How to Save Your Garden Seeds1149201
Most serious gardeners save seeds. It is simple, it's practical, and it will save you some money. Right here are a couple of saving suggestions:
Packaged Packaged seeds ought to be saved in their original packages. Merely fold the leading or use a little bit of tape to safe the seeds in the packet. If the outer packet integrated an inner foil packet, store 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, as well.
The very best place to shop your packets is in a large jar or coffee can in the refrigerator. Keep them cool and dry, and most will final numerous seasons. Remember that seeds are meals, 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. (Well, you can save from hybrids, but they will not produce the exact same hybrid plant from which they came... you will generally get one of the parent varieties used to make the hybrid.)
Those harvested from open-pollinated varieties of flowers and vegetables can be harvested when the fruits or flowers are mature, or even beyond maturity. They ought to be relatively dry and free from as much plant "litter" as feasible. You can rinse tomato and pepper seeds in a colander and dry them for a day or two on paper towels or cookie sheets. These from beans and most flowers do not require much special therapy prior to packaging them.
Package in paper envelopes, becoming 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 big envelope or can and you will gather hundreds, if not thousands, that can be utilized in your gardens or shared with buddies.
As with commercially packaged seeds, home packaged ought to be stored in a cool, dry place that is free from insects or rodents. A coffee can in the refrigerator is perfect.
Checking Germination You cannot determine if a seed will germinate by searching at it. There are two ways for house gardeners to check the germination. (Germination indicates that they will sprout and develop the germination percentage is merely the percentage that are viable.)
1. Simply place one or two seeds in every cell of a six pack starter cell pack, and see how numerous germinate. Or, two. Place ten to 20 seeds between two or more moist paper towels, and see how many germinate. The paper towel technique is utilized by virtually all laboratories but, care should be taken to maintain the towels moist and warm. You can use a big plastic bag or cellophane to help maintain the towels moist.
Check germination a number of weeks prior to the time that you'll need to begin so that you can replace any cultivars that have very low or zero germination.
