Seed Saving 101: Harvesting Future Gardens

Save Seeds Like a Pro: A Guide to Collecting Seeds

Ever feel like your garden is holding secrets? Well, it is! Beneath all those blooms and veggies lies next year’s potential just waiting to be scooped up—literally. Saving seeds is an age-old practice that’s making a comeback, and it’s not only easy but incredibly rewarding. Let’s dive into why you should save seeds, how to do it, and which plants make seed-saving a no-brainer (and which ones, well, not so much).

 

Why Save Seeds?

1. Self-Sufficiency – Why buy seeds every year when you can harvest your own? You’ll save money and reduce trips to the store.
2. Plant Adaptation – Seeds collected from your garden are genetically programmed to thrive in your specific conditions.
3. Heirloom Variety – Seed-saving ensures that your favourite plants stick around, especially those beloved heirloom varieties.
4. Sustainability – It’s an eco-friendly practice that cuts down on waste and commercial seed dependency.

 

How to Save Seeds

Now for the fun part! Here’s a basic rundown of how to save seeds from different types of plants:

1. Pick the Best Plants – Save seeds from your healthiest, most productive plants. These seeds will carry their parents' traits, like disease resistance or super productivity.
2. Let Nature Do Its Thing – For many flowers and veggies, you need to let the plant mature past its prime. This means allowing flowers to die back and vegetables to ripen beyond what you’d normally eat.
3. Harvesting – Once seed pods dry out or vegetables over-ripen, gently open them to collect the seeds. For some plants, like tomatoes, you'll need to remove the seeds and allow them to ferment for a few days before drying them out.
4. Drying and Storing – After harvesting, lay seeds out in a single layer to dry. Store them in a cool, dry place in paper envelopes or glass jars, and label them with the plant type and date.

 

When to Save Seeds

Timing is everything. Let the plant go through its full life cycle until the seeds are fully mature. For most plants, this means waiting until flowers fade, fruits ripen, or pods dry out. Harvest too early, and the seeds might not be viable.

• Flowers: Save seeds when the flowers have faded, and seed heads are dried but before they fall off on their own.
• Vegetables: Harvest seeds from fully mature veggies, which usually means letting them go beyond the edible stage.
• Herbs: Let the plants flower and produce seeds. Wait for the seed heads to turn brown and dry out.

For our area around Lake Simcoe, aim to collect seeds in late summer to early fall, before the first frost.

Easy-to-Save Seeds:

Flowers

1. Marigolds: Once their bright blooms fade, these plants produce seed heads full of long, slender seeds that are easy to dry and store.
2. Sunflowers: Wait for the flower heads to droop and dry before harvesting those big, fat seeds.
3. Zinnias: Let the flowers completely dry out on the plant; then, simply pull out the seeds from the centre of the bloom.
4. Nasturtium: These cheerful flowers provide seeds once their flowers have dropped and the heads have dried.

Vegetables

1. Tomatoes: Overripe tomatoes are full of seeds! Just scoop them out, ferment them for a couple of days, then dry them.
2. Beans and Peas: Let pods fully mature and dry on the plant. Once they rattle, you know they’re ready.
3. Peppers: Simply remove seeds from a fully ripe pepper, dry them, and store.
4. Cucumbers: Allow cukes to grow far beyond their edible stage, then scoop out the seeds and let them dry.

Herbs

1. Basil: Let the flowers bloom and dry on the plant. Once the flower heads are brown, gently crush them to release the tiny seeds.
2. Cilantro (Coriander): Cilantro bolts quickly, so you’ll have seeds in no time. Once the seed heads turn brown, snip them off and shake out the seeds (aka coriander) for both planting and cooking.
3. Dill: Similar to cilantro, just let the seed heads dry on the plant, then collect the tiny dill seeds for next year.

 

Seeds That Are Easy to Germinate

• Lettuce: These tiny seeds are fast and easy to germinate indoors or out.
• Beans and Peas – These seeds are large and easy to work with, making them great for kids and novice gardeners.
• Zinnias and Marigolds: Their seeds tend to sprout quickly once in the ground.
• Basil and Dill: Just sprinkle on soil, and boom, they’re off.

 

Plants That Are Hard to Collect Seeds From

Some plants just aren't worth the trouble when it comes to seed-saving.

• Hybrid Plants – Don’t bother. Hybrid seeds rarely produce the same plant as the parent. You’re likely to end up with a disappointing or weak plant.
• Carrots – In zone 5, carrots are biennial, meaning they won’t produce seeds until their second year, which means overwintering them.
• Onions – Also biennial, onions need a full second season to produce seeds.
• Squash (Zucchini, Pumpkin) – Due to easy cross-pollination, your zucchini could end up producing a mutant gourd next year.

 

So, there you have it, saving seeds can be as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. Stick to easy flowers and veggies for your first season, and then experiment. Just remember: not every plant is seed-saving friendly, and that’s okay. Stick to heirlooms, avoid hybrids, and you’ll have a thriving garden that comes back year after year—at no extra cost! Grab those envelopes and start collecting! Your future garden depends on it.

Happy gardening!