The Art of Saving Vegetable Seeds

Saving seeds used to be easy. One could go out in the garden, pick any tomato, slice it open and pull out the seeds. Then the seeds would dry and they could be saved and grown next year. It isn’t that easy anymore. Seed companies are making it increasingly difficult to save our own seeds. It is useless to try and save hybrid seeds from commercial seed companies since the seeds saved rarely produce the same fruit as their parent. This is because they are a combination of different varieties; the seed might sprout as one or the other parent variety instead of the type of plant from which the seed was extracted. The best plants to save seeds from are the heirloom seeds.

Even when using heirloom seeds, you still run the risk of not getting what you expect from saved seeds. You must watch out for ‚”cross pollination”. Cross pollination is when pollen is transferred from the flower of one plant to the stigma of another. This can occur when bees travel from plant to plant, by the wind, or by human hands. This will most likely happen when you have different varieties of a certain species planted close together. Different types of squash within the same species are in danger of cross pollinating if they are planted close together. Beans are another vegetable that will readily cross pollinate. Carrots also will easily cross pollinate, but remember, they don’t just cross with other carrots. They will also cross pollinate with wild carrot, or Queen Anne’s Lace which might be growing in the field next to your garden. When they do this, they are relatively useless for culinary use.

Sometimes cross pollination can be fun. You can end up with something you do not expect and that is better than what you had before. A gardener in Northeastern Ohio had a tomato that was a cross between a Hungarian tomato and an Iranian tomato that was very nice and meaty and was a pleasant surprise. (He called it the Ottoman Empire tomato) When he tried to grow another from the seeds the next year it unfortunately didn’t do well, but he said it was fun to try.

Saving seeds is relatively easy but each type of plant might need a different method to follow. Beans are easy. The best thing to do is let the bean dry on the vine (it should be brown and almost popping open), then pick it and empty the pod. Store the seed in an air tight container in a dark, dry location. They should retain about 50% germination for 4 years.

Tomato seeds are easy too. Chose ripe fruit, more ripe than you would like for eating but not rotting yet. Slice the tomato in two then take an index card and wipe it across the open half of the tomato, collecting seeds as you wipe. The seeds will stick to the card. Lay the card where it won’t be disturbed and leave it there until everything dries. Once the seeds are dry just pop the whole card into an air tight jar and save in a dark, dry location. The seeds should stick to the card even when dry and when you go to use them again just rub them off. This method also works for some squash seeds (zucchini), pepper seeds, cucumber seeds, and melon seeds (cantaloupe) although the seeds may not stick when dry because of their size and weight.

Squash, cucumber, and melons sacrificed for seed saving should be left on the vine until after the first frost. Cut open the fruit and remove the seed and wash. Lay out on a screen or paper towels to dry where the seed will not be disturbed, and then store in an airtight container in a dark, dry area.

Peppers should be left on the vine to turn red before collecting seeds. Eggplants ready for seed saving will be dull, off-colored and hard. Cut the eggplant in half and pull the flesh away from the seeded area. Summer squash is ready to seed harvest when you cannot dent the squash with a fingernail. Watermelon seeds can be extracted from a slightly over ripe fruit. Put the seed in a strainer and add a drop of dishwashing liquid. This will remove any sugar from the seed and ensure they will not rot while stored. This works for any type of melon seed.

Viability for seeds is different for each species. It is probably best to try and use the seed the next year, but some seed can be safely saved for up to 4 years.

Heirloom seeds can be found online at www.heirloomseeds.com or www.organicseed.com or do a search and find many outlets.