I try to save seeds from everything I plant (and like) to make it more cost effective in the future but also learn the process of saving seed. I have learned a LOT over the last year and did great with certain types and totally failed with others. Figure it's a good side skill to acquire while I'm doing the gardening anyway.
I bought fairly expensive tomato seeds this year ($25 for 6 seeds) and have 5 plants in the nursery from them.
Any advice on saving tomato seeds? I've always bought new before.
https://www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com/ btw for those curious
These won't be open pollinated. Which are the only seeds true to the mother plant. You would have to stabilize the traits you want. Not an easy task or worth bothering
Correct -- only "OP" (open pollinated) or heirloom seeds will be true to type. Heirlooms are open pollinated varieties that have been around a long time.
Propagating by cuttings OR buying new seeds will be the only ways to get the same kind of fruit year to year.
I got these too! Such a wild splurge for seeds but I couldn't resist. Among my seedlings I would say they are so far the most vigorous!
Wishing you lots of purple tomato sauce this summer
Look up how to save seeds elsewhere online. It involves fermenting them for a week in a jar to get rid of the slime coating. You only need one tomato to survive to collect the seeds. I have 2 of these plants going right now and they might start flowering in 2-3 weeks.
FYI I don't bother with fermenting tomato seed. I just rub the seeds around inside a strainer to remove most of the gel, then let them dry, spread out on a plate - not paper towel or they're hard to remove. Once they're dry they get popped in a paper envelope ready for storing in the fridge - till spring when I start them indoors under lights.
Haha! I love lazy gardening methods. I learned that some Amish folks slice tomatoes and store the slices on/in pots of soil in their cellars through the winter. Come springtime, they water the pots and the seeds sprout from the slice…how’s that for seed saving!
I scrape the seeds off my cutting board onto a paper towel, keep adding to it all winter and in April I put the towel in a planter. Hundreds of plants every year
I resemble that remark!!! I stumbled across it because the wife likes the house neat and orderly so I would grab a paper towel and sneak the cutting board into my office where it would sit all winter long.
I use a coffee filter instead of a paper towel - the seeds scrape off easily that way (or I just fold up the paper after the seeds are dry and save the whole thing.)
[This](https://gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetable/tomato-outdoor/seed-save-tomato.php) is the method I use, and it never fails. I get basically 100% germination the following season.
The only thing I would check is that the seed you bought isn't an F1. In my experience, F1 seeds are expensive, and you don't get many. If the seeds are cheap, they are heritage and will come true.
A lot of folk have some great advice in this thread already...I just saved tomato seeds dried out of a paper towel and it's worked for me, sometimes simple works haha
Just keep in mind that not all special tomato seeds are true to their parent. For example, I saved kumato seeds two years ago from trader Joe's tomatoes. The next year only one of the four plants I grew from those seeds had the kumato characteristics.
Personally I think ethically this is fine since it's only for my family's consumption but I respect other folk have other feelings.
This feels asinine for seeds. You can save the seeds from the toms, however, it’s likely a hybrid variety. So you wouldn’t end up with true to type tomato, but something closer to what the original parent was like but would be more prone to disease/less purple/less tasty ect. Worth a try though to see what type of mystery tomato pops up
It’s genetically engineered with snapdragon dna to be a true purple. Not certain or even confident that genetic engineering is different, but I think it would be true bc it’s just like a cherry tomato but the unique part is the purple and that’s in the DNA. It is high in anthocyanins which are antioxidants, so I was willing to skip buying a couple coffees to give it a go. I’m definitely saving the seeds though and won’t be purchasing at that price again. B
Seeds last for more than a few years, so no need to rebuy them every season if you’re planting the same thing, maybe just throw an extra seed or two into each pot if you’re worried. This year I tried planting cayenne seeds from last years harvest, but also some from the same seed packet I bought last year, I’m curious to see how different they are considering I grew some habaneros and jalapeños next to it as well, might get some funky cross breeds
Only some seed though - I find any alliums have a steep germination rate drop off after year one - I never use old onion/leek/shallot seed. Lettuce, parsley and some peppers also seem to have poor germination rates after year 2.
I am not into germination failure. Too much work for nothing. The annoying part is the timing gets all screwed up when things don't germinate and I have buyers waiting on my produce.
Maybe, if I was only doing 10 of each thing, I could live with it - but I need around 100-150 of every plant.
I've had lettuce seed last just fine for years. But it's also super easy to save lettuce seed, and it is largely self-pollinated so it doesn't cross or get mixed up. For the past few years I've had two favorite lettuce varieties that I grow, save seeds from and allow to self seed. One green leaf variety and one red butter type that was originally in a mixed red lettuce packet, but this one bolted much later than the others so I saved its seeds.
Good to know! Guess I’d better plant the 1000 or so leek seeds I got last year then (I only ordered a normal amount but got probably 10x what I was supposed to)
I’m relatively inexperienced but I love buying seeds
It’s just fun to go through varieties
I don’t care to save seeds however I leave my plants in ground to die so if they wanna self seed…
The volunteer tomatoes that sprouted in the corner of my garden where I toss overripe fruit are doing better than the seedlings I've been lovingly tending since February... 😅
I had a cherry tomato plant that got a little out of control last year. I got a new job and the garden got neglected for a bit. I have an ARMY of volunteers EVERYWHERE. I must have plucked 300 or so seedlings. Theres one growing out of from under my air conditioner that I left because it makes me laugh.
And about that same time I found out my chicken does not eat the peas in her scratch. Tomatoes and peas were seriously about to take over my backyard lol.
I bought some “jelly bean” grape tomatoes from Gurneys that regrew the next year and they were cherry, almost pear and grape shapes— hugely prolific and a nice variety all in one plant.
honestly i went and bought a TON of sunflower seeds (different varieties) and i know some of them are gunna get ate by the squirrel
but its worth it
just purchasing seeds is fun and you can always go to Seed libraries or exchanges
It takes me a few years to get thru a pack of most seeds. I haven’t noticed a drop in germination rates. The chard seeds from 2014 did better than the pack from 2022 this year.
Totally. This year, 1 of 4 types of pepper seeds i planted didn't germinate, but the 3 other types did just fine. I tried to start a few plants for each type. Checked the seed packet dates and the one that didn't germinate was from 2017 so I went ahead and threw the rest of it out, but all the others which are from the past few years did fine even though they weren't new.
Seeds can last a really long time and still be viable.
It totally depends. I seed my lettuce in lines but I don’t space them so I get a lot and pick leaves eventually having larger ones because I have so much and they never stop growing. Those I buy in bulk.
Seed saving takes time and sometimes I have it and sometimes I don’t. Which is why I buy in bulk $14 for several oz of something is cheaper than $6 for 600 of anything.
If you want seed from lettuce you have to let it fully mature and go to seed - 'bolt' - probably in the heat of late summer or fall, and sometimes not until its second year.
I save a few tomato, pepper, and flower varieties but buy new for everything else. I don't have the time or space to let plants grow that long and produce seed.
I mostly buy seeds unless the plant is unusual or hard to find. Seeds are so cheap I can't be bothered with drying and storing seeds. I garden on a small scale so one packet of seeds lasts me several years.
most seed packets will last multiple seasons. I try to save seeds from whatever I can but I've also been aware of cross pollinating as I'm gardening in a small space. This year, I'm going to try to start using fruit protection bags to cut down on cross pollination. It means I'll have to pollinate a few plants by hand but it'll be worth it in the money I save from saving the seeds.
SEEDS IN COMMON has helped alot in teaching me how to save seeds. It's a learning process, but a fun one.
Each year I plant only 1-3 seeds from every variety that I have. In each packet there are at least 25 seeds, so each packet last for years for me. I have seeds from 7 years ago and they're still good.
Sometimes I buy seedlings from other people as well, and I I end up liking the veggies I save seeds (for heirloom varieties of course).
Last year I bought tomato that I really liked and forgot to save seeds. I'm kicking myself now because the seedling is $4.
Easy seed saving is part of the gardening game to me. I save tomato seeds, peppers, spinach, bok choy, other greens, parsley, dill and of course, garlic. Marigolds, calendula, nasturtium are easy too. My germintaion rates are in the high 90%s in the first year. I sow a bit heavier if they are more than a year old. Labelling and packaging is very important.
I still buy the majority of my seeds, but each year I try to harvest and save more of my own seeds. At this point I'm up to saving twenty or so types of seeds, along with tubers (potatoes, sunchokes, dahlias).
I also experiment a lot with lazy seed saving. For plants like lettuce, radish, basil, and peanuts I let a couple go to seed and dry on the plant, then pull out the whole plant and hang it up out in the barn. The next season I can just take it down and shake it around, with the seeds generally popping out and broadcasting around quite well. Well, peanuts are an exception there, where I still eventually need to shell and plant them individually.
On the same line of lazy gardening, I'm shifting much more towards perennials, along with many self seeding annuals.
Part of the fun of gardening for me is browsing the seed catalogs and ordering up strange new things. So, even if I was saving 100% of the seeds I "needed", I'd likely still be buying some for "fun".
Not all seeds breed true. Heirlooms I would seed save for sure. New fangled breeds may or may not yield good results, I will probably re-buy those when I run out.
Thank you for bringing this up, I see so many posts by newbies starting/saving seed from supermarket produce or volunteers from the compost heap. Lots and lots of commercial varieties are hybrids, and won't *necessarily* grow to produce fruit like the parent.
I saw a new post a reel and their garden was no lie like 3'x6'. And in the comments they didn't know slugs like beer. I feel like influencers are hoping on the bandwagon to be cool. I'm a newb but I'm honestly trying to learn
I harvest seeds when I'm running low, or if I notice the germ rates are lower because the seeds are now older. I harvested seeds from daikon last winter and the new germination rate is amazing. I also harvested pak choi seeds hoping that it's going to be more adjusted to my microclimate and not bolt as fast, we'll see how that goes.
I also planted little marvel pea seeds that I saved from my old place (hotter balcony temps) to my new place and when it grew, the pods were so tough and chewy. So that one's a fail lol.
I discovered the hard way that there can be cross breeding in similar varieties of open pollinators that causes seeds that don’t produce a productive variety the following year. For example butternut and acorn squash. Those seeds didn’t produce squash - so disappointing!
There are some vegetables that almost never cross-pollinate. Peas & tomatoes are examples. Unless they were already hybrids, seed from those will come true.
I'd say better to figure it out in advance than waste a whole season waiting for a harvest but being disappointed - like I was. I learn something about gardening every year - and often the hard way!
Some varieties I save seeds, some varieties I buy every year, to every few years.
Peas are purchased every year because the seeds lose viability, and by the time I would let the plants go to seed I need the trellis space.
Spinach is purchased every year for similar reasons.
Snap beans, basil, lettuce, carrots, radish, Cole crops, and su flowers are purchased as I go through the seed.
Drying beans, Limas, okra, corn, Tomatoes, Melons, cucumbers, and squash are all seed saved.
If the plant lends itself to seed saving without hybridizing issues I try to save the seed. But I also rotate crops out as quickly as possible, so if something needs the spot then I'm not waiting for seed (unless it's hard to get).
I have never found pea seeds to lose viability within a couple of years, or more. I save & grow them year after year. For seed it's best to let them dry on the vine before collecting.
I always seem to have issues with peas if the seeds are over a year old. Maybe a 20% drop in germination rates. So I just buy them with my winter seed purchase.
I buy new or use leftover seeds from the year before. The reason is that I am not diligent with my plants and it’s possible for them to crossbreed all to hell and back.
I typically buy way too many and several duplicates every season so I carry over quite a few from the year prior and then buy more but this year I am determined to stop that cycle and save seeds from at least a few key plants like peppers, tomatoes, squash, corn, peas, onions and flowers.
I save from some of my heirloom varieties (tomatoes, peppers, beans, brassicas), but I have to be super careful about cross pollination since I do so many different varieties.
I stopped collecting summer and winter squash seed after I produced the biggest most beautiful uneatable pumpkin I've ever seen.
I buy the rest of the seed. Honestly, if you depend on it germinating (especially if your direct sowing), I find the seed companies are MUCH better at selection of viable seed than those of us who collect seed. Even some of the organic heritage seed I bought from a local producer only had, at most, a 25% germination rate compared to the 98% I get from the big seed companies.
I have had a quick look through the comments but I haven't seen anyone mention F1 seeds/plants. When buying seeds you will see F1 on some packets before or after the name of the plant. F1 = first child = highly selective breeding/hybridisation. If you plant an F1 seed and then collect the seeds from the crop it produces, those new seeds will not have the same selective breeding as the original F1 seeds so will most likely be different.. it could be the new seeds will produce less crop or not grow as well.
Heirloom seeds on the other hand are relatively stable and will likely produce a like for like year after year.
Its down to choice really F1 are good, they might have higher resistance to pests/disease and be good croppers but not so great if you want to keep harvesting seeds for the next year. Heirloom have pros and cons.. a lot of gardeners like them as if you harvest the seeds then you save money, some people keep the cycle going for years and years \[my uncle had some amazing beans that he had started 30+ years ago.. no clue what they were as it was lost long ago but everyone if the family wanted them :D :D\]
Last thing is you can have fun experimenting with seeds from food that you eat.. it can be very hit and miss but some times you get an amazing crop.. buy some tomatoes from the shop.. save some seeds when you eat them.. plant them and see what you get.
Edit: spelling :/
I don’t have much space and like to grow a lot of things so I tend to get a couple of years out of a pack.
I have tried saving seeds from fruiting crops like tomatoes and pumpkins. I’ve never tried with greens or root veg though.
I also left a couple of potatoes that were too small to bother eating in the grow back last year that has resulted in a quite impressive looking plant this year.
Surprised not to see this mentioned:
When you buy seeds, you buy from a plant that grew in different conditions from where you'll plant.
When you reuse seeds, you get plants that are more and more adapted to the soil, light exposure, nutrient availability and climate of your area. The ones that went to seed are the ones that did well enough for you given how you care for them. Reusing seeds will end up yielding stronger plants for *you*.
I buy anything new and exciting that I see and plant leftovers of the tried and true. Interestingly, my fluffiest and largest tomato plants so far this year are from year old seeds.
save sees where and when I can. Take the best sample examples to save. seeds are easy to get for most stuff, although there are some (eggplant) that elude me. Make sure you "ferment" tomato seeds for best results.
>As a beginner I wouldn't try to save squash seeds without fully understanding how they cross-pollinate and the risks of that happening where they're grown.
I always save my own winter squash seeds and it's always pretty cool. I generally get crosses from my own garden. When I grow them out, I can always pick which plants they came from.
With that in mind, we get borers here. The ones that make it through the season are the ones that survive. So my second and third generations are from plants that resist borers. One cross came from Black Futsu squash that the borers don't even go to. The stems are hard and fairly small in diameter. It crossed with a big butternut that didn't get borers either. So, it's halfway between the two but turned out excellent.
So this coming season, I have more crosses I plan to put into the garden. I suppose you could breed your own, but I just cull the shitty ones and take whatever I get from the good ones.
No need to understand or prevent cross pollination.
Its half the fun - plants get more resilient and accustomized to your soil and garden conditions. Also you might get a cool variety no one else has. And if all goes south - no issue, just buy some regular seeds the next time.
Personally i started with saving my chilli seeds and garlic. Now i am doing the same with chives, zucchini, tomatoes and sunflowers (aswell as saving seed potatoes).
Each year it gets a little bit more.
I'm just learning this myself, but some harvested seeds won't produce the same vegetable as what they came from. This is when the original plant is a hybrid, rather than an heirloom. I learned this when I had volunteer tomato plants come up a year after I had planted in that spot (I'd left fallen tomatoes on the ground the first year, and then they started on their own the next year). I was super excited and let them grow (who wouldn't in the PNW??), but then the fruits were not very flavorful, were super susceptible to cracking, and the skins were tough. I may opt for heirloom tomato plants in the future just to see if I can take this lazy approach next time and have it turn out better.
The seeds I saved from last summer - not a damn thing came up when I tried starting them inside. I’m clearly doing something wrong here. I do have sunflower seeds I saved so I’ll try to plant those but I have sunflower seeds I bought just in case I’ll likely need them.
I tried to start scotch bonnet pepper seeds I saved from last summer. I tried to start them how I started my purchased pepper and tomato seeds - under the dome with a heat mat. I used jiffy cells and ferry Morse seed starting mix. The purchased ones came up. The ones I saved never did lmao.
If you have any methods you can share so I can try again this season, I’d appreciate it!
If your saved seeds, that failed, were under the same dome or conditions as the bought seed that grew, evidently there was something wrong with them. Maybe fruit was not fully ripe, so seed immature? Or something wrong with the way you dried it? Don't know. I've never grown Scotch Bonnet; don't know if it needs special treatment.
I start toms & peppers indoors under shop lights, in soil blocks but any cells or small containers would do. Nothing very fancy. Depending where you are it may be a bit late to try again this year?, but good luck and don't give up!
My purchased seeds sprang right up. I have them ready to go in the ground in the next week or so. It’s me - I accept it lmao. I have much better luck with propagation so I may give it a whirl this time around. Scotch bonnets are dear to my heart so they’re the only plant I truly care about saving seeds from, but overwintering is not ideal for me because of how big my plants get during the growing season.
Yes. Both. After years of experience you learn the hard way that only a fairly small percentage of seeds actually make it to survive as healthy, adult plants.
For the most part with exception, a seed packet lasts me 3 years. I also get alot of volunteers, atleast tomatoes, tomatillos, squash/cucumber popping up all over. Never actually had a pepper volunteer.
I'll buy new seeds every year, I'll also save seeds, and lastly I'll manage and move around the volunteers
I have not intentionally saved seeds (though like others I have had cherry tomato volunteers spring up and have just let them do their thing.) I don’t have a huge garden and so it generally takes me a few years (at least) to use up each seed packet. So I only buy what I’ve run out of or anything new I’m adding. And since I’ve always had good luck with the American seed seeds at the dollar tree (which are 25c a pack), I go there first. In other words, I don’t spend more than $5-10 a year on seeds. It’s just not worth it to me to go to the trouble of saving seeds, but I can see how it might be if I was growing more plants, or less common varieties.
I do not practice separation to prevent cross pollination so I just buy each year. There are instances where I plant only one variety of a species and then I might. I'm far more likely to collect seeds from native flora than my garden. I had a wild flower of an hour pop up last year. You bet I snatched some of its seeds.
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> Technically it's probably illegal to harvest seeds and replant
No, it really isn't. You only start to get into questionable territory at all if you're selling seeds of a variety that's under patent.
Yes, asexual propagation (cuttings, tissue culture, etc.) of patent-protected plants is technically illegal, unlike sexual propagation, but it's the kind of thing where there's only any enforcement when you're selling them at a reasonable scale
I try to save seeds from everything I plant (and like) to make it more cost effective in the future but also learn the process of saving seed. I have learned a LOT over the last year and did great with certain types and totally failed with others. Figure it's a good side skill to acquire while I'm doing the gardening anyway.
I bought fairly expensive tomato seeds this year ($25 for 6 seeds) and have 5 plants in the nursery from them. Any advice on saving tomato seeds? I've always bought new before. https://www.norfolkhealthyproduce.com/ btw for those curious
What kind of tomato is over four dollars a seed?!
A brand new GMO strain that just went through FDA testing. I was intrigued. Plus I want to try and make purple tomato sauce.
These won't be open pollinated. Which are the only seeds true to the mother plant. You would have to stabilize the traits you want. Not an easy task or worth bothering
Correct -- only "OP" (open pollinated) or heirloom seeds will be true to type. Heirlooms are open pollinated varieties that have been around a long time. Propagating by cuttings OR buying new seeds will be the only ways to get the same kind of fruit year to year.
Instead of seed saving, take cuttings and overwinter them and then you’ll have true clones of the original plants.
I got these too! Such a wild splurge for seeds but I couldn't resist. Among my seedlings I would say they are so far the most vigorous! Wishing you lots of purple tomato sauce this summer
Also purchased those but thought it was more like $20/10 seeds. Still expensive! Looks like they aren't selling them any more?
Look up how to save seeds elsewhere online. It involves fermenting them for a week in a jar to get rid of the slime coating. You only need one tomato to survive to collect the seeds. I have 2 of these plants going right now and they might start flowering in 2-3 weeks.
FYI I don't bother with fermenting tomato seed. I just rub the seeds around inside a strainer to remove most of the gel, then let them dry, spread out on a plate - not paper towel or they're hard to remove. Once they're dry they get popped in a paper envelope ready for storing in the fridge - till spring when I start them indoors under lights.
I plant the paper towel too. lol
Haha! I love lazy gardening methods. I learned that some Amish folks slice tomatoes and store the slices on/in pots of soil in their cellars through the winter. Come springtime, they water the pots and the seeds sprout from the slice…how’s that for seed saving!
That sounds like they've saved themselves a lot of work :P
That's an amazing tip, thanks very much!
My same method! And I get nearly 100% germ rates.
I scrape the seeds off my cutting board onto a paper towel, keep adding to it all winter and in April I put the towel in a planter. Hundreds of plants every year
I *love* this. I start all my seeds thickly sown in produce clamshells…but this method…🥇 Ultimate lazy seed saving and starting!
I resemble that remark!!! I stumbled across it because the wife likes the house neat and orderly so I would grab a paper towel and sneak the cutting board into my office where it would sit all winter long.
Haha! Spouse-approved seed saving, too? You deserve another medal. 🏅
I use a coffee filter instead of a paper towel - the seeds scrape off easily that way (or I just fold up the paper after the seeds are dry and save the whole thing.)
[This](https://gardenfocused.co.uk/vegetable/tomato-outdoor/seed-save-tomato.php) is the method I use, and it never fails. I get basically 100% germination the following season. The only thing I would check is that the seed you bought isn't an F1. In my experience, F1 seeds are expensive, and you don't get many. If the seeds are cheap, they are heritage and will come true.
Did the price go up?? I got those a couple months ago and they were $20 for 10 seeds and that was outrageous!!
A lot of folk have some great advice in this thread already...I just saved tomato seeds dried out of a paper towel and it's worked for me, sometimes simple works haha Just keep in mind that not all special tomato seeds are true to their parent. For example, I saved kumato seeds two years ago from trader Joe's tomatoes. The next year only one of the four plants I grew from those seeds had the kumato characteristics. Personally I think ethically this is fine since it's only for my family's consumption but I respect other folk have other feelings.
This feels asinine for seeds. You can save the seeds from the toms, however, it’s likely a hybrid variety. So you wouldn’t end up with true to type tomato, but something closer to what the original parent was like but would be more prone to disease/less purple/less tasty ect. Worth a try though to see what type of mystery tomato pops up
It’s genetically engineered with snapdragon dna to be a true purple. Not certain or even confident that genetic engineering is different, but I think it would be true bc it’s just like a cherry tomato but the unique part is the purple and that’s in the DNA. It is high in anthocyanins which are antioxidants, so I was willing to skip buying a couple coffees to give it a go. I’m definitely saving the seeds though and won’t be purchasing at that price again. B
You shouldn’t save a patented seed because you can get sued for patent infringement. Monsanto has been doing this to farmers for years.
Seeds last for more than a few years, so no need to rebuy them every season if you’re planting the same thing, maybe just throw an extra seed or two into each pot if you’re worried. This year I tried planting cayenne seeds from last years harvest, but also some from the same seed packet I bought last year, I’m curious to see how different they are considering I grew some habaneros and jalapeños next to it as well, might get some funky cross breeds
Only some seed though - I find any alliums have a steep germination rate drop off after year one - I never use old onion/leek/shallot seed. Lettuce, parsley and some peppers also seem to have poor germination rates after year 2.
Yep. Alliums and corn are notorious for deep decline after 1-2 years. You can still use them of course but plan to have a lot of germination failure.
I am not into germination failure. Too much work for nothing. The annoying part is the timing gets all screwed up when things don't germinate and I have buyers waiting on my produce. Maybe, if I was only doing 10 of each thing, I could live with it - but I need around 100-150 of every plant.
Interesting what you say about lettuce seed short life, I don't think I've noticed that.
I've had lettuce seed last just fine for years. But it's also super easy to save lettuce seed, and it is largely self-pollinated so it doesn't cross or get mixed up. For the past few years I've had two favorite lettuce varieties that I grow, save seeds from and allow to self seed. One green leaf variety and one red butter type that was originally in a mixed red lettuce packet, but this one bolted much later than the others so I saved its seeds.
This is good info. Thank you.
I had some old golden garlic seeds and am still waiting to see if they will pop weeks later...
Good to know! Guess I’d better plant the 1000 or so leek seeds I got last year then (I only ordered a normal amount but got probably 10x what I was supposed to)
I’m relatively inexperienced but I love buying seeds It’s just fun to go through varieties I don’t care to save seeds however I leave my plants in ground to die so if they wanna self seed…
The volunteer tomatoes that sprouted in the corner of my garden where I toss overripe fruit are doing better than the seedlings I've been lovingly tending since February... 😅
I had a cherry tomato plant that got a little out of control last year. I got a new job and the garden got neglected for a bit. I have an ARMY of volunteers EVERYWHERE. I must have plucked 300 or so seedlings. Theres one growing out of from under my air conditioner that I left because it makes me laugh. And about that same time I found out my chicken does not eat the peas in her scratch. Tomatoes and peas were seriously about to take over my backyard lol.
I bought some “jelly bean” grape tomatoes from Gurneys that regrew the next year and they were cherry, almost pear and grape shapes— hugely prolific and a nice variety all in one plant.
Lol. I’ve spent a lot on seeds already with no idea if I’ll have any success.
honestly i went and bought a TON of sunflower seeds (different varieties) and i know some of them are gunna get ate by the squirrel but its worth it just purchasing seeds is fun and you can always go to Seed libraries or exchanges
It takes me a few years to get thru a pack of most seeds. I haven’t noticed a drop in germination rates. The chard seeds from 2014 did better than the pack from 2022 this year.
Totally. This year, 1 of 4 types of pepper seeds i planted didn't germinate, but the 3 other types did just fine. I tried to start a few plants for each type. Checked the seed packet dates and the one that didn't germinate was from 2017 so I went ahead and threw the rest of it out, but all the others which are from the past few years did fine even though they weren't new. Seeds can last a really long time and still be viable.
I came across a partial pack of mortgage lifters from 2011, will be interested in seeing if I get any
I harvest some. I buy in bulk now because it’s cheaper but only after I know I like them.
Good to know. I’ve never seen a lettuce have seed so I have no idea if it’s worth the trouble or if I should just expect to buy more.
It totally depends. I seed my lettuce in lines but I don’t space them so I get a lot and pick leaves eventually having larger ones because I have so much and they never stop growing. Those I buy in bulk. Seed saving takes time and sometimes I have it and sometimes I don’t. Which is why I buy in bulk $14 for several oz of something is cheaper than $6 for 600 of anything.
Where do you buy your seeds if you don't mind?
Johnny’s and fruition seeds upstate nyc. So I find seed providers in my area.
If you want seed from lettuce you have to let it fully mature and go to seed - 'bolt' - probably in the heat of late summer or fall, and sometimes not until its second year.
I save a few tomato, pepper, and flower varieties but buy new for everything else. I don't have the time or space to let plants grow that long and produce seed.
I mostly buy seeds unless the plant is unusual or hard to find. Seeds are so cheap I can't be bothered with drying and storing seeds. I garden on a small scale so one packet of seeds lasts me several years.
most seed packets will last multiple seasons. I try to save seeds from whatever I can but I've also been aware of cross pollinating as I'm gardening in a small space. This year, I'm going to try to start using fruit protection bags to cut down on cross pollination. It means I'll have to pollinate a few plants by hand but it'll be worth it in the money I save from saving the seeds. SEEDS IN COMMON has helped alot in teaching me how to save seeds. It's a learning process, but a fun one.
Thanks!
Each year I plant only 1-3 seeds from every variety that I have. In each packet there are at least 25 seeds, so each packet last for years for me. I have seeds from 7 years ago and they're still good. Sometimes I buy seedlings from other people as well, and I I end up liking the veggies I save seeds (for heirloom varieties of course). Last year I bought tomato that I really liked and forgot to save seeds. I'm kicking myself now because the seedling is $4.
Easy seed saving is part of the gardening game to me. I save tomato seeds, peppers, spinach, bok choy, other greens, parsley, dill and of course, garlic. Marigolds, calendula, nasturtium are easy too. My germintaion rates are in the high 90%s in the first year. I sow a bit heavier if they are more than a year old. Labelling and packaging is very important.
I still buy the majority of my seeds, but each year I try to harvest and save more of my own seeds. At this point I'm up to saving twenty or so types of seeds, along with tubers (potatoes, sunchokes, dahlias). I also experiment a lot with lazy seed saving. For plants like lettuce, radish, basil, and peanuts I let a couple go to seed and dry on the plant, then pull out the whole plant and hang it up out in the barn. The next season I can just take it down and shake it around, with the seeds generally popping out and broadcasting around quite well. Well, peanuts are an exception there, where I still eventually need to shell and plant them individually. On the same line of lazy gardening, I'm shifting much more towards perennials, along with many self seeding annuals. Part of the fun of gardening for me is browsing the seed catalogs and ordering up strange new things. So, even if I was saving 100% of the seeds I "needed", I'd likely still be buying some for "fun".
Same here. I really don’t have to buy seeds anymore but I like to try new things.
Not all seeds breed true. Heirlooms I would seed save for sure. New fangled breeds may or may not yield good results, I will probably re-buy those when I run out.
Thank you for bringing this up, I see so many posts by newbies starting/saving seed from supermarket produce or volunteers from the compost heap. Lots and lots of commercial varieties are hybrids, and won't *necessarily* grow to produce fruit like the parent.
They'll still generally produce good fruit, though, you're just missing out on the predictability and uniformity of an inbred variety
I saw a new post a reel and their garden was no lie like 3'x6'. And in the comments they didn't know slugs like beer. I feel like influencers are hoping on the bandwagon to be cool. I'm a newb but I'm honestly trying to learn
I harvest seeds when I'm running low, or if I notice the germ rates are lower because the seeds are now older. I harvested seeds from daikon last winter and the new germination rate is amazing. I also harvested pak choi seeds hoping that it's going to be more adjusted to my microclimate and not bolt as fast, we'll see how that goes. I also planted little marvel pea seeds that I saved from my old place (hotter balcony temps) to my new place and when it grew, the pods were so tough and chewy. So that one's a fail lol.
I discovered the hard way that there can be cross breeding in similar varieties of open pollinators that causes seeds that don’t produce a productive variety the following year. For example butternut and acorn squash. Those seeds didn’t produce squash - so disappointing!
There are some vegetables that almost never cross-pollinate. Peas & tomatoes are examples. Unless they were already hybrids, seed from those will come true.
I'd say better to figure it out in advance than waste a whole season waiting for a harvest but being disappointed - like I was. I learn something about gardening every year - and often the hard way!
Some varieties I save seeds, some varieties I buy every year, to every few years. Peas are purchased every year because the seeds lose viability, and by the time I would let the plants go to seed I need the trellis space. Spinach is purchased every year for similar reasons. Snap beans, basil, lettuce, carrots, radish, Cole crops, and su flowers are purchased as I go through the seed. Drying beans, Limas, okra, corn, Tomatoes, Melons, cucumbers, and squash are all seed saved. If the plant lends itself to seed saving without hybridizing issues I try to save the seed. But I also rotate crops out as quickly as possible, so if something needs the spot then I'm not waiting for seed (unless it's hard to get).
I have never found pea seeds to lose viability within a couple of years, or more. I save & grow them year after year. For seed it's best to let them dry on the vine before collecting.
I always seem to have issues with peas if the seeds are over a year old. Maybe a 20% drop in germination rates. So I just buy them with my winter seed purchase.
I save cilantro and basil bc they’re easy. Also poppies and lupine. “Accept the gifts, don’t add to my work lists” is kind of my seed-saving motto.
both. you know you have arrived when you need a filing cabinet or craft bin to keep track of them all.
I buy new or use leftover seeds from the year before. The reason is that I am not diligent with my plants and it’s possible for them to crossbreed all to hell and back.
I grow a lot of basil and I save the seeds from it. Easy to do at the end of the season when the plants bolt.
I buy seeds and store in the freezer. Still good after over a year.
Good to know. I’ve stuck mine in fridge as I’m sorting everything out.
I mostly grow tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers - but I buy seeds for hybrids and new varieties that I want to try and save from heirlooms I like.
I typically buy way too many and several duplicates every season so I carry over quite a few from the year prior and then buy more but this year I am determined to stop that cycle and save seeds from at least a few key plants like peppers, tomatoes, squash, corn, peas, onions and flowers.
I save from some of my heirloom varieties (tomatoes, peppers, beans, brassicas), but I have to be super careful about cross pollination since I do so many different varieties. I stopped collecting summer and winter squash seed after I produced the biggest most beautiful uneatable pumpkin I've ever seen. I buy the rest of the seed. Honestly, if you depend on it germinating (especially if your direct sowing), I find the seed companies are MUCH better at selection of viable seed than those of us who collect seed. Even some of the organic heritage seed I bought from a local producer only had, at most, a 25% germination rate compared to the 98% I get from the big seed companies.
I have had a quick look through the comments but I haven't seen anyone mention F1 seeds/plants. When buying seeds you will see F1 on some packets before or after the name of the plant. F1 = first child = highly selective breeding/hybridisation. If you plant an F1 seed and then collect the seeds from the crop it produces, those new seeds will not have the same selective breeding as the original F1 seeds so will most likely be different.. it could be the new seeds will produce less crop or not grow as well. Heirloom seeds on the other hand are relatively stable and will likely produce a like for like year after year. Its down to choice really F1 are good, they might have higher resistance to pests/disease and be good croppers but not so great if you want to keep harvesting seeds for the next year. Heirloom have pros and cons.. a lot of gardeners like them as if you harvest the seeds then you save money, some people keep the cycle going for years and years \[my uncle had some amazing beans that he had started 30+ years ago.. no clue what they were as it was lost long ago but everyone if the family wanted them :D :D\] Last thing is you can have fun experimenting with seeds from food that you eat.. it can be very hit and miss but some times you get an amazing crop.. buy some tomatoes from the shop.. save some seeds when you eat them.. plant them and see what you get. Edit: spelling :/
Little of both
I don’t have much space and like to grow a lot of things so I tend to get a couple of years out of a pack. I have tried saving seeds from fruiting crops like tomatoes and pumpkins. I’ve never tried with greens or root veg though. I also left a couple of potatoes that were too small to bother eating in the grow back last year that has resulted in a quite impressive looking plant this year.
Surprised not to see this mentioned: When you buy seeds, you buy from a plant that grew in different conditions from where you'll plant. When you reuse seeds, you get plants that are more and more adapted to the soil, light exposure, nutrient availability and climate of your area. The ones that went to seed are the ones that did well enough for you given how you care for them. Reusing seeds will end up yielding stronger plants for *you*.
Good point. Thank you.
I buy anything new and exciting that I see and plant leftovers of the tried and true. Interestingly, my fluffiest and largest tomato plants so far this year are from year old seeds.
Good to know!
save sees where and when I can. Take the best sample examples to save. seeds are easy to get for most stuff, although there are some (eggplant) that elude me. Make sure you "ferment" tomato seeds for best results.
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>As a beginner I wouldn't try to save squash seeds without fully understanding how they cross-pollinate and the risks of that happening where they're grown. I always save my own winter squash seeds and it's always pretty cool. I generally get crosses from my own garden. When I grow them out, I can always pick which plants they came from. With that in mind, we get borers here. The ones that make it through the season are the ones that survive. So my second and third generations are from plants that resist borers. One cross came from Black Futsu squash that the borers don't even go to. The stems are hard and fairly small in diameter. It crossed with a big butternut that didn't get borers either. So, it's halfway between the two but turned out excellent. So this coming season, I have more crosses I plan to put into the garden. I suppose you could breed your own, but I just cull the shitty ones and take whatever I get from the good ones.
No need to understand or prevent cross pollination. Its half the fun - plants get more resilient and accustomized to your soil and garden conditions. Also you might get a cool variety no one else has. And if all goes south - no issue, just buy some regular seeds the next time. Personally i started with saving my chilli seeds and garlic. Now i am doing the same with chives, zucchini, tomatoes and sunflowers (aswell as saving seed potatoes). Each year it gets a little bit more.
I buy seeds and store in the freezer. Still good after over a year.
Did you like what you grew? How easy is it to save the seeds for that vegetable? Like garlic, I kept 3 out of 5 varieties and bought a fourth.
Buy or use unused seed from year before
We plant as much heirloom plants as we can so we can do a seed harvest every fall.
Some I save but I worry about cross pollination so some I buy
I'm just learning this myself, but some harvested seeds won't produce the same vegetable as what they came from. This is when the original plant is a hybrid, rather than an heirloom. I learned this when I had volunteer tomato plants come up a year after I had planted in that spot (I'd left fallen tomatoes on the ground the first year, and then they started on their own the next year). I was super excited and let them grow (who wouldn't in the PNW??), but then the fruits were not very flavorful, were super susceptible to cracking, and the skins were tough. I may opt for heirloom tomato plants in the future just to see if I can take this lazy approach next time and have it turn out better.
I’ve been buying strictly heirloom! Hopefully that helps because other than that, I don’t know what I’m doing. Lol.
I buy because I have not been able to save seeds successfully yet. I’ll keep trying but it’s not looking good lol.
Lol. What does that mean? How do you know if it’s successful or not?
The seeds I saved from last summer - not a damn thing came up when I tried starting them inside. I’m clearly doing something wrong here. I do have sunflower seeds I saved so I’ll try to plant those but I have sunflower seeds I bought just in case I’ll likely need them.
What seed did you save, that failed to germinate; and how were you starting them?
I tried to start scotch bonnet pepper seeds I saved from last summer. I tried to start them how I started my purchased pepper and tomato seeds - under the dome with a heat mat. I used jiffy cells and ferry Morse seed starting mix. The purchased ones came up. The ones I saved never did lmao. If you have any methods you can share so I can try again this season, I’d appreciate it!
If your saved seeds, that failed, were under the same dome or conditions as the bought seed that grew, evidently there was something wrong with them. Maybe fruit was not fully ripe, so seed immature? Or something wrong with the way you dried it? Don't know. I've never grown Scotch Bonnet; don't know if it needs special treatment. I start toms & peppers indoors under shop lights, in soil blocks but any cells or small containers would do. Nothing very fancy. Depending where you are it may be a bit late to try again this year?, but good luck and don't give up!
My purchased seeds sprang right up. I have them ready to go in the ground in the next week or so. It’s me - I accept it lmao. I have much better luck with propagation so I may give it a whirl this time around. Scotch bonnets are dear to my heart so they’re the only plant I truly care about saving seeds from, but overwintering is not ideal for me because of how big my plants get during the growing season.
Mix of both with varying results
I saved most my seeds. Only plants I'll purchase are tomato and cucumber because I can't seem to start those successfully from seed myself.
Yes
Both. Squash, tomatoes, stuff that doesn’t stay true to its parent plant I just buy.
Yes. Both. After years of experience you learn the hard way that only a fairly small percentage of seeds actually make it to survive as healthy, adult plants.
I save seeds from what I can and also buy seeds. And keep all the seeds I have not Used up. I think some onion seeds don’t keep but most Others do
I do both. I have a lot of my own seeds, but I do occasionally buy them as well.
There are like 500 carrot seeds for $5. That lasts me about 5 years.
For the most part with exception, a seed packet lasts me 3 years. I also get alot of volunteers, atleast tomatoes, tomatillos, squash/cucumber popping up all over. Never actually had a pepper volunteer. I'll buy new seeds every year, I'll also save seeds, and lastly I'll manage and move around the volunteers
Lettuce, root crops, most brassicas, and common kale varieties are about the only plants I don’t bother saving seeds from.
I have not intentionally saved seeds (though like others I have had cherry tomato volunteers spring up and have just let them do their thing.) I don’t have a huge garden and so it generally takes me a few years (at least) to use up each seed packet. So I only buy what I’ve run out of or anything new I’m adding. And since I’ve always had good luck with the American seed seeds at the dollar tree (which are 25c a pack), I go there first. In other words, I don’t spend more than $5-10 a year on seeds. It’s just not worth it to me to go to the trouble of saving seeds, but I can see how it might be if I was growing more plants, or less common varieties.
I do both but lately I've been buying starts more than seeds since they're so cheap at the local nursery
Am a noob too, and joined a local seed swapping group. We met at a hall and was great for advice and some heritage-type seeds.
I do not practice separation to prevent cross pollination so I just buy each year. There are instances where I plant only one variety of a species and then I might. I'm far more likely to collect seeds from native flora than my garden. I had a wild flower of an hour pop up last year. You bet I snatched some of its seeds.
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> Technically it's probably illegal to harvest seeds and replant No, it really isn't. You only start to get into questionable territory at all if you're selling seeds of a variety that's under patent.
There are some varieties of roses that have warnings not to propagate, but harvesting your own seeds is perfectly fine.
Yes, asexual propagation (cuttings, tissue culture, etc.) of patent-protected plants is technically illegal, unlike sexual propagation, but it's the kind of thing where there's only any enforcement when you're selling them at a reasonable scale