How to Save Your Garden Seeds4755438
Most serious gardeners save seeds. It is easy, it's practical, and it will save you some money. 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 little 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 more sensitive to moisture in the air... so, if the seed company took the time to wrap them in foil packets, you ought to, as well.
The very best place to store your packets is in a large jar or coffee can in the refrigerator. Maintain them cool and dry, and most will last many seasons. Remember that seeds are meals, and improper storage will invite all sorts of pests to your basement or pantry.
House 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 same hybrid plant from which they came... you'll generally get 1 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 fairly dry and totally 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 require much unique treatment before packaging them.
Package in paper envelopes, becoming cautious to label the envelopes to identify 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 will gather hundreds, if not thousands, that can be used 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 totally free from insects or rodents. A coffee can in the refrigerator is ideal.
Checking Germination You can't determine if a seed will germinate by searching at it. There are two ways for home gardeners to verify the germination. (Germination means that they will sprout and grow the germination percentage is merely the percentage that are viable.)
1. Merely location 1 or two seeds in each cell of a six pack starter cell pack, and see how many germinate. Or, two. Location ten to 20 seeds between two or much more moist paper towels, and see how many germinate. The paper towel method is used by virtually all laboratories but, care must be taken to maintain the towels moist and warm. You can use a large plastic bag or cellophane to help keep the towels moist.
Check 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.
