Seed Saving

Saving seeds allows us to retain varieties that are well adapted to our area and that are no longer available commercially.

Many plants do the job for you, self-seeding freely throughout the garden.All you have to do is carefully lift the seedlings and plant where needed.

When saving your own seed, collect when ripe(brown/dry seed pods).

Place in a warm, dry place to completely ripen. Some seeds take longer to ripen than others. Beans, peas, poppies and nigella are ready when the pods are dry and the seeds rattle.

Once they are ripe, separate the seed from the chaff and package in an envelope with the plant name and collection date.Store in a cool, dry place until you’re ready to sow.

For tomatoes,I have had success with rinsing the pulp and juice from the seed and letting them air dry. Tomato seeds benefit from a brief period of fermentation. Read more about saving tomato seeds.

Open pollinated plants and heirloom plants(old varieties that have been successful for years)are true to type. Many of the tomato varieties we feature on Tomato Day are Heirloom varieties.  Hybrid plants(F1 hybrids)will not produce seeds that are true to the parent.

My propagation volunteers and I have saved seeds from several plants in the HCP garden. We plan to dry and package the seeds and have them for sale in our gift shop next Spring.

Happy collecting!

Linda