On todays episode we are going to save some seeds.
I found three of my favourite crops this year and want to grow them in my garden for years to come. These Snap peas, Basil and my Sweet N Neat cherry tomatoes.
Saving seeds from your garden is one of the best ways to make the initial investment in the plant or seed packages continue to pay off for years to come.
Lets start off with peas. These are the best snap peas I have grown in years and I wanted to save some. Saving pea seeds is as simple as leaving the fruit on the plant until it starts to dry out.
Remove the seeds from the pods and let them dry in a dark location. If your confident they are dry you can store them in a paper bag with the rest of your seeds. If stored correctly they should be viable for the next 5 years.
Tomatoes can be one of the funnest seeds to save and share. Traditionally you will want to remove the protective membrane around the skin using a fermentation process.
its fairly simple and can be done in your kitchen. simply remove the seeds from the tomato into a mason jar with clean water in it.
Cover the top with a coffee filter to allow air movement but limit anything else from getting in and out. refresh the water every day for a few days. T
once you can see that the jelly layer is gone your done fermenting.
you can collect the seeds and spread them out on a coffee filter to air dry. Once dry you can store the seeds with the rest of your collection.
Tomato seeds are amazingly hardy. Volunteer tomatoes can often be found at waste water treatment plants after having gone though the entire treatment system. because they are so hardy freezing tomato seeds is a quick way to save them. Toss the whole fruit in the freezer and plant it all when you want to grow the tomato.
the germination rate of the seeds drops significantly however if you flash freeze them you should still get some to germinate.
Basil is an easy seed to save. All I do is let it grow flower and drop the seeds. They will keep perfectly fine under the snow and germinate in the spring. This can be done with lots of different plants effectively turning annuals into perennials.
Dry seeds should still be viable for 3-5 years and frozen ones if left frozen should be good for longer.
When storing seeds it is important to keep them away from light and moisture. Both light and moisture can cause damage to the seeds making them unable to germinate.
