Save This Year’s Homegrown Vegetable Seeds For Next Year’s Garden
Filed under: Gardening
photo credit: malakinsYesterday, I wrote about my little container garden that I’m housing on my deck. Already I have a bunch of tomatoes growing and I think I found 3 very small cucumbers starting to sprout from the vines. The joy of growing some of my own food got me thinking about how I want to set up my garden next year. After some research I believe I am allowed to put a garden in my yard, so I’m going to need a lot more plants to fill the space and it won’t make sense to spend at least $5 per plant to fill my garden.
Considering the variety and quantity of plants I hope to grow, the best way to do so will be to start from seed. And since I’m already growing two of my favorites and the plants seem to be generally healthy, it’s possible their seeds will produce similar plants. This won’t always be the case; hybrid plants, for example, usually won’t put out seeds that will be anything close to the original. And if you planted two different varieties of the same family of plants (two different tomato plants), it’s likely the fruits will be the product of crosspollination and there’s no way to know what quality of plants those seeds will produce.
If hybridization and crosspollination aren’t likely problems for your garden, go ahead and save all the seed you want and use that to start your garden next year. For each plant family you want to grow again, select the best looking fruit from the healthiest plant for your seed harvest. This will ensure that you’ll produce a plant that is well-suited to your specific growing conditions and the best fruit will generally contain the best seeds.
Allow the chosen fruit to fully ripen on the plant before harvesting. Each plant has a different recommended ripening period to produce the best seeds. I recommend searching for the particular details on the plant you wish to harvest. For example, tomatoes should be bright red and fully ripe and cucumbers must be allowed to turn yellow and stay on the vine until the vines themselves are dead - well past the stage where you’d normally harvest them for consumption.
How you harvest the seed from the fruit also depends on the type of fruit, so make sure to read up on the particular seeds you intend to save. Tomatoes are easy: Just squeeze the seeds out on a paper towel and then leave them there at room temperature to dry. Cucumbers, on the other hand, can take much more effort - the process involves scooping out the seeds, soaking and letting them ferment for a day or two, gathering the good seeds at the bottom of the mess, and then drying them out.
Once your seeds are harvested, then you simply have to label and store them for next year. Keep them in a cool, dry, and dark place to give your seeds the best chance of surviving. I will be using old, clean baby food jars for each type of seed. If you’re using a closed container instead of an envelope, make sure to include some sort of non-toxic desiccant in the container to keep the seeds from getting moldy or trying to germinate. One method I read was to use powdered milk, but I might choose to use some rice since it will be easier to separate out.
Early next spring, you’ll be ready to go with seeds that are well-adapted to your locale and you should see a dramatic improvement in your next crop. Eventually, you will develop a custom variety that flourishes in your garden and produces amazing results. By saving your own home-grown vegetable seeds, you’ll save money from start to finish in your garden every year and be the envy of your neighborhood’s other gardeners.
July 15th, 2008 at 11:42 am
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