Things a seed-saver should be considering
- Frank Becker, OSU Extension Wayne County
- November 13, 2023
- 476
After experiencing some doses of winter weather with snow and subfreezing temperatures, we can officially call an end to the 2023 growing season. As you are cleaning up your gardens and flower beds, it may come across your mind to save some seeds to plant next year. This can be a viable option, but there are some considerations to saving seeds.
First, make sure you are saving seeds from healthy, disease-free and pest-free plants. Certain diseases, like bacterial diseases, can be carried over from year to year in infected seeds. Pests such as the garlic bloat nematode are able to carry over in infested bulbs, and when those bulbs are planted, the nematodes infest the soil and continue to attack other garlic bulbs.
As you think about saving seeds from various varieties of plants, try to identify whether the plant is self-pollinated or cross-pollinated. Self-pollinated plants have seeds that will generally stay true to the genetics of the parent plant. Examples of these types of plants include tomatoes, peppers and beans. Cross-pollinated plants such as corn and cucurbits will provide you with seeds that are not going to be true to the parent plant. The fruit from this year will be true, but the seeds and genetics of the plant grown from the seed next year will be a cross and may present different characteristics, both in appearance and flavor.
Another plant to be aware of is an open-pollinated plant. These plants are what many gardeners use as “heirloom” varieties. Regardless of self-pollinating or cross-pollinating, open-pollinated varieties will continue to produce fruit that are true or very close to the parent plant. When saving open-pollinated plant seeds, make sure you choose healthy, vigorous plants with good-tasting fruit. Do not save seeds from weak or off-type plants. This can result in you selecting for poor production and small fruit size.
Once you figure out which kind of plants you are saving seed from, identify if you are harvesting them as wet or dry seeds. Some seeds, like tomato and cucumber seeds, need to be harvested while the fruit is ripe. The seeds and the pulp around the seeds can be harvested and placed into a jar to ferment, and after mixing the jar a few times a day for several days, the viable seeds will sink to the bottom of the jar. Pour out the liquids, rinse the viable seeds and spread them out to dry. Beans and peas can be left in the pod and allowed to dry on the plant. Many flower and herb seeds also can be harvested as dry seeds after the flowers have died back and dried down.
After doing all of the hard work of harvesting seeds, correctly storing the seeds over winter is critically important to maintaining viability for next year. Keeping the seeds dry and cool will help to ensure the seeds remain dormant. Keeping the seeds inside airtight containers can help to prevent them from drawing moisture, and ideally, keeping them stored between 32 and 42 F will maintain dormancy conditions. Silica-gel packets can be used in the containers to absorb moisture.
Remember to label all of your seeds and mark them with a date. Saved seeds will begin to lose viability after a year of being stored. Seed saving gets easier the more you do it, and the more you do it, the more successful you will be. Have fun and good luck — I hope this was a bountiful and successful growing season for you all.
Frank Becker is the agriculture and natural resources extension educator with Ohio State University Extension Wayne County and a certified crop adviser and may be reached at 330-264-8722 or becker.587@osu.edu.