How to Save Your Garden Seeds3352912
Most severe gardeners save seeds. It is easy, it's sensible, and it will save you some cash. 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 included 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 ought to, too.
The very best place to store your packets is in a big jar or coffee can in the refrigerator. Maintain them cool and dry, and most will final numerous seasons. Keep in mind 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 won't create the exact 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 ought to be fairly 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 need a lot unique treatment prior to packaging them.
Package in paper envelopes, being cautious 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. Merely shake the dried flower heads in a large envelope or can and you'll gather hundreds, if not thousands, that can be used in your gardens or shared with friends.
As with commercially packaged seeds, home packaged ought to be stored in a cool, dry location that is totally 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 ways for house gardeners to check the germination. (Germination indicates that they'll 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 many germinate. Or, 2. Location 10 to 20 seeds in between two or more moist paper towels, and see how numerous germinate. The paper towel method is used by virtually all laboratories but, care should be taken to keep 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 will require to begin so that you can replace any cultivars that have extremely low or zero germination.
