How do you keep seeds?

[suziquzie]

In my quest to someday be uber-gardener, I'm going to try keeping some of the seeds from this year to plant next year...

Do you just dry them out and put them away?

 

[sattie]

I can only speak for basil seeds and butternut squash seeds, I dried them out and stuck them in a plastic container, stored in a cool, DRY place.

 

[suziquzie]

how cool? under the stairs in the basement crawlspace sound cool enough?
Or maybe my mother's house?

 

[BreezyCooking]

While I don't save many of my own garden seeds, the ones I do plus the leftover seeds I have from what I buy every year have, after storage, successfully germinated for me after as long a time as 10+ YEARS!! Proper storage is everything, & can save you a lot of seed money.

Tape-seal dry seeds in their envelopes & place in airtight glass jars or plastic containers. Place these in boxes or a large plastic storage container & place in a dry, dark, cool-to-moderate-temp place - a closet in the main part of the house is best (mine are in a spare bedroom closet). No basements, no garages, no attics - the humidity & temp changes will screw things up.

 

[sattie]

Ha!!! Nah, I just kept my in a drawer in the kitchen. Nothing special. I guess you just want to keep it away from direct heat. If you want to keep them really cool, you would send them to my MIL's home! Did I just say that out loud????

 

[suziquzie]

lol! no but you typed it out loud!!!

thanks.

 

[attie]

Just be aware that some seeds will not produce what you have this year if they are hybrid plants Suzi----.They will resort back to the strongest gene.

 

[Claire]

Since I moved to northern IL, our season is short and I want all of my seeds to be viable, so I buy from Mr. Park. That said, when I used to save seeds, I put them in a baggie in the crisper drawer in the fridge with great success.

 

[quicksilver]

Gosh, I've saved seeds for 10 years, plants I loved up north that won't grow down here. And I've sent some back up north to friends who've had no problems growing from them. I use BreezyCooking's method also.

 

[dragonbomber]

I also have been saving seeds this year from my peppers grown and peppers eaten. I am hoping to save plenty of the patio bells, naga morich, and poblanos though we shall see. I have put aside patio bell, cayenne, and new mexico peppers, and poblanos so far, and have to dry more seeds out when I cut up the peppers I have in the fridge and hanging on the plants outside.

I'm glad someone mentioned keeping them semi cool, as I might have otherwise left them on my PC case here in the dining room until late Feb when I'll start planting and germinating. Thank you.

 

[jpmcgrew]

Don't you wash and dry them first etc? I would like to know.

 

[jpmcgrew]

Saving Seeds Successfully

 

[Constance]

The article had some good advice, except for the part about saving tomato seeds. I saved my heirloom tomato seeds by washing them off in a mesh strainer, moving them around on the mesh to scrub off the gook. Then spread them out on a sheet of waxed paper and let them dry out before storing.

I would like to reiterate what was mentioned above about hybrid seeds...they will revert to their parentage.

 

[dragonbomber]

Very interesting. I won't have anywhere to plant tomatoes for a long while but it is good to know.

 

[suziquzie]

hmmmm, so I suppose I should look at my original packets to see if they are hybrids....
thanks.
Heirloom are ok tho, correct? I love the Black Krim tomatoes.....

 

[DaveSoMD]

If they are hybrids then I wouldn't save them. Heirlooms will be okay as long as they were not cross-pollinated by another type of tomato to create the fruit.

What I do is buy lots of seeds at the start of the year and again later in the summer when the are on sale. I keep them in sealed mason jars or in those cannisters with the rubber rings. I keep them in the back of the refrigerator. I'm stil using some seeds from 2006.

 

[suziquzie]

LOL, I used seeds this year from 2002 and they were abused beyond belief.....
frozen a few times, storage a few years, frozen again.....
bad gardener!!!
I had to plant lots of extra to get anything, but I started 6-7 in each little pot and I got 3... I hate to kill 'em of.... feels like I'm wasting....

 

[DaveSoMD]

They need constant cool temperatures and low humidity. My Grandfather and Great-uncles used to keep their seeds in their basements. This summer I planted greenbean seeds form 2006. They did well. I don't think I have any seeds more than 2 or 3 years old. I plant some things 2 or 3x a year so I go through some of them quite a bit.

 

[Claire]

Another thing that is good to know is that peppers cross-pollinate very easily. One time we grew what we called "papal peppers" because someone brought the seeds to us from the Vatican! The first year they were upright and yellow in maturity. The next year they were red, and the third year they grew downward rather than up. We planted them near cayennes, and obviously, they mated!

 

[quicksilver]

Scientists have found seeds from all over the globe that are hundreds to hundreds of thousands of years old.
1. found evidence in n.w. Honduras of chocolate found on pot chards from 1600BC.
2. 2006, in London, 200 yr old seeds found and germinated
3. 2005, a 2,000 yr old date palm seed was found and germinated
4. 2007, in Lima Peru, 10,000 yr old squash seeds.
5. 2002, 500 yr old Lotus seeds found in China and germinated.
6. 1994, in Australia, they found seeds from a Wollemi pine dating back to the dinosaurs, which they've germinated, which is good, as there are only 100 or so left.
So I guess whatever we do to try to preserve our favs, it's a crap shoot!