Harvesting seeds

[happystuff]

Question for all of you gardening experts - do you harvest seeds from the current year's crops/blooms (veggies and/or flowers)? Is it as simple as - for example - slicing open the zucchini, scraping out the seeds, cleaning, drying and storing for next year?

Thanks in advance.

[Tybee]

Question for all of you gardening experts - do you harvest seeds from the current year's crops/blooms (veggies and/or flowers)? Is it as simple as - for example - slicing open the zucchini, scraping out the seeds, cleaning, drying and storing for next year?

Thanks in advance.

yes, pretty much. I've been harvesting poppy seeds all week.
If you are saving zucchini seeds, you need to know what other squashes you are growing nearby, as they may cross with something else.
You also are best off planting heirloom varieties, not hybrids, so they will come true.

[happystuff]

yes, pretty much. I've been harvesting poppy seeds all week.
If you are saving zucchini seeds, you need to know what other squashes you are growing nearby, as they may cross with something else.
You also are best off planting heirloom varieties, not hybrids, so they will come true.

Thanks, Tybee. I think I'll start with zucchini as I have two sitting on the counter. They came from someone else's garden, but I'm just going to give them a try anyway. What the heck! LOL.

[Tybee]

That's a good plan! We have also saved seeds from produce we buy, and see what comes up.

[herbgeek]

I save mostly flower seeds. Sometimes tomato seeds or pepper seeds if they are heirloom. For tomatoes, you need to soak the seed gel stuff in water for a couple of days - my understanding is that the gel inhibits germination- and then dry out the seeds before storing. I just make sure my seeds are dry before any packaging so that they don't mold.

The zucchini variety I like best (Raven) is an f1 hybrid, so I don't save that one.

[iris lilies]

We save many flower seeds, but over the decades I have learned which ones revert back quickly to core species traits.

These revert quickly and are not worth my time to plant, too ugly:

sunflowers, petunias,

These flowers retain their hybrid characteristics for a while, through successive generations of seeds, but get increasingly leggy and UN-beautiful:

zinnias, celosia, larkspur ( although I dont mind their airy, leggyness)

I have had the best luck with these retaining original parent characteristics:

French marigolds, Cleome, alyssum, four oclocks

[ConnieVarricchio]

I just harvested Sweet Williams - Dianthus I think they are called - I have a ton of seeds! It was a lot of fun actually.

[pinkytoe]

I have turned into a seed-saving nut. DH rolls his eyes as I go around collecting seeds from everything I can. Little envelopes of seeds everywhere. Haven't saved vegetable seeds yet but will this summer for a few heirloom tomatoes like Goosecreek Black.

[happystuff]

Next question - how do you store the seeds? What method would work best for long-term storage? (and how long is "long-term"? LOL)

Thanks again, everyone!!

[herbgeek]

how do you store the seeds?

I use glassine envelopes and put labels on them with plant name and year. Envelopes are stored in a plastic box that snaps down- ie keeps some of the moisture out. I've also seen folks store their seeds with dessicant packages. You just want to keep them dry.

[pinkytoe]

It is extremely dry here so I store in paper envelopes inside sleeved photo albums. I found it helpful to check out some seed saving books from the library.

[happystuff]

Thanks!

[dado potato]

I have had the best luck with these retaining original parent characteristics:

French marigolds, Cleome, alyssum, four oclocks

I have had good luck with nasturtiums and lupines.

[iris lilies]

I have had good luck with nasturtiums and lupines.
I didn’t know there was an annual variety of lupine, or maybe you’re talking about perennials? Anyway, we can’t grow lupines here it’s too hot and humid they just crump. But nasturtiums are probably a good bet. I see them in several beds at our community garden

[pinkytoe]

Coming from Texas, I was not familiar with nasturtiums. Decided to plant some seeds from a local seed company, Botanical Interests (they have beautiful illustrations), around my tomatoes here in Colorado and they are now flowering. Something I read in an old gardening book, Noah's Garden, said that we need to be reminded that seeds figure out themselves when the best time to germinate is. The author got the best results from gathering, storing in a cool, dry place through winter and then sowing directly when the soil warms up. Some will take more than a year to be ready - just depends on the type of plant. I have seed packets that are five years old or more and they all came up this spring.

[JaneV2.0]

The extent of my horticultural adventures: I used to eat nasturtiums as a child; I've always loved spicy food.

[dado potato]

I didn’t know there was an annual variety of lupine, or maybe you’re talking about perennials? Anyway, we can’t grow lupines here it’s too hot and humid they just crump. But nasturtiums are probably a good bet. I see them in several beds at our community garden

Lupine is perennial, but the plant makes pods of seeds each year.