Grow Your Own: The ABCs of Seed Saving

This time-honored tradition saves money, keeps heirloom varieties alive, and can be used to create seed lines that become well-adapted to a particular location.

Saving seeds is an exercise in self-sufficiency. Maria Evseyeva/Shutterstock

Step away from the Burpee and Gurney’s catalogs. Saving seeds from the best of the current harvest is relatively straightforward and a natural next step in the evolution of the home gardener that allows one to release their inner scientist. It’s an exercise in self-sufficiency, with a dash of plant biology thrown in.

Choosing to harvest seeds from the plants with the most desirable characteristics from each season, such as plant size, yield, fruit quality, taste, etc., ensures that those qualities will be handed down to the next generation.

Another consideration is developing plants with greater resistance to pests and disease. The goal is, after a few generations, to create varietals that are extremely well-suited to one’s specific backyard or balcony. It may be the reason why one neighbor’s tomatoes do better than everyone else’s, with seemingly much less effort. That brings up another benefit of seed saving: the ability to swap them with other seed savers.

Seed Selection

The first step toward ensuring success is to determine what kind of plants one has: open-pollinated, heirloom, or hybrid. Open-pollinated plants fall into three categories. The first is self-pollinated, which includes tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, and broccoli, to name a few. These are easy to save seeds from because they rarely cross-pollinate with nearby plants, so one can plant several types of tomatoes near each other and their seed’s offspring should be true to form. On the other hand, wind- and insect-pollinated plants, which include cucumbers, melons, pumpkin, squash, and corn, can easily cross-pollinate. When planning to save seeds, it is best to grow a single variety of cucumbers, melons, etc.

Heirlooms are simply open-pollinated plants that have been grown for generations and are often shared within a family or community.

A hybrid (or F1 hybrid for first generation) plant is engineered by the seed manufacturer by crossing two different varieties and controlling pollination to achieve uniform and vigorous results. Unfortunately, the seeds of these wonderful plants do not come true to form and are not recommended for saving unless one is simply curious to see what happens and is ready for potential disappointment. GMO seeds are another big no, but as they’re only available to commercial farmers, they aren’t a concern to the home gardener.

Timing

Fruits and vegetables may be ready to eat, but that doesn’t mean that the seeds inside are mature. Tomatoes and peppers are easy, as they can be harvested when they are fully ripened and eaten, providing dozens of seeds. For cucumbers, eggplants, and summer squash, leave one or two on the vine until they are overripe (even soft and mushy). Beans and peas that are being harvested for seeds should be left on the plant until they begin to dry. Yes, this means sacrificing a few perfectly delicious veggies, but it is worth it.

Cleaning and Drying

Cleaning seeds falls into two categories: wet and dry.

After removing them from the fruit, wet seeds—including tomatoes, cucumbers, and melons—need to have their pulp and any natural germination inhibitors on them removed via fermentation. Simply place the seeds in a jar with a lid, fill it with at least two inches of water above them, and then allow it to sit at room temperature. Remove the mold or pulp at the top of the water every three days, adding water as needed. After seven to 10 days, most of the pulp and non-viable seeds will have floated to the surface. Wash the remaining seeds in a bowl vigorously, tossing any seeds that float. Place the seeds into a strainer and continue to rinse them with cool running water. Then spread them out to dry.

The importance of fully drying seeds cannot be overemphasized. Spread them out in a single layer on a ceramic dish, paper plate, cookie sheet, wax paper, newspaper, window screen, etc.; stirring them several times a day. Most seeds take about a week. When you can’t dent the seed with a fingernail, they’re fully dry.

For dry seeds, simply remove them manually from their pods, husks, or, in the case of flowerheads, a hand screen that allows the seeds to pass through. Then let them air-dry until they pass the fingernail test.

Storage

Place fully dried seeds in properly labeled paper envelopes placed inside a glass, airtight container, such as a mason jar or plastic airtight container. Be sure to add a silica gel packet to act as a desiccant (moisture absorber); they’re inexpensive, and there may be a few of those free silica packets that come with shoeboxes, vitamins, and medicine bottles lying around the house already. Store in a cool, dark, dry location. Some preppers take things a step further and opt for PET (polyethylene terephthalate plastic) dry storage bags because of their superior oxygen and moisture-barrier properties.

Bulbs and Cuttings

Seeds aren’t the only way to get a crop from one year to the next. Here are some other handy methods.

Garlic Tips

Choose the largest, healthiest specimen(s) and trim the stalk so one inch remains above the bulb. Do not separate the cloves. Cure (dry) the bulb in a dry, warm, dark, ventilated area for a few weeks, then store it in a mesh bag or other well-ventilated container at 30 to 50 degrees F.

Onion Advice

Onion sets are small onion bulbs that have not been allowed to fully mature during the season. Store them as you would regular onions, in a mesh bag, in a cool, dark, dry location with good ventilation. Check periodically, and remove any that start to go bad.

Herbs and More

Taking cuttings from outdoor herbs so they can then spend the winter in a sunny kitchen window is a time-honored way to keep food savory during the snowy months. But did you know you can take tomato cuttings as well? You may not get tomatoes indoors, but you’ll definitely get a jump on next season.