How to store vegetable seeds for the next year

Every plant produces lots of seeds that can be used for the next year, if they are dried and stored properly. These seeds can also be shared with fellow gardeners. It’s best to grow native plants rather than hybrid and Gmos as native plants are more resilient to climate change. So it’s essential to preserve native seeds. Most seeds need to be dried properly anNow let’s see how to store vegetable seeds

How to store vegetable seeds

For beginner gardeners, you can start by saving tomato, cucumber and pepper seeds. It’s essential to collect seeds from plants that are healthy and resilient.

Tomato and Cucumber

Pick an overripe vegetable and gather the seeds. As the seeds contain pulp, wash the seeds in water and soak them in a jar containing water. Stir the water everyday. After a few days the seeds become free of pulp, collect the seeds and dry them well then store them in containers.

Pepper

Collect the seeds when the fruit dries up and gets wrinkled. Slice off the pepper in the bottom part as most seeds are located in the top. You can also cut the pepper in half and remove the seeds. After removing the seeds spread them in trays so that they can dry well. After a week you can  store them in jars.

Peas and Beans

Allow the pods to ripen and dry up. Collect the pods and dry them in trays. You can either shell the pods after a week and store them in containers or you can sow them in the next spring season.

Squash and Pumpkins

After squash and pumpkins overripe you can remove the seeds and wash them in running water to remove any kind of pulp that is in the seeds.

Spread them in trays and dry them well before storing them in containers.

Cantaloupe and Musk melon

Seeds from these plants contain fibres and debris attached to them. Wash them well to remove these fibres and debris and dry them in trays.

Radish

To obtain radish seeds you must allow them to bolt. Radish starts to develop flowers during the bolting process. Radish seeds come from the pod after the flowers in the radish have dried out. The radish becomes inedible when you collect the seeds but you can collect lots of seeds from a single radish.Remove the seed pods using a pruner and spread them in trays. Remove the pods and collect the seeds. Allow them to dry well before storing in containers.

Coriander

Allow the coriander plant to flower and then cut the coriander at the base of the stem. Allow them to dry well and after they have dried up rub them off from the stem to collect the seeds. Allow the seeds to dry well and store them in containers.