How To Save Seeds
Learning how to save seeds increases self-sufficiency as it allows us to grow healthy, productive plants year after year. However, different seeds will require different care to save them for another harvest. Here are a few tips and tricks on how to save seeds!
Be aware if your seeds are Annual, Biennial, or Perennial. Not all plants are limited to a single growing season. Those that do, such as tomatoes, lettuce, and peppers, are called annuals. Biennials, such as carrots and onions, don’t flower until their second growing season, after they have gone through a cold period. Some long-lived plants, like apple trees and asparagus, are perennial, surviving and flowering for many years.
Save seeds from open-pollinated plants. These are plants that will retain their distinct characteristics generation to generation. This means, with minimal care, the seeds you save will be true-to-type, producing the same quality of harvest as the plant you originally saved them from.
Hybrid plants are not as successful to harvest seeds from. Hybrid plants are deliberately cross bred between two different plant species to make a new type of plant. This allows the new plant to inherit certain desirable traits from its parents – however, the seeds from these hybrid plants will not produce the same harvest as the plant you save them from. Instead, they may revert to one of the parent plants, or produce a new combination of genetics that are frequently unpalatable. Check if your store-bought seeds are hybrids or open pollinated by looking at the packet. Open-pollinated seeds will be marked with the abbreviation “OP!”
Grocery store produce is more likely to be hybrids. If they aren’t, they may have been sprayed with certain chemicals to stop them from germinating. This means that seeds saved from veggies or fruit bought at the store are less likely to reproduce new harvest. They’re better off being composted instead!
Start with plants that are easy to save. Crops like peas, beans, peppers, lettuce, and tomatoes are great for beginning seed savers. This is because they are self-pollinators! Self-pollinators fertilize themselves, meaning any seeds saved will be true-to-type. Cross-pollinators, on the other hand, require pollen from other plants in the same species to become fertilized, which means they may create hybrids amongst themselves. This can result in crossovers such as a pumpkin with a zucchini, as they are both types of squash! Cross-pollinator seeds can still be saved, but they take quite a bit more time and experience.
Different seeds may have specific steps on how to save them. There are websites all throughout the internet that provide detailed steps on how to save specific types of seeds. Check out the Master Gardeners (https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/vegetables/vegetable-garden-basics/seed-saving-basics/), or sites like Salt Spring Seeds (https://www.saltspringseeds.com/pages/how-to-save-seeds) and The House and Homestead (https://thehouseandhomestead.com/how-to-save-seeds/).
How to Donate Seeds
Collect and clean seeds from your healthiest and most successful crops, setting aside some for yourself and some for the library. We’re happy to accept donations of your open-pollinated, heirloom, and/or locally saved seeds in any quantity. PLEASE NOTE: Seeds from grocery store produce are NOT the best suited for being saved or donated! Know how your plant reproduces, if it is self pollinating or if it easily cross pollinates with other varieties of the same species (ex: squash.)
To donate seeds bring them to the Library in a disposable container (i.e., a sandwich bag, an envelope, etc.) or their original seed packet and bring it to the Front Desk.
You will be given a Donation slip to fill out and be kept with your donated seeds.
Click here to view and download the seed donation form.