Question on harvestng and saving seeds.

All my veggies are non gmo non hybrid. I want to save to start saving my own seeds instead of purchasing. Who knows when we won't be able to purchase them anymore, and However, I have never done this before. How do I know when to harvest the seeds? When the veggies start to go bad? And the are some plant I am completely unsure of where to obtain the seeds, such as radishes, lettuces and broccoli.

So can you guys help me out? I ma sure others need this info as well.

Star and Flagged. I think this is good information for people trying to grow their own crops, and turn it into next year's planting.

Harvest Radish Seeds

Harvest Lettuce Seeds

Harvest Broccoli Seeds

All leafy veggies like radish, beets, greens , lettuce, so forth will have a part of their life cycle when they “bolt” this is their reproduction phase.

Allow them to complete the bolt process, this will ensure more vigorous seeds. Watch the “bolt” stems and you will see the seed pods grow larger and fatter. This could take 10 weeks or so, when you see the seed pods starting to dry it is time to harvest. Cut the bolt stems low and gather them together. Place these gathered stems in a plastic bag, only loosely tie the bag up, you want some air to be able to get in the bag or it will mold. I use “Wal-Mart’ shopping bags, with no holes in them and loosely tie the hand holds together, works great. Hang the bag up in the garage and wait for the stems to completely dry, several weeks. When dry DON”T remove from the bag, just rub the stems through the bag to break open the seed pods. The seeds will collect in the bottom of the bag. When you have completed this step just remove the stems and the seeds are captured in the bag. You do end up with some chaff mixed in. The chaff can be removed the same way you clean the seeds out of weed.

Next post I will explain fruit bearing plants.

reply to post by navy_vet_stg3


Those were very useful links. I have always harvested them before they got to the point that I would be able to collect the seeds, so that explains why I never saw evidence of where the seeds would come from.

reply to post by brokedown


That was excellent information. I am looking forward to your next post.

Fruit bearing plants. Tomatoes, squash, peppers, eggplant, etc.

You want a vine ripen fruit but not rotten. Pick one of the best of the crop to be the seed bearer.

Allow it to “rest” about a week indoors.

For tomatoes take a kitchen strainer place the entire fruit in the strainer and mash it over the sink. Wash the fruit under running water, using your hand work the pulp through the strainer, gently, washing the seeds clean. Place cleaned seed on a paper towel and allow to dry completely, several days.

With other fruits cut the fruit open and scrape the seed core out and use the same process as above washing the pulp from the seeds in a kitchen strainer. Paper towel and dry.

For grain and bean plants.

Last of the season leave a couple of ears on the stalk, or beans on the vine.

Allow the entire plant to die and dry in the garden, still in the ground.

When completely dry remove the seeds and allow to dry indoors for a week or better before storing.

Other hints

Always use the best of the crop for seed saving.

Make sure after the saved seeds are cleaned, allow them to completely dry before storage.

Store saved seeds in a cool dark dry place., I use coffee cans, and keep the in the closet.

Good Luck !

reply to post by brokedown


How many years will seeds store for maximum?

Great topic... I am in the same boat... first year gardener but loving it!

Ive already planted sugar snap pea seeds from a harvest a month ago... And they are about 3 inches tall already... man I love those plants

I got some iceburg lettuce that bolted, and it has pods, that are a bit milky when I squeeze one open... then there are other pods with a bunch of tips hanging out and inside is a bunch of feathery spore looking things... Is that the seeds? Should I pull just those pods with the tips on it?

Also wondering about carrot seeds? I got mine in the raised bed, about 3 months since I started them... Not seeing any kind of flower or anything, just the nice green leafy stems

Also... Any tips on harvesting Sun flowers? I remember doing them 15+ yrs ago when I was a kid, and i remember it was a pain in the butt to actually separate the seeds from the plant material... Also when is good harvest time? The bees have finished going around the outsides of most of them by now, and you can see the seeds growing inside... should I wait until they get nice black stripes?

Also how do you make the sunflower seeds like you buy in the store... do they roast them? Also how about making them salty

thx in advance... alot of questions, as I said im still learning

reply to post by Darce


Depends on how and where it is stored I would have to say. I once found some corn seed in a sealed fruit jar that was 10 to 15 years old and I planted it and it grow.

reply to post by Darce


3 years is the norm. However, like fixer stated 10 years is not unheard of, heck even longer is possible.

I have some special seeds that are now 7 years old and they still produce.

but they way our forefathers did it was each season seeds were save for and used for the next years crop

Lets go back a step... first you need seeds worthy of saving...
for that you need to buy Heirloom seeds... one of my favorite places to buy them from
Heirloom varieties are open-pollinated--meaning that unlike hybrids, seeds you collect from one year will produce plants with most of the characteristics of the parent plant. And that's key to their survival.

Many heirloom varieties were preserved by home gardeners who saved seed from their family gardens from year to year. Other seeds travelled around the world in the pockets or letters of immigrants, which is why, though the tomato evolved in Central America, we have varieties from Russia, Italy, Japan, France, Germany and Kentucky.

reply to post by morder1


The way I read your description of your lettuce, not ready yet.

The pods will continue to grow, sounds like the seeds are just beginning to form in the pods. Allow the pods time enough to turn color to a light tan, then cut the entire “bolt” stem near ground level. The pods contain the seeds. Use the Wal Mart bag trick I posted earlier to gather the seeds.

Carrot seeds are gather from the “bolt” stem as well. Just haven’t gone through their complete life cycle yet.

Sunflower seeds are gathered like a grain plant. Allow the entire plant time to die and dry in the ground.
However, Sunflower stalks that start to fall over, just cut the head off and allow to dry indoors, like a shed or garage. When completely dried just have to rub your hand over the seeds and they will just fall right off.

To make the seeds similar to “salted sunflower seeds” you buy.
Dissolve salt in a pot of boiling water ( a lot of salt, say a quarter of a cup of salt to two quarts of water)

Remove from the heat and add your sunflower seeds, stir it up coating and wetting the seeds real good. Allow to soak overnight. Drain. Place seeds on a cookie sheet and very low heat (150-175 degrees) bake until dry & crisp. Cool & enjoy. A dehydrator is very good choice for this process, but it will take several days to complete the cooking process.

Works for raw peanuts as well

reply to post by brokedown


Thanks so much for your help!

Maybe the last time I did sunflowers, they hadnt dried the whole way or something... cant wait till they are ready now though!

Thx!

reply to post by morder1



With sun flower I have always just let them grow till the seeds are big as they will get. Then all you have to do is cut down the plant, chop off the head and lay it back to dry. When it's dry the seeds are much easier to separate. Store in paper bags, small ones like you would pack a lunch in. Label and store in a cool, dry place. I have always grown several so we can roast some of the seeds. Better than store bought!

Just a little clarification on the definitions of Heir-loom, hybrid, Genetically altered.

Heir-loom seed is just a popular term used to identify seed varieties that have been grown from saved seeds year after year for a very long time. Nothing special about these seeds whatsoever. 40 years ago the term heir-loom wasn’t even used. Most heir-loom seeds were a hybrid a generation ago.

Hybrid seeds are just seeds produced from a plant that has been cross pollinated with another variety. One of my favorite tomatoes the Mortgage-lifter tomato are today considered heir-loom, but a generation ago they were hybrid.

You can create your own hybrid seeds, it is just experimentation. I have cross pollinated plants in the past, sometimes the seeds contain the best traits of both plants other times not.

When you do have a success, you do save the seeds from your hybrid and it will produce traits from both parent plants the next season. Think of it as breeding plants.

So, successful hybrid seeds can be saved, the more generations the plant produces the better the results.

Genetically altered seeds cannot be saved. If you choose to use these seeds, you must purchase new seed every year. Saved seeds will not have the same traits as the original plant.

Genetically altered seeds will cross pollinate with other plants, so be careful.

Genetically altered seeds cross pollinating is becoming a real problem with corn and soy beans. Testing has shown that Monsanto genetically altered corn has polluted most of the corn plants grown today.

It is, in my opinion, the worst thing that we can do to our food chain. I know I sure don’t like the idea that my plant can produce a pesticide from with -in or any of the other traits these “Frankenstein” plants produce.

I HIGHLY recommend the book: SEED TO SEED by Suzanne Ashworth

She recommends using glass jars because plastic bags allow in moisture which will diminish seed germination rates.

you can buy four oz jars at wally world or candle making surplus stores.....I am doing this as we speak and this book is extremely helpful!! A MUST HAVE! Only criticism is that there are no colored pages, its all black and white....

I read somewhere the seeds should be refrigerated or even frozen.
some seeds will not grow unless frozen, but I don't think veggies are in that category.

Great Information here. Thanks for sharing and letting us get back to our roots!