SEED SAVING 101
A lot of our produce outside is starting to produce seeds
Store seeds in something that allows it to breathe, like an unbleached tea bag. Do not use plastics! Using plastic can cause any moisture within the seed to grow mold and mildew making the seed not viable. Label and store in a cool, dry place over winter.
Sometimes I like to know if the seeds are for sure viable before storing for the winter. To do this, take the seeds harvested from mature fruit and put them on a damp paper towel in a window sill. Fold neatly and place inside a plastic bag to create a warm, moist environment. Within 3-14 days, sprouts will appear! These seeds won’t be ones that we plant. This step is optional and is strictly to see if the seeds are viable. If they sprout, we know next summer will be filled with lots of that fruit or veggie!
When collecting seeds from the garden (open air pollination) if you have several varieties of tomatoes, lettuce, corn, etc. planted close to each other, the seed collected will not always be true to the parent plant. There are some plants (like roses and deciduous trees) that need a certain number of “chill hours” to become viable. This is called stratification. I won’t cover that in this course because most garden plants don’t need this requirement to grow. Two exceptions are strawberry and raspberry seeds. Both of these require stratification if growing from seed, although propagation via runners is a much more common way of growing!
WATERMELON - Remove from melon. Wash and lay flat on paper towel to dry overnight. Once dry, bag up and label
TOMATOES - Squeeze ripe, disease free tomato into a container and allow to ferment for 3 days. Collect the seeds that have sunk to the bottom and clean gel off. Place on a flat screen or paper plate to dry, stirring every so often over a 3 week period to prevent sticking.
LETTUCE - Keep lettuce in the ground until if flowers. Once flowers are fluffy and dry, harvest entire head and shake seeds loose in a paper bag. Continue to dry in paper bag for 2 weeks. Separate seeds from chaff and store.
PEAS - Allow pod to dry out on the vine/bush. Peas are ready to harvest when pods are brown and papery. After harvest, bring inside and remove peas from pods. Allow to dry in a single layer for another 3 weeks.
CARROTS - Keep carrots in the ground until seeds have set. Once flowers are fluffy and dry, harvest the entire head by shaking into a paper bag. Continue to dry them in the bag for 2 weeks before separating seed from chaff.