For Immediate Release
Sarah Denkler
Horticulture Educator
November 09, 2008

Saving Seed

In some cases, if not for the knowledgeable, everyday folks that faithfully save seed each year, gardening enthusiasts would not be able to grow some of the common heirloom varieties available today.  Many varieties of vegetables and flowers have been lost through the years because the seed was not saved by anyone who grew them.  Saving seed is the best way to pass plant traits down from generation to generation.  It also helps to increase and maintain genetic diversity in plants.

Once you decide to try saving seed you will need to start by scouting.  Find suitable sources that have healthy, flowers or produce in large quantities.  Choose a source that has a desirable trait such as bright colored flowers or sweet tasting peppers.  Mark plants or stalks with a ribbon if they have the traits you would like to save.  Remember that hybrids will not breed true to the parent plant.  Self pollinating annuals can be a great place to start.  Annuals can be easier to germinate and self-pollinators will breed true to the parent plant.  Usually a seed will brown and drop from a plant when it is mature and able to produce another plant.  The trick is to catch seed at the point after it turns brown and before it drops from the parent plan, or before insects and animals eat the seed.

Seed storage can be the most important provision for saving seed properly.  Seeds do not need to be stored in the freezer.  All they need is a cool area like an unheated garage or basement, protection from insects or rodents and proper dry time before storage.  Without proper storage, seeds loose viability resulting in poor germination.  Plastic or glass sealed containers are great for storing seed as long as the seed has been properly dried first.  Sealed containers help to prevent moisture from being absorbed into the seed from the air during storage.  Too much moisture at storage or during storage can result in moldy, unviable seed.  A seed will lose viability each year that it is kept in storage.  Some seeds can be stored for many years before they completely lose viability.  Following are a few examples.

§  Beans and peas should be left on the plant to dry completely.  Open the pod and remove the seed for storage.  Make sure they are dry.

§  Calendula, cleome, foxgloves, hollyhock, nasturtium, morning glory and sweet pea can also be good collection starters.  When the seed capsules or pods are dry, cut them from the plant and place in a bag to collect seed, separating the chaff by hand or by shaking it in the bag.

§  Columbine seed dries in a capsule.  If you shake the capsule, it rattles.  Pick the capsule and poor the seed onto a container.  This seed can be easy to save but can sometimes be hard to germinate.

§  Cone Bearing seeds, like pine trees, should be collected as the cone begins to turn dark brown.  Put the cone in a bag until the seed can be dislodged from the cone.

§  Corn can be saved if it is mature and dry.  Harvest before the birds can eat it and allow it to continue drying inside until the seed is completely dry.   Twist the kernels off the cob.   Corn seed is viable for one year.

§  Cucumbers should be cut in half just before they have started to rot.  Scrape the seeds out and remove the slimy coat by washing in water.  Let them dry until they are hard.

§  Eggplant should be left in the garden until it is hard then cut in half and seeds removed.  Clean and dry the seeds until they are hard.

§  Lettuce seed can be pulled directly from the plant once it has dried and before it falls.

§  Marigold, sunflower, cosmos, zinnia and coreopsis are all easy seeds to collect.  Let the seed fully ripen on the plant.  Tie ribbons around the stalks that you like the best for size or color and pick the dried flower to save the seed for next season.  Plant when the danger of frost has past.

§  Peppers can be harvested once they have completely matured.  Cut them open to scrape seeds on a plate for drying at room temperature.  They are dry enough for storage once they are hard.

§  Squash seed can be scraped out when you can dent the vegetable with your fingernail.  Wash the seeds and dry until hard.

§  Tomatoes go through a special ‘fermentation’ process to removed seeds from the pulp.  Squeeze the pulp into a jar and let it sit for 1-2 days.  Once the container starts to get smelly and form a residue then add some water.  The viable seeds will stay on the bottom of the jar.  Any floaters are dead.  Remove everything that is floating, mold and seed, and drain off the water.  Let the seed thoroughly dry on a newspaper before storing.

§  Watermelon pulp can be strained to separate seeds.  Wash seeds in a mild soap to remove any sugars and dry until hard.

It is crucial to ensure that seed is clean and dry before storing in air tight containers.  Some prefer to include a small bit of silica gel to make certain the contents are dry.  Any seed that has to be removed from pulp should be cleaned with a mild bleach solution (1 part bleach to 10 part water) before drying.   Make sure to label all containers with the type and variety if known, any description of the seed, the location where it was collected with sun or shade denoted and the date collected.  

When you are ready for seed to germinate it is important to know if there is any built in dormancy that must be broken.  Some seeds must be scarified, physically scared, in order to bypass the hard seed coat that covers the seed.  This can be done by cracking the seed coat, filing down a spot on the seed coat, cutting a nick in the seed coat or treating the seed with acid.  A seed may need to meet a certain chill requirement.  This could be freezing but is more often a given number of days that the seed must be stored in a cool temperature.  Often, an overnight soak in water will be all that is required to start the germination process.  Some seeds with hard coats require a soak in hot water to soften the cover.  There are books available to aid in the germination process of seed that have more demanding dormancy requirements.  These books can help you bypass the trial and error of figuring it out on your own.

Helpful Publication: Jett, John W. “Seed Saving Tips” West Virginia University Extension Service.;  Helpful Sources: International Seed Saving Institute, http://www.seedsave.org/issi/issi_904.html

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Sarah Denkler, Horticulture Educator University of Missouri Extension P.O. Box 160, Kennett, MO 63857 573-888-4722   Denklers@missouri.edu