How to Collect Seeds From Vegetables

Gardeners can collect and save seeds from their crops.

Gardeners collect seeds from vegetables to ensure the seed quality and also to decrease gardening costs. Collecting seeds from homegrown vegetables will make certain that the same seeds are available for the next planting season so that they produce the same quality, size and flavor as the original plants. Seeds can be collected and dried from grocery store vegetables that are hardy and flavorful as well.

Things You'll Need

• Paper plate
• Paper towel
• Storage baggies
• Permanent marker

Instructions

1. Scoop out the seeds from any vegetable either with your hands or with a spoon.

2. Cover a paper plate with paper towels and set the vegetable seeds on the plate. Spread the seeds out so that they are in a single layer. Place the plate in a dry, sunny or warm area for the seeds to dry.

3. Remove as much of the pulp from the vegetable without removing the seeds as they dry. After three days pick the seeds off the paper towel and place them on another paper plate. This removes the dampness of the vegetable pulp on the paper towel so they can dry quicker.

4. Let the seeds dry for at least one week outside in the sun or two weeks inside the house.

5. Mark a storage baggie with a permanent marker as to the seed type. Place the seeds in the baggie and place them in the freezer.

6. Remove the baggie from the freezer at least two days before planting them for the next growing season. Spread the frozen seeds on a paper plate covered with a damp towel in a warm area to start the germination process.

Tips & Warnings

• Seeds dry quickly when they are outside in the sun. If it is a rainy season, place the plate in a windowsill that receives sunlight or next to the coffee pot on the counter for warmth.

• Leaving the pulp on the paper plate may make the seeds sprout and begin growing due to the moisture content.

• Cultivate seeds from the largest vegetables that are entirely ripe. This ensures that the seeds are from healthy vegetables.

• Hybrid vegetable seeds may sometimes revert to one of the original two types of plants that were interbred to create the hybrid.

• Dried seeds will last for one to two years in the freezer at a high germination rate. After two years the seeds' germination rate will decrease each year so that fewer of them are viable.

References

• Mother Earth News: Save Your Own Garden-Grown Vegetable Seed