Home » Food & Drink » From Field To Table » Seed Saving

Seed Saving

© Bob Ewing

If you are saving seeds for the first time, there are some vegetables that are easier than others to save. Self pollinating annuals are about the easiest to save. Others include beans, peas, and tomato seeds.

Tomato seeds have a gel around them. Cucumbers have this gel around them too. In order to remove this gel you can let them sit for a few days. Add a little water and let them ferment. After about three days put the seeds in a pan of water and pour off the water and fill again and do this until all the gel is strained off. The seeds will go to the bottom and the debris will float, allowing you to pour it off easily. Then just be sure the seeds are dried before putting in an air-tight container for storage.

Saving a hybrid will not result in a plant that is like the parent. Saving seed from cross-pollinated plants is not recommended for someone new to seed saving. There can be many problems.

Pick fleshy vegetables (such as tomatoes, squash, and melons) when they're fully ripe, then scoop out their seeds an spread them to dry in a well-ventilated place. Beans and peas need only be left on the vine until the pods are dry and crackly. They can then be picked, separated from the pod and stored in glass jars in a dry and cool place. Be sure to label jars.

Tomato seeds:

Saving tomato seeds from this year's batch of tomatoes is very simple to do. Not only will it save you money next year, this is also a way to preserve the older and more unique varieties for many years to come. You can also share some of the "heirloom" type seeds with your friends and family. Perhaps in this way, we can bring back some of the varieties of plants and flowers that are quickly becoming extinct.

You first need to select the best, and certainly the most disease-free tomatoes from your garden. Wait until they are slightly overripe before picking.

Now cut them in half and squeeze the seeds out of the skin into a container; a quart canning jar will work well for this. You will notice that each seed has an outside coating or shell, this is what prevents the seed from sprouting inside of the tomato. In order for the seeds to sprout for you next year, you will need to get rid of the coating. This is done by fermenting your seeds. The fermenting will also kill many seed-borne bacterial diseases.

The copyright of the article Seed Saving in From Field To Table is owned by . Permission to republish Seed Saving in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.