How to Save Your Garden Seeds2870874
Most serious gardeners save seeds. It's simple, it's practical, and it will save you some cash. Right here are a few saving tips:
Packaged Packaged seeds should be saved in their original packages. Merely fold the leading or use a small bit of tape to secure the seeds in the packet. If the outer packet integrated an inner foil packet, store any leftovers in the foil packet.
Some seeds are considerably much more sensitive to moisture in the air... so, if the seed business took the time to wrap them in foil packets, you ought to, as well.
The best place to store your packets is in a large jar or coffee can in the refrigerator. Keep them cool and dry, and most will last many seasons. Remember that seeds are food, and improper storage will invite all sorts of pests to your basement or pantry.
Home Harvested You can harvest and save from open-pollinated cultivars but, you cannot save the seeds from hybrids. (Well, you can save from hybrids, but they will not create the exact same hybrid plant from which they came... you'll usually get one of the parent varieties utilized 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 should be relatively dry and totally 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. Those from beans and most flowers don't need much unique treatment before packaging them.
Package in paper envelopes, being careful to label the envelopes to identify the contents as nicely as the year of harvest.
Flowers that readily self-seed as annuals, such as plume celosia, are perfect candidates for saving. Merely shake the dried flower heads in a large envelope or can and you will collect hundreds, if not thousands, that can be utilized in your gardens or shared with friends.
As with commercially packaged seeds, house packaged ought to be stored in a cool, dry location that is free from insects or rodents. A coffee can in the refrigerator is perfect.
Checking Germination You cannot figure out if a seed will germinate by searching at it. There are two methods for home gardeners to verify the germination. (Germination indicates that they will sprout and develop the germination percentage is merely the percentage that are viable.)
1. Merely place 1 or two seeds in every cell of a six pack starter cell pack, and see how many germinate. Or, 2. Location ten to 20 seeds between two or more moist paper towels, and see how numerous germinate. The paper towel method 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.
Verify germination several weeks prior to the time that you'll require to begin so that you can replace any cultivars that have extremely low or zero germination.
