Cosentino: Saving those seeds, part two

Last week, this column covered the reasons that one might take up the hobby of saving seeds from garden plants. Among the reasons were to be able to reproduce the fruits, flowers and vegetables that you liked best year after year. It can be, indeed, a money-saving hobby. Just think of the prices on those seed packets, and if you do not buy the higher-priced seeds, you have the chance of getting poor crops as the result of poor harvesting and storage of those cheaper seeds. And then there is the fun and joy of knowing that you did it yourself, all the way from harvesting, storing, germinating and growing the plants.

Then there was a bit of advice to start with just a few types of seeds the first year so you can get used to the processes and succeed. Overdoing that first year often leads to failure, which leads to giving up all together. It is important, too, to do a little reading on the topic. Spending a couple of hours at our Seymour Library, browsing through gardening magazines and books, will be time well-spent on the road to success. And if you have access to a computer, get on it and learn. Not too good on computers? Ask around; you probably have a grandchild who will be anxious to help grandma or grandpa.

I believe that harvesting the seeds is the most difficult to learn, but the most important. This is a matter of trial and error, and keeping some records. It is best to harvest before or several days after a rainfall. Seeds may absorb a lot of water and take much longer to dry for storage. A heavy frost might ruin the seed for germination. The seed pod must be left on the plant until it matures. It is a look that you will get the feel of. Frequently check your flowering plants for fading flowers. If the seed pod is turning brown, it is most probably ready. Again, trial and error. In many cases you can collect the pods when still green, but place them in a paper bag or on several thicknesses of newspapers or paper towels, and leave them in a cool place.

Crops like tomatoes, eggplant and cucumbers are classified as wet crops and are different from the dry crops in the previous paragraph. With fruits such as these, the fruits are left on the plant to mature and are ready for seed collection when they are just beginning to rot. Just squish away over a strainer and, as above, dry the seeds on newspaper in a cool, dry place in your home.

Some things that will help ensure success: Have some rubber bands and small paper sandwich bags available. When a seed pod looks mature, just secure a bag over the pod with a rubber band and check it every few days. After a small amount of time, that seed pod will have burst, and your seeds can be scraped into a dish. At this point you will have a lot of plant parts mixed with the seeds. I have found the easiest way to get the seeds separated is to gently blow air through a very small fan. Very small seeds can be sorted through a fine mesh kitchen strainer, while larger ones can be lifted with tweezers.

Carmen Cosentino

It is always a good idea to harvest each item that you are going to dry early in the season and again mid- or late in the season, “just in case.” Because this is your first season, and it is already underway, you will dry what is available and you can plan for next year. If you want the following year’s plants to come true, you will need to separate some varieties to prevent cross-pollination. For example, if you are growing three varieties of marigolds, or any flowering plant, they need to be separated into different areas of the garden. Yes, this applies to all flowers and veggies.

Once you have done it all, including letting them dry thoroughly, it is time to store them. I still use some plastic envelopes. But I do have a great collection of pill bottles that are just the right size. That happens when you get older.

There you have it: a brief introduction to collecting seeds. I hope that I have piqued your interest.

Be well. Keep at the weeds in the garden.

Carmen Cosentino operates Cosentino's Florist in Auburn with his daughter, Jessica. He was elected to the National Floriculture Hall of Fame in 1998, and in 2008, received the Tommy Bright award for lifetime achievements in floral education. In 2016, Carmen and Jessica were presented Teleflora's Tom Butler Award, naming Cosentino's the florist of the year at the company's annual meeting in Hawaii. Carmen can be reached at [email protected] or (315) 253-5316.

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