How to Save Your Garden Seeds6964407
Most severe gardeners save seeds. It's simple, it is practical, and it will save you some money. Here are a few saving suggestions:
Packaged Packaged seeds ought to 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 company took the time to wrap them in foil packets, you ought to, too.
The 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 final many seasons. Keep in mind that seeds are food, and improper storage will invite all kinds 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. (Nicely, you can save from hybrids, but they won't create the same hybrid plant from which they came... you'll usually get 1 of the parent varieties used 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 free from as a lot 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 require much unique therapy before packaging them.
Package in paper envelopes, becoming 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 perfect candidates for saving. Simply shake the dried flower heads in a big envelope or can and you will gather hundreds, if not thousands, that can be utilized 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 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 methods for home gardeners to check the germination. (Germination means that they will sprout and grow the germination percentage is simply the percentage that are viable.)
1. Merely location one or two seeds in each cell of a six pack starter cell pack, and see how numerous germinate. Or, 2. Location ten to 20 seeds between two or much more moist paper towels, and see how numerous germinate. The paper towel technique is utilized by practically all laboratories but, care should be taken to keep the towels moist and warm. You can use a big plastic bag or cellophane to assist keep the towels moist.
Check germination several weeks prior to the time that you'll require to start so that you can replace any cultivars that have extremely low or zero germination.
