How to Save Your Garden Seeds6727047
Most serious gardeners save seeds. It's easy, it's practical, and it will save you some cash. Right here are a couple of saving suggestions:
Packaged Packaged seeds should be saved in their original packages. Simply fold the top or use a small bit of tape to safe the seeds in the packet. If the outer packet integrated an inner foil packet, shop any leftovers in the foil packet.
Some seeds are significantly more sensitive to moisture in the air... so, if the seed company took the time to wrap them in foil packets, you should, too.
The best place to shop your packets is in a large jar or coffee can in the refrigerator. Maintain them cool and dry, and most will last many seasons. Keep in mind that seeds are food, and improper storage will invite all kinds of pests to your basement or pantry.
House Harvested You can harvest and save from open-pollinated cultivars but, you can't save the seeds from hybrids. (Nicely, you can save from hybrids, but they will not create the same hybrid plant from which they came... you'll generally get 1 of the parent varieties utilized to make the hybrid.)
These harvested from open-pollinated varieties of flowers and vegetables can be harvested when the fruits or flowers are mature, or even beyond maturity. They should be relatively dry and free from as much plant "litter" as possible. You can rinse tomato and pepper seeds in a colander and dry them for a day or two on paper towels or cookie sheets. Those from beans and most flowers don't need much unique therapy before packaging them.
Package in paper envelopes, being careful to label the envelopes to determine the contents as well as the year of harvest.
Flowers that readily self-seed as annuals, such as plume celosia, are perfect candidates for saving. Simply shake the dried flower heads in a large envelope or can and you will gather hundreds, if not thousands, that can be used in your gardens or shared with friends.
As with commercially packaged seeds, house packaged should be stored in a cool, dry location that is totally free from insects or rodents. A coffee can in the refrigerator is ideal.
Checking Germination You can't figure out if a seed will germinate by searching at it. There are two ways for house gardeners to verify the germination. (Germination indicates that they'll sprout and grow the germination percentage is simply the percentage that are viable.)
1. Simply place 1 or two seeds in every cell of a six pack starter cell pack, and see how numerous germinate. Or, two. Location 10 to 20 seeds in between two or more moist paper towels, and see how numerous germinate. The paper towel technique is used by virtually all laboratories but, care must be taken to maintain the towels moist and warm. You can use a big plastic bag or cellophane to assist keep the towels moist.
Verify germination several weeks prior to the time that you'll need to begin so that you can replace any cultivars that have extremely low or zero germination.
