Re: Time for Seed Saving

**llama momma** 10/18/2013, 11:21 pm

plantoid wrote:LM ,
I'm glad you picked up on the wrong name I used...... it's this dyslexia thing ..I keep making a mucking fuddle of me worms.

**llama momma** 10/18/2013, 11:26 pm

plantoid wrote:One thing that puzzles me .

If you successfully get good crops after harvesting F1 seeds and for the next few years you select the best crops for seeds how may years is it before you are said to have established a new variety ?

I'm on third my year for some crops.

That's a good question.... who's got the rule book for all this stuff anyway?

plantoid 10/20/2013, 6:42 pm

Marc Iverson wrote:Hybrids can be patented, right? So I wonder if experimenting with breeding them and trying to stabilize a new variety has legal ramifications.

I suspect that :-

If the F1 is " wild fertilized " it becomes a new variety as the offspring from the saved seed will not be a true F1 . Very occasionally the wild pollenated seeds outperform the lab condition pollinated F1 .

If it is singularly pollinated by hand in an insect free shed using other F1's of the same type then you'd be into patent problems .

If you use stem cuttings to clone then you're making identical plants and again you'll be hitting patent problems.

floyd1440 10/20/2013, 6:53 pm

Hey Plantiod.....

I was in my shed and found a jar of tomato seeds that I left to ferment. Long story short they dried up with the scum on top turn blackish. Put some water in for a few hours and then the seeds separated and got them out drying.

Think they will be any good????

saving seeds - Time for Seed Saving - Page 3 3170584802

saving seeds - Time for Seed Saving - Page 3 3170584802

plantoid 10/22/2013, 8:01 am

Once you have dried them put three to one side and seal up the remainder as for dry storage , label them & slip them in the refrigerator .

Take the three set aside seeds , place each seed on a 3/4 inch square of fairly damp kitchen roll which are set out on a plate or saucer or glass dish lid etc.

Cover with cling film to retain the moisture and place in a warm 70 o F ( ish ) place and see if the seeds have germinated after five days ..if needs be let the experiment run for 14 days .
If they germinate well you should have the same success with your dry stored seeds .

floyd1440 10/22/2013, 7:28 pm

plantoid wrote:Once you have dried them put three to one side and seal up the remainder as for dry storage , label them & slip them in the refrigerator .

Take the three set aside seeds , place each seed on a 3/4 inch square of fairly damp kitchen roll which are set out on a plate or saucer or glass dish lid etc.

Cover with cling film to retain the moisture and place in a warm 70 o F ( ish ) place and see if the seeds have germinated after five days ..if needs be let the experiment run for 14 days .
If they germinate well you should have the same success with your dry stored seeds .

That sounds like a good idea. Will plant some tonight and see if they germinate. I put the others in the frig and hope for the best.

They keep for 5 years?

saving seeds - Time for Seed Saving - Page 3 3170584802

GWN 10/22/2013, 11:39 pm

Does everyone keep theirs in the fridge? I have read where it is best to completely dry them and keep them OUT of the fridge, curious as to what others do.
I know I am usually off....

**Turan** 10/22/2013, 11:46 pm

I used to keep them in the fridge in a plastic box with dry milk. Then I got scatter brained. The box is next to my desk here last couple years. The fridge is over full anyways. Keeping them in the fridge is better at keeping bugs, like flour moths, out of the seeds.

happycamper 10/23/2013, 12:00 am

I have never stored vegetable seed in the refrigerator. I do however place echinacea seeds in the freezer for about two weeks in late January because they require cold stratification then I winter sow them.

floyd1440 10/23/2013, 6:10 am

GWN wrote:Does everyone keep theirs in the fridge? I have read where it is best to completely dry them and keep them OUT of the fridge, curious as to what others do.
I know I am usually off....

Never though to much about it just followed Mels advice. It seems logical to dry them first then put them somewhere to keep them dry and the frig makes perfect sense to me and have used them again. Not to say that keeping them in another dry place would not work well too......

**sanderson** 10/23/2013, 12:34 pm

My seeds are in a shoe box in my computer room. I'll find out next year if it works ok. Embarassed

plantoid 10/23/2013, 1:02 pm

I'm going solely for vacuum packing & heat-sealing seeds in home made high density poly baglets to keep them dry .
When packed & sealed up they are stored in a covered box out in the office where it's nice and cool .

saving seeds - Time for Seed Saving - Page 3 IMG_4815_zps68725352

saving seeds - Time for Seed Saving - Page 3 IMG_4815_zps68725352

Marc Iverson 10/23/2013, 7:19 pm

I'm keeping mine in the fridge, except garlic and onion sets.

Judy McConnell 3/30/2014, 12:16 pm

Our local grocerystore sells boxes of "goumet medley" salad-type tomatoes - everything from 1 1/2-2"dia orange to standard cherries (even black ones) in a plastic box.

I left part of a box of these, on a counter (forgot about them) and they have become wrinkled and moldy in many cases.

My thoughts were to de-seed some and let them dry - then plant some of the seeds - to see what might happen:

1) they might be hybrids (?? with unusual results)
2) if the fruit was sprayed (assumed that they were) - the seeds should be fairly clean, right?
3) possible diseases?? - tranmitted to my other plants?

Any thoughts?? Is this a totally rotten idea?

**sanderson** 3/30/2014, 2:42 pm

I have sprouted several tomato and pepper seeds I saved from unusual looking fruits. Decomposing (rotting) is not the same as diseased. I would try them germinating them. If they look healthy, plant them and have a Medley tomato garden.

CapeCoddess 3/30/2014, 8:33 pm

Judy McConnell wrote:Our local grocerystore sells boxes of "goumet medley" salad-type tomatoes - everything from 1 1/2-2"dia orange to standard cherries (even black ones) in a plastic box.

I left part of a box of these, on a counter (forgot about them) and they have become wrinkled and moldy in many cases.

My thoughts were to de-seed some and let them dry - then plant some of the seeds - to see what might happen:

1) they might be hybrids (?? with unusual results)
2) if the fruit was sprayed (assumed that they were) - the seeds should be fairly clean, right?
3) possible diseases?? - tranmitted to my other plants?

Any thoughts?? Is this a totally rotten idea?

yes, do it! My black cherry tomatoes came from a box of rotted tomatoes. I threw them on to my compost pile and the following year after spreading the compost they sprouted up in the Rose Garden. I save the seeds from a few of the new fruits once I tasted them and have already started them this year.

quiltbea 3/30/2014, 10:14 pm

I've had good luck saving seeds in sealed baggies in the crisper drawer year after year. My tomatoes still germinated after 5 years so I guess it doesn't hurt using this method.

Sponsored content


	Hello Guest! Welcome to the official Square Foot Gardening Forum. There's lots to learn here by reading as a guest. However, if you become a member (it's free, ad free and spam-free) you'll have access to our large vermiculite databases, our seed exchange spreadsheets, Mel's Mix calculator, and many more members' pictures in the Gallery. Enjoy.