How to Save Your Garden Seeds862843
Most serious gardeners save seeds. It is easy, it's practical, 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. Merely fold the leading or use a little bit of tape to secure the seeds in the packet. If the outer packet included an inner foil packet, store any leftovers in the foil packet.
Some seeds are significantly more sensitive to moisture in the air... so, if the seed company took the time to wrap them in foil packets, you should, too.
The best place to shop your packets is in a large jar or coffee can in the refrigerator. Keep them cool and dry, and most will final many seasons. Remember 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. (Well, you can save from hybrids, but they won't create the same hybrid plant from which they came... you will usually get one 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 ought to 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 need a lot unique therapy prior to packaging them.
Package in paper envelopes, being cautious to label the envelopes to identify the contents as nicely 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 collect hundreds, if not thousands, that can be used in your gardens or shared with friends.
As with commercially packaged seeds, house packaged should 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 searching at it. There are two ways for house gardeners to check the germination. (Germination means that they will sprout and grow the germination percentage is simply the percentage that are viable.)
1. Simply location one or two seeds in each cell of a six pack starter cell pack, and see how numerous germinate. Or, 2. Place ten to 20 seeds in between two or more moist paper towels, and see how numerous germinate. The paper towel technique is utilized by virtually all laboratories but, care should be taken to maintain the towels moist and warm. You can use a big plastic bag or cellophane to assist keep the towels moist.
Verify germination a number of weeks prior to the time that you'll need to begin so that you can replace any cultivars that have very low or zero germination.
