How to Save Your Garden Seeds3907112
Most serious gardeners save seeds. It is simple, it is practical, and it will save you some cash. Right here are a couple of 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 included an inner foil packet, shop any leftovers in the foil packet.
Some seeds are significantly 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, 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 last 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 can't save the seeds from hybrids. (Nicely, you can save from hybrids, but they won't create the exact same hybrid plant from which they came... you'll usually get one of the parent varieties used 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 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. These from beans and most flowers do not need much unique therapy 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 ideal candidates for saving. Merely shake the dried flower heads in a large envelope or can and you'll collect hundreds, if not thousands, that can be used in your gardens or shared with buddies.
As with commercially packaged seeds, house packaged ought to be stored in a cool, dry place that is 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 looking at it. There are two ways for home gardeners to verify the germination. (Germination means that they will sprout and develop the germination percentage is merely the percentage that are viable.)
1. Merely place one or two seeds in every cell of a six pack starter cell pack, and see how numerous germinate. Or, two. Place 10 to 20 seeds between two or more moist paper towels, and see how many germinate. The paper towel method is used by practically all laboratories but, care must be taken to keep the towels moist and warm. You can use a large plastic bag or cellophane to help keep the towels moist.
Verify germination a number of weeks prior to the time that you will require to start so that you can replace any cultivars that have very low or zero germination.
