Rain! And Saving Seeds.

Well, my last post worked! We are now in the middle of two powerful, wet storms hitting northern California. 

While we are not out of the woods as far as the drought goes, right now all I can say is YAY! Rain!

So I thought I would write about saving seeds while I listen to the glorious sound of rain pounding on our roof. I know, this is a post for the end of the growing season, oh, I'd say about September but I thought it would motivate us to think about the growing season and saving money. Not to mention the wonderful art of saving seeds.

Now, the most important aspect of saving seeds is to know which seeds to save. If you buy a hybrid plant  and try to save seeds from this type of plant you will be disappointed. If you are lucky enough to sprout anything from a hybrid seed, it will not be a healthy, productive plant. Period.

 Or, like I experienced one time with a Tomato plant, your plant will be from one of the hybrid parent plant and be nothing like your original plant. That being said, below is the method of seed saving that I have had the best luck with.

Below, I am using my heritage Red Bell Pepper pictures to illustrate how I save seeds. I chose a healthy, well ripened Bell Pepper(s) to harvest the seeds. I then cut up the pepper and scraped the seeds on to a paper towel covered plate to dry. I let the seeds/pieces of pepper air dry overnight. Some seed savers also place the fresh seeds in the oven to dry.

 The next day I remove the rest of the seeds from the pieces and make sure that all the seeds are dry. You may need to air dry for another 24 hours to achieve completely dry seeds.

 Once completely dry I place the seeds in an envelope and label with the date and the name of the plant. You can also use a jar or air tight container to store your seeds if you are going to store the seeds in an area that is damp during the upcoming winter. The seeds must stay dry or they will mold. Moldy seeds should not be used to grow plants.

Here is a picture of my Black Krim Tomatoes that I grew this last year from seeds that I saved.  

 

I will write about saving seeds from flower plants in another post.

I cannot stress how important it is to save seeds if you love to garden. In the era of GMOs , hybrid plants, and the use of chemicals to alter/ morph crops, heritage plants and seeds are crucial to our future of the foods we eat and the flowers we enjoy. There are several websites of wonderful clubs and businesses that sell heritage seeds and foster the future of the heritage plant. Just Google heritage seeds and enjoy the wealth of information you will find. Besides, it is fun, saves money,

 and you will have an even more sense of accomplishment when you save your own seeds and successfully grow plants with them.