Seed saving for the home gardener

Saving seed from vegetables in your garden is an economical way to keep growing year after year. Many popular vegetables, herbs and flowers are easy to save seed from and even beginning gardeners can be successful.

Beans, tomatoes, herbs, such as cilantro, dill or parsley and flowers, like calendula or marigolds, require little effort to gather and save seed.

The key to seed saving is to collect seed from open-pollinated or heirloom varieties, which breed-true; producing plants that are fairly identical to its parent.

What about hybrid varieties? A hybrid plant is the result of intentional cross-pollination between two or more cultivars to achieve a desired attribute, such as disease resistance. A plant grown from saved hybrid seed is unlikely to produce fruit similar to that of the parent. Unfortunately, that means a saved ‘sungold’ cherry tomato seed won’t produce a true ‘sungold’ next year.

Only save seed from healthy plants and select the best, fully ripened fruits or seed heads. For diversity, gather seed from more than one plant. Once collected, dry your seed completely out of direct sunlight and store it in envelopes or jars in a dry, cool location.

Beans are the easiest vegetable from which to save seed. Just allow the pod to dry completely on the vine, then split it open and collect the seed. You can also pick pods when they are “leathery” and hang them to dry in a garage or shed.

Herbs, like cilantro, chives, dill and parsley will happily reseed themselves if the flower heads are left to ripen. To control self-seeding, cut mature seed heads and place them in a paper bag to dry completely. Then shake the seed heads in the bag to collect the seeds.

Annual flower seeds from calendula, marigolds and sweet pea can also be saved this way. Simply collect dried seed heads or pods and remove the seeds, then dry and store until next spring.

Peppers must be fully ripe before you save seed. Green peppers of any variety are immature and will not produce viable seed. Collect seed from peppers once they have reached their true color (red, yellow, orange, purple).

Chili or thin-skinned pepper varieties should be air-dried and then cracked open to harvest seed (remember to wear gloves when handling hot peppers). Air drying can take several weeks depending on the temperature and humidity. Be sure to check the fruit often and discard any peppers that become moldy. For thick-walled peppers, scrape the seeds from the core and let dry completely before storing.

Tomato seeds have a gelatinous covering that can inhibit germination. For that reason, the best way to save seed is through fermentation, which breaks down the gelatinous covering. The process is simple, albeit a little messy. It involves squeezing the seeds into a jar, adding a bit of water, and letting the mixture “ferment” for 48 to 72 hours (but no longer, as the seeds can begin to germinate).

Once fermentation is complete, rise the seeds thoroughly in a fine sieve. Tap off excess water and place the seed on a plate in a single layer to dry, away from direct sunlight or heat. Store when completely dry.

Seed saving is easy, economical, and fun to do … and best of all, it provides you with an endless supply of seeds to grow and share — all from your garden.

Candace Godwin is a Certified Idaho Master Gardener. The University of Idaho Extension, Kootenai County Idaho Master Gardener program is located in the UI Research Park, 958 S. Lochsa St., in Post Falls. Learn more at www.uidaho.edu/extension/county/kootenai/garden or on Facebook. Visit in person, email kootenaimg@uidaho.edu or call 208-292-2525. IMG services are free to the public.