Seed Saving for Beginners

WORK WITH OPEN-POLLINATED VARIETIES
The first step is to be sure you are working with the right types of plants. Though you can save seeds from both hybrid and open-pollinated plants (open-pollinated varieties are considered heirloom if they’re older than 50 years), you won’t get good results from hybrids. “In general, hybrids do not produce offspring from seed that’s the same as the parent plant,” says Torgrimson. “An heirloom will produce offspring that is ‘true to type’—that seed can be saved and planted. Hybrids are Russian roulette.” This is not to say that hybrids are “bad” plants—some hybrids, like the Early Girl tomato, are very popular and tasty. They are just not well-suited to seed saving. Seed catalogs and websites say whether varieties are open-pollinated (they may be marked “OP”) or hybrids; it may or may not be marked on the seed packets themselves.

LOOK BEFORE YOU EAT!
When you save seeds, you should always save from your best plants. That means the most gorgeous tomato you grow this year is not going on your plate. “There’s a temptation to eat the best,” says Leslie Land, “but if you stop and think about it, no, you must sacrifice.” She suggests saving seeds from the best three or four plants. How to decide? Arm yourself with a variety of colored twist ties and code them for different qualities. Mark the tastiest plants with one color, the best producers with another, the plants that yield earliest with another, and so on. Then save seeds from the plants that have the most desirable traits marked.

BROWN CAN BE BEAUTIFUL
Seeds you’re planning to plant for next year need to be fully mature, so you may have to adjust your gardening aesthetic to include the not-conventionally-attractive part of the growth cycle of the plant. “The plants at the end of their cycle are putting all their energy into the next generation,” says Terri Compost. Depending on what plants you are saving from, the plants and/or their fruit may need to be left alone to dry out, they might start looking scruffy when flowering, or they may even need paper bags placed over top of them in the case of something like lettuce—not what we think of as the quaint, perfectly manicured Martha Stewart vegetable patch. “People see gardens turning a little brown and think, ‘Oh, that’s unkempt!’ But you have to let it get a little brown to get into seed saving,” Compost adds. “Even the term gone to seed [should not be seen] as a derogatory.”

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TOMATOES

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  1. When you know which plants you want to save seeds from (see Look Before You Eat!), let some tomatoes get slightly overripe on the vine. (In the case of tomatoes, the seeds are ripe when the fruit is ripe, notes Compost.) Pick and cut them in half horizontally—that’ll expose more seeds than cutting through the stem end. Dig the seeds and juice out of the tomatoes and plop it all into a glass or jar that you’ve labeled with the tomato variety. Add a little water—Torgrimson recommends a ratio of half a cup of water for every cup of tomato seed.
  
  
  2. Put the container in a warm place, out of direct sunlight, and “preferably a place where odd smells won’t be noticed,” advises Land. The seeds need to ferment for one to three days so that the gelatinous coating around them (which acts as a germination inhibitor) breaks down and they can sprout more easily. If you have fruit flies, just put a paper towel over the top of the container and secure it with a rubber band; don’t use a solid lid—you need the air to circulate.
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  3. After one to three days you’ll notice a layer of moldy-looking stuff on top (that’s OK!) and some seeds that are floating and some that are sunken. Skim and discard the mold and floating seeds—if the seeds are light enough to float, they are probably poorly formed and won’t germinate.
  
  
  4. Add cool water to the container and swirl it around to rinse the seeds, then dump everything through a strainer and rinse the seeds well with more cool water.
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  5. Now it’s time to dry the seeds. Most people use a paper plate, since the seeds stick to ceramic. (You can also use coffee filters or waxed paper, but don’t use paper towels—the seeds may never come off!) Spread the seeds on the plate and leave it somewhere out of direct sunlight but with good air circulation. Torgrimson says the seeds usually dry within a few days but suggests this technique to be sure: Touch the seeds, rub them together a little, and confirm that they feel dry. Err on the side of drying longer—you don’t want the seeds to mold after you store them.
  
  
  6. Gather your seeds and store them in a labeled envelope. Put them in a cool, dark (this is very important so they don’t try to sprout), dry spot like a drawer until you are ready to plant. Torgrimson says the fridge is also good if you have the space. And according to Compost, if stored properly the seeds will last a few years.

BEANS AND PEAS

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  1. When you know which plants you are going to save seeds from (see Look Before You Eat!), just let the whole pods dry out and turn brown on the vines with their seeds inside them. “The longer you can leave them on the vine the better,” says Land.
  
  
  2. Be aware of the weather—if it gets rainy or wet, you will have to pick the pods and bring them indoors to dry, lest they start to mold or rot. “People will often pick the whole plant and just hang it up,” says Land; if you have space and are planning to save a large amount of seed, this might be a good option for you. Make sure to label the plants or pods so you don’t lose track of the variety. If you left the pods on the vine and they have dried out, open them up, pull the seeds out, and bring the seeds inside to test for dryness.
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  3. A good way to see if your bean/pea seeds are dry enough is to put one on a cutting board and hit it lightly with a hammer. “It should shatter, not smush,” says Land.
  
  
  4. Once the seeds are completely dry, Land suggests sticking them in an airtight container and freezing them for about a week to kill any insect larvae that might have infested them.
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  5. Remove the seeds from the freezer, stick them in a labeled envelope, and store them in a cool, dark, dry place like a drawer (keeping them out of the sun is very important so they don’t try to sprout). If stored properly, the seeds will last a few years.
  To explore saving seeds from other vegetables and fruits, both Torgrimson and Compost highly recommended picking up the guide Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth. It tells you all the specifics for each plant, including timing and how to prepare the seed.