Saving seeds from our homegrown vegetables is another step up on the ladder of self-sufficiency, and it can help trim the cost of growing our own vegetables too. So get your pruners, envelopes, and seed boxes at the ready – it’s time to harvest some seeds!
Peas and Beans
And where better to begin than with the very easiest group of vegetables to save seed from – peas and beans. These legumes are so satisfying to save because you can literally see the seeds swell within the pod. The pod then turns straw-brown and crisp to the touch, which is our cue that they’re ready to harvest for seed.
Beans will keep on producing pods so long as you keep picking them, so only save seeds from them right at the end of the growing season, once pod production has slowed right down. Leave the remaining pods to fully ripen to a straw colour, and then gather them up.
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Once pods have dried to pale brown, pop out the beans to finish the drying process
Check the bean seeds as you work through the pods, and discard any that are very small, damaged, diseased, shrivelled or misshapen.
After shelling your beans or peas, let them continue drying to make sure they are completely ready for storing. Spread them out onto newspaper and keep them on a warm indoor windowsill to finish drying. They should be done within about a week.
Once they’re dry, pop them into an envelope labeled with the crop name and variety, and the date the seeds were harvested. We’ll be looking at how best to store seeds later on.
Peppers
Peppers (and tomatoes, which we’ll look at in a moment) are easy to save seeds from because the seeds are ready once fruits are ripe to harvest for eating, nicely removing any guesswork.
It’s best to only save seeds from open-pollinated, non-hybrid varieties of any vegetables. That’s because hybrid seeds are produced from two specific parent varieties, so when you save the seeds from hybrids the resulting seedlings may revert back to one of the parents, or be an unpredictable mix of the two – you’re highly unlikely to get the same variety you started with.
Slice your pepper open then cut out and pick off the seeds. Both sweet and chilli peppers can cross-pollinate, meaning the pollen carried from one variety could easily fertilise another, so if you want to guarantee the variety you’re going to raise grow different varieties well away from each other to avoid their genes becoming mixed up.
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Seeds from ripe peppers are ready to dry out and save
With the seeds removed, dry them somewhere warm for about a week on newspaper, paper towel, or a fine mesh screen.
Once the seeds have finished drying they become nice and loose, and rattle when you shake them. Pop them into an envelope labeled with the variety and date of harvest.
It’s easiest to remove the seeds from long, thin chilli peppers if the whole fruit is dried first. Thread them onto string then hang them up to air dry, or pop them in a dehydrator. It’s then just a matter of twizzling the seeds out between your fingers and thumbs. The rest of the dried chilli can then be stored in an airtight jar to use whenever a hit of heat’s called for, or you can grind it up into a powder.
Tomatoes
Most tomatoes self-pollinate, which makes them very likely to give seeds that are a match to the parent plant. To save these seeds, we need perfectly ripe tomatoes. The gel around the seeds can inhibit germination so it needs to be removed, and this will also reduce the risk of any seedborne diseases hitching a ride. To clean the seed, we can ferment them.
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Fermenting tomato seeds cleans them up and improves germination
Fermenting seeds might sound a bit technical, but it couldn’t be easier. Tip the seeds and surrounding pulp into a jar along with a splash of water to loosen everything up. Put the lid on, and leave it to sit at room temperature for between four and seven days. Give the jar a little swirl a few times a day to help the pulp fall away from the seeds.
Once fermented, most of the seeds should have sunk to the bottom of the jar, and you may be left with a scummy layer on top. All the gunk can be skimmed off and discarded. Pour the seeds into a strainer and pour over water to clean them off.
Dry the seeds on a paper plate or a coffee filter for a week or so. Help them along by separating the seeds from each other, and dry them in an airy place at room temperature before storing in labeled envelopes.
Some gardeners don’t bother with this fermentation step but it really does improve the overall germination rate, and it leaves super-clean and vibrant seeds. It doesn’t take long, and it will give you extra peace of mind.
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Isolate and hand-pollinate squashes, then tie on a ribbon so you know which fruit to save seeds from
Squashes and Pumpkins
Winter squashes and pumpkins are great fun to save seed from. If you’re growing just one type of squash, you’ll probably be fine just harvesting the mature fruits, once they’re ready, then scooping out the seeds, but if you’re growing more than one variety, you’ll need to restrict cross-pollination. Don’t worry about trying to isolate whole plants – isolate the flowers instead. First identify a female flower (or flowers). It will have a swelling behind the bloom, which is the embryonic fruit. The female flower can then be covered with a little muslin or organza bag, tied loosely onto the stem just behind the flower.
Remove the bag to hand-pollinate it by taking some pollen from a male flower (those are the ones with the straight, non-swollen stems behind the blooms). Pick the male flower, peel back the petals, then gently brush the stamen (the male reproductive part) against the pistil (the female reproductive part) in the center of your female flower. Then replace the bag until the flower drops off, at which point it can be removed to allow the fruit to swell. To remember which fruit you’ll be saving seed from, tie a brightly colored ribbon to the relevant stem.
Squash seed is easy to harvest by simply scooping out the seeds three weeks after harvesting the fruit. This will give them plenty of time to finish ripening. Wash off the pulp then spread them out to fully dry over about two weeks, mixing or turning the seeds every now and then to ensure they are fully dried.
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Overwinter biennial vegetables to save seeds in their second year
Biennial Vegetables
Many of the veggies we grow are biennials, which simply means they flower and set seed in their second year of life. Crops such as carrots, beetroot, lettuce, chard, and onion family vegetables including leeks and shallots are all biennials. To save seed from them, leave several plants to overwinter and grow on into their second summer, at which point they’ll flower and produce seeds.
If your winters are very cold, you can help vegetables to overwinter by applying a thick, cozy mulch around the vegetables to protect them a little and prevent the soil from freezing rock hard for months on end.
Onion, leek and shallot flowers need to cross-pollinate between blooms, so if you want to save seeds, be sure to overwinter a few plants to allow for this. The flowers are stunners, though, and a real boon for bees, so that shouldn’t be a problem! Once the seedheads are dry, just shake them vigorously to release the small black seeds.
Lettuces produce seeds in incredible profusion. They are fluffy like dandelion seeds. The easiest way to collect the seeds is to hang plants upside down to dry out. Then, after a few weeks, pop a sheet under them and rub the seedheads between your hands to separate out the seeds. Then just blow across them to remove any fluff or chaff.
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Paper envelopes help keep seeds in good condition
How to Store Your Saved Seeds For Longer
Paper envelopes ensure air can freely exchange, keeping your living seeds healthy. I like to store seeds in a lidded container with a few silica gel desiccant packets thrown in to help keep the air nice and dry. The type of container you use matters too: studies have shown that glass or metal containers are best, followed by plastic.
Seeds should last for at least a year – potentially more – if they’re kept in a cool, dry, steady environment. If you plan on using your seeds the following season, just store your seed box in a cool room, in the dark. But it’s very easy to extend the life of your seeds by storing them in a refrigerator or freezer kept at a consistent temperature.
