Vegetable gardens need not be expensive when the gardener can save and share seeds with others. Save money with these hints on collecting vegetable garden seeds.
What Vegetable Garden Seeds Can be Saved
- Plants that have been F1 hybridized, as with many of the tomato plants, will not grow the same plant from seed because they have usually been grafted onto a hardier stock plant. It is better to choose heirloom seeds to be sure the new seedlings will grow true to parent type.
- Seeds can be collected from any annuals and perennials that have not been grafted.
What is Needed to Collect Vegetable Garden Seeds
- Small self seal plastic bags
- stick on labels or a permanent marker pen.
- Paper towels
- shallow container
- Paper bags
- Garden secateurs
- sieve
- cloth or old rag
How to Collect Vegetable Garden Seeds From Flowering Vegetables.
- The tiny seeds from plants such as dill, brocolli, silverbeet, carrots need to be collected from the flowers.
- Leave a few of the plants to go to seed instead of harvesting them.
- When the flowers come out, place a paper bag over the flower head and tie in place.
- When the stem dries cut it off, with the bag still in place.
- Tip the bag up the right way and shake so the seeds fall into the bag.
- Place seeds in plastic bag and label clearly with date and type.
How to Collect Vegetable Garden Seeds From Fruiting Vegetables.
- Tomatoes, cucumber, melon,pumpkin, beans can all be collected from the ripened fruit.
- Towards the end of the bean season leave a few bean pods on the plant to dry out. Pick them when dry and remove the seeds to put in a labelled bag.
- It is easy to collect the pips from melons, cucumber and other vegetables by saving the seeds when eating them. Wash and then place the seeds in a shallow tray and leave in a dry but not too sunny spot until the vegetable seeds have dired out. Bag and label the seeds.
- Tomatoes need to be sliced open and the tiny seeds smeared onto a cloth, rinsed through a fine sieve and placed on a dry paper towel in a sunny spot. When the tomato seeds have dried out scrape them off the towel and bag and label them.
Storing Vegetable Garden Seeds
- Place packets of seeds in an airtight container and keep in a cool room.
- Keep stored seeds out of direct sunlight and keep them dry.
When growing vegetables remember that vegetable garden seeds can be collected, dried and stored for the next year. This way the gardener can choose the varieties of vegetable that they like and know will grow well in their vegetable garden.