How to Save Your Garden Seeds715930
Most severe gardeners save seeds. It is easy, it's practical, 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 top or use a little 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 considerably much more sensitive to moisture in the air... so, if the seed business took the time to wrap them in foil packets, you should, as well.
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 meals, 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 can't save the seeds from hybrids. (Nicely, you can save from hybrids, but they won't produce the same hybrid plant from which they came... you'll usually 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 don't need much unique therapy 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. 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 should be stored in a cool, dry place 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 looking at it. There are two methods for house gardeners to verify the germination. (Germination indicates that they will sprout and develop the germination percentage is merely 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. Location ten to 20 seeds between two or much more moist paper towels, and see how numerous germinate. The paper towel method is utilized by virtually all laboratories but, care must be taken to maintain the towels moist and warm. You can use a big plastic bag or cellophane to help 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.
