By Judy Bernard, Master Gardener
When I was asked to put together an article on seed saving for our local Horticultural Society's newsletter, I thought it would also be a good topic for this forum. Seed collecting can be a fun activity. You can share the seeds with other gardeners and trade for some varieties you don't have in your garden.
Some things are quite obvious; like pumpkin seeds and squash seeds that you save, dry, and keep for the next year. Vegetable seeds too can be saved, like beans and peas when they get too ripe to eat; let them mature on the plants until the pods are dry and harvest the seeds.
By not deadheading some flowers, you can let them go to seed and collect the seeds when the flower heads have dried. Many plants will self-seed like the dandelions we see all over our lawns. By collecting seeds we have some control over where they will grow.
For the most part, the majority of plants flower yearly, however there are those that only come into flower every other year like Hollyhocks and members of the carrot family. This can be frustrating if you forget where you have seeds planted or scattered like I do. This link describes types of plants.
For most seeds, we don't have to do anything else except collect the seeds, and plant them the following year. Others do need special treatment:
- Fermentation - A process where the outer gelatinous "skin" (my term) is removed from the seeds of such vegetables as tomatoes and cucumbers.
- Scarification - Some seed shells are so hard that they need to be abraded or sanded/scratched to allow moisture to get into the seed germ.
- Stratification - Some seeds need a period of cold to allow them to germinate. Winter sowing is a form of this strategy.
Some seeds are viable for a long time, others not so. To check viability, wet a paper towel and partly wring it out. It should be wet but not dripping. Put a few seeds on one half of the towel, fold the other half of the towel over seeds and put in a plastic bag and seal. Within a few days you will be able to tell if the seeds germinate or not.
Seeds need to be stored in a dry cool environment. I keep mine in a labeled paper envelope in a larger plastic box in the basement.
For more information on seed saving check out this excellent article from the University of Minnesota.
Have fun with this aspect of gardening!
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