Preserving seeds from fruits and veggies

[Joe Fresh]

im looking to start my garden this year after a year off...and this year instead of buying so many seeds and small plants, i would like to start collecting my own seeds from fruits and veggies, but im not exactly sure how thats done to keep seeds in good planting condition. any info anyone can put up would be great, i always like to learn new stuff

 

[Seamaiden]

Depends on the seeds you want to keep. For example, tomato seeds, you don't just collect them, you've gotta get the goo off. So into a small dish or cup of water they go for a day or three. Then they're strained and dried.

Did you know that with pepper seeds, the floaters are the nonviable seeds and the sinkers are the ones to keep?

There are other plants that require the same water method, eggplant, squash and melons and probably other Cucurbits.

Carrots are biennial, so you've got to dig up the carrots you want to use to make seed the winter before, overwinter them, then replant. That 2nd year's flowers will produce viable seeds.

What else...? Um... let your lettuces and greens bolt, their seeds are pretty easy to collect. Then, just keep them cool and dry.

 

[Joe Fresh]

damn sea..you got so much info for me...i usually just go to the nursury and buy most of my plants there, and then get seed as well...but i would like to start keeping my own seeds from what i eat, figure i could make a nice collection...i like exotic fruits.

 

[Drifting13]

With my heirloom tomato seeds I let them sit in juice & water till a scum forms on the top then rinse & dry.
TY Seamaiden for the pepper seed info.

 

[Joe Fresh]

what about melons?

ive been looking at some heirloom melon strains from reputable companies, i was thinking of ordering a few packs of some rare fruits that you dont see every day...but i want to keep my seeds from these when i harvest the fruit.

i guess i could just keep this thread going, that way as i come across some new varieties i would like to keep, i could get some feedback from those in the know, with experience...

my main goal is to try and create my own collection of heirloom seeds preserved for long term use, so any and all info on removal of seeds and preservation is happily recieved

 

[Seamaiden]

Do melons the same way, Joe. You don't always have to, some don't have flesh or goo around the seeds, but for those that do, just do the water thing and then rinse well and dry, and you'll be golden. Assuming the seeds are viable, of course. I did this with some melons that were labeled heirloom at the market, and while they produced fruit, I got different things. So I'm thinking--not heirloom.

I think there are sites dedicated to seed saving, too, with lots of instructions for different types of veggies & fruits. I learned about the carrots from someone over on the mag, IIRC.

 

[Drifting13]

Try going to YouTube and put storing seeds in the search. All kinds of great vids.

 

[Joe Fresh]

Try going to YouTube and put storing seeds in the search. All kinds of great vids.

i did this last night...found the gold mine, lol

usually youtube is my last resort...but it is a "goto" resort as well

 

[Coir]

Do melons the same way, Joe. You don't always have to, some don't have flesh or goo around the seeds, but for those that do, just do the water thing and then rinse well and dry, and you'll be golden. Assuming the seeds are viable, of course. I did this with some melons that were labeled heirloom at the market, and while they produced fruit, I got different things. So I'm thinking--not heirloom.

I think there are sites dedicated to seed saving, too, with lots of instructions for different types of veggies & fruits. I learned about the carrots from someone over on the mag, IIRC.

Most if not all heirloom varieties are "open pollinated" which means you can get a wide variety of "hybrids" from a single fruit. Think of each seed inside as a grain of pollen. As bees move from flower to flower, they get many varieties of pollen on themselves and also leave behind pollen from other flowers. If a farmer(or gardener) has multiple varieties growing, you get cross pollination. While certain types of pollen won't cross with other plants, tomatoes and peppers for example, pollen from any tomato will cross with any other tomato creating a new hybrid. So, it's possible to see several or more variations of the original fruit when you plant these seeds.

 

[Seamaiden]

I hadn't considered what my neighbors might be growing, but I understood OPs to breed true *if* they're marked as an heirloom and not as a hybrid. Those were the only Cucurbits I grew out last year. Gophers got my winter squashes, one by one. I guess the fix to preventing outside or unintended pollination would either to be to grow in a GH only, or to make sure that I'm the one pollinating...? 2nd option doesn't seem too viable to me when I give it real consideration. Or, just grow the one variety each season? Physical separation like as for corn wouldn't work here. Hmm... forgive the musing, but you present issues I just hadn't considered, mostly my neighbors. Even though everyone's on acreage, it's not huge acreage.

 

[Coir]

Since tomatoes and peppers have both the stamen and stigma/pistils inside each flower, they are less likely to be cross pollinated than monoecious type plants like cucumber and melons but it still happens. When you plant seeds from inside an open pollinated tomato, the chances are in your favor of getting a fairly close reproduction of the parent plant but there is still chance you will get some that are a result of cross pollination. I have seen it happen many times even with greenhouse grown fruit when there are more than one variety in the greenhouse and bees are used for pollination. When mechanical pollination is used, there is less of a chance of this happening.
With squash, it's very easy for cross pollination since there are distinct male and female flowers on each plant and the pollen from one variety is easily crossed with another. Again though, you would need to plants every seed out of a single squash to see just how much pollen from another variety was actually crossed.
I grow gynoecious cucumbers in the greenhouse and they don't produce any male flowers so the cucumbers come out seedless. I can not grow any other types of cucumber in with them though or they would cross pollinate and ruin the seedless ones. The bees I use for pollination LOVE the cucumber flowers even though they get no pollen out of them. They have a very strong fragrance that reminds me of gardenia. However I can grow squash, which the bees also love due to the huge amounts of pollen in each male flower, and melons along side of them without worrying about it effecting the cukes since they are not capable of cross pollinating.

 

[growchick421]

I have heard, and am trying, two ways of collecting seeds; 1 strait up scooping the seeds out of the meat and putting in a paper towel. Let dry out in the Sun and store in dark cool place. The 2nd is to rot the fruit first and then the same as before. This is for tomatoes (non gmoed, some hybrids). I have heard the same about non viable seeds floating. No one has mentioned treating the seeds before planting. Most veggie seeds do not need these methods but some flowers and fruit trees do... there is hibernating the seeds by having a a zip lock bag with dirt and seeds placed in the fridge for a month or more. Some seeds need to soak in an acidic solution or have the surface scratched in some form (sand paper, etc). If the seeds r from a reputable heirloom seller that info should be on the package.
I'll be back with some great heirloom seed sellers.

 

[Seamaiden]

Right off the bat, my FAVORITES, by far, are Renee's Seeds in Santa Cruz and Territorial Seed Company in Oregon. I do get some stuff from Peaceful Valley, but their selection is nothing compared to Territorial or Renee's. Very good viability, great selection.

 

[Drifting13]

This is who I have been looking at for heirloom seeds and will be ordering from for the fall of 2015.

 

[growchick421]

Johnny seeds is a good company. Have gotten many seeds from them. They have a decent selection of heirloom, but are not specific to them.

 

[neverbreak]

ya know, i've always found compost tomatoes to grow big n better than any from stored seeds. dunno what it is, maybe the composting process kills the weakers once n removes the dormancy in the remaining seeds, but when ya get a tomatoes growin exactly where ya didn't plan on them bein, they always turn out great. when i sow seeds n do the whole transplant thing, they always go pretty average in comparison.

to collect seeds of all the brassicas n many herbs, ya gotta let 'em bolt. with the herbs, that doesn't matter so much, as ya can harvest the good up until that point, but with the brassicas, ya pretty much have to sacrifice the harvest of a plant (dependin on what yer growin exactly).

neverbreak

 

[growchick421]

Baker creek at rareseed.com and bountifulgardens.com both are great for heirloom species.

 

[Seamaiden]

Yes! I forgot about Baker Creek! Not familiar with Bountiful Gardens, I'll check 'em out. :D

 

[organicozarks]

I have a book all about how to save the seeds of hundreds of different types of plants. It is a great resource, but of course I can't think of the name of it right now. :)

I buy books like this because there is a little bit of prepper in me that wants to be able to take care of my family in case the shit ever hit the fan.

Giant sunspot anyone? :)

 

[growchick421]

I have a book all about how to save the seeds of hundreds of different types of plants. It is a great resource, but of course I can't think of the name of it right now. :)

I buy books like this because there is a little bit of prepper in me that wants to be able to take care of my family in case the shit ever hit the fan.

Giant sunspot anyone? :)

That book sounds awesome. I have a few friends that have their survival kit with thing like that in them for the same reason.
I think to many people like "experimenting" with our food to much, so if you have ur own you know exactly what is happening to ur food.
But sooner or later shit will hit the fan and it's best to be prepared. It's inevitable.