Collecting and Storing Garden Seeds

One of the neater aspects of gardening is that there is a level of sustainability built into it.  All of the plants we grow to feed ourselves also produce seed we can collect to propagate next year.  Saving your seeds saves you money, helps preserve the varieties you enjoy and is just plain fun to do!

Entire books have been written about saving seeds and all of the nuances that go with doing so.  This article will attempt to simplify the process and give you enough information to try some basic seed-saving for yourself.

If you enjoy saving seeds and want to read further about it I recommend:

Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners

Saving Seeds: The Gardener’s Guide to Growing and Storing Vegetable and Flower Seeds (A Down-to-Earth Gardening Book)

The first rule of saving seeds is: We don’t talk about saving seeds!  Wait a second…  Ignore that – just had a flashback to a Brad Pitt movie…

The first rule of saving seeds is to only save them from heirloom or open-pollinated varieties.  These are the only types of plants that reproduce true from seed.  (True means that the offspring have the same qualities of the parent plants).  Hybrids do NOT reproduce true from seed – so if you save seed from a hybrid you never know what you will get the following year.  Open-pollinated and heirloom = save.  Hybrid = don’t save.

Easy Seeds to Save

Tomato – Select a fully-ripe fruit.  Squeeze the seeds onto a paper towel or screen.  Let sit at room temperature until completely dry.  For a slightly more involved method check out our Tomato Grow Guide.

Pepper – Select a fully-ripe pepper.  Typically peppers turn completely red when ripe.  Collect the seeds and place them on a paper towel or screen until completely dry.

Eggplant – Collect seeds from a fully-mature fruit.  Place them on a paper towel or screen until completely dry.  Starting to see a pattern here?

Beans – Leave the pods on the plant until they rattle dry.  Collect the pods and place them in a well-ventilated area until the pods are completely dry, then remove the seeds.

Lettuce – Allow the plants to bolt – they will produce a tall stalk that will flower at the top.  After the flowers bloom they will form a fuzzy head that looks like a dandelion – collect the seeds at this point.  Rub the seeds between your fingers to separate the chaff.

Difficult Seeds to Save

Cucumber, Melon, Squash, Pumpkin – these are a challenge because they easily cross-pollinate in the garden.  It is probably easier to just buy new seed to ensure you are getting what you plant.

The Biennials (Carrot, Beet, Onion, Cabbage, Broccoli) – All of these produce seeds in their second year of life.  Depending on your climate it might take a lot of effort to keep the plants alive for two seasons.  Again, probably easier to purchase seed compared the the effort involved.

Storing Seeds

Label your seeds!  Store them in a jar or envelope in a cool, dry place.  Storage life will vary depending on plant type and storage conditions.  In general:

• Short Storage Life (1-2 years) – Onion, Corn, Pepper
• Medium Storage Life (3-4 years) – Bean, Broccoli, Carrot, Pea
• Long Storage Life (5+ years) – Cabbage, Radish, Cucumber, Eggplant, Lettuce, Melon, Pumpkin, Squash, Tomato

To store seeds long-term place seed packets into a well-sealed glass jar in the freezer or refrigerator.

Testing for Germination

Moisten 2-3 layers of paper towel.  Place seeds on the paper towel and roll it up.  Put the roll into a plastic bag and place it somewhere warm like a kitchen counter.  Check the seeds for germination every 2 days or so.  Some seeds sprout very quickly – radishes can germinate in as little as 2 days!  Some, like peppers, can take up to 2 weeks.