How to Save Your Garden Seeds5341131
Most severe gardeners save seeds. It's simple, it is sensible, and it will save you some money. Here are a couple of saving suggestions:
Packaged Packaged seeds ought to be saved in their original packages. Simply 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, 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, too.
The very best location 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 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 can't save the seeds from hybrids. (Nicely, you can save from hybrids, but they will not create the same hybrid plant from which they came... you will 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 should be fairly 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 a lot special therapy before packaging them.
Package in paper envelopes, being 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 ideal candidates for saving. Simply shake the dried flower heads in a large envelope or can and you'll collect 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 totally 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 searching at it. There are two methods for home gardeners to check the germination. (Germination indicates that they will sprout and develop the germination percentage is simply the percentage that are viable.)
1. Simply location 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 in between two or more moist paper towels, and see how many germinate. The paper towel technique is used by virtually 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 maintain the towels moist.
Check germination a number of weeks prior to the time that you will need to begin so that you can replace any cultivars that have extremely low or zero germination.
