newspaper they are drying on.
Drying time
In the middle of summer, I allow seeds to air dry for about a week before storing.
When it comes to vegetable flowers, we are talking very tiny seeds. Ensure that the flower is dry and crispy naturally as the plant has gone through its life cycle. Whether it be spring onions, or bok choy, it’s easier to manage by just picking off the flower pod and putting that into a seed bag, unless you want to go with the flow and leave the plant and seeds to self-seed naturally in the soil.
If I haven’t picked green beans in their prime, I allow the pod to dry on the plant and let the sun dry them naturally.
Storing seeds
Pack dried seeds in small envelopes and label. Date and record their variety, when to sow and any other handy hints to appreciate next season: varietal; compatible planting companions; spacing apart; time to harvest.
Keep seed packets in cool, dry, dark conditions. A biscuit tin or canister makes for a great filing organiser particularly when grouped into seasons or by plant type as this will help with mapping out a growing calendar.
You can use brown paper bags, cut down for size and sealed with sticking tape.
As seen in NZ Lifestyle Block Magazine, written by me!
