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Index : Miscellaneous Gardening Topics
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- 39. Saving Garden Seed from Year to Year - Top
- The time is rapidly approaching to begin starting your seed for this coming spring's garden crop. Most vegetables will take 3 to 4 weeks to grow from seed to a seedling of size and vigor, fit enough to be planted out into the garden. Early plantings of tomatoes, peppers, squash, and eggplants can go into the garden in March. That means it's time to get you seeds ready to start.
If you have seeds saved from last year or before, no doubt they can be used. However, keep in mind that the viability (ability of the seed to germinate) will be effected over time. According to Agriculture Science Experts at Penn State University the shelf life of some popular vegetables are as follows:
Five Years: Cucumber, endive and muskmelon.
Four Years: Cabbage, cauliflower, eggplant, pumpkin, radish and squash.
Three Years: Beans, celery, carrot, lettuce, pea, spinach and tomato
Two Years: Beets, and pepper seeds.
One Year: Sweet corn, onion, parsley and parsnips.
These times are based on optimal storage conditions which include keeping seeds cool and dry. It's no problem keeping them dry here in Arizona. The cool part can be accomplished by storing seeds in the frig at temperatures between 35 and 41 degrees.
If you don't want to store seeds in refrigerator, at least keep them dry by placing them in air-tight containers, such as glass jars with screw top lids. Plastic 35 mm film containers are also ideal for seed storage. Many photo shops around town will give you all the plastic film containers you want, free of charge!
Regardless of the way your seeds are stored, you can check their viability using a simple germination test. Take several seeds from each of your seed packets and wrap them in moist paper toweling. Place the paper toweling in a sealable plastic bag, in a warm location in the house. Check the seeds every few days to see if they have germinated.
At the end of 10 days all the seeds that are capable of germination will have germinated. Even if only a small percentage of the seeds sprouted, that's ok. You can still use the seeds. Just plant more than you ultimately need, to compensate for the loss in viability.
Flower seeds may also be stored, some such as marigold, cosmos, stock, pansy, petunia and verbena will keep for several years. Just check seed viability using the same germination test.
Many gardeners prefer collecting garden seed from their own plants. This is fine to do, but keep in mind that if those plants were hybrid varieties then the seeds you collect, although potentially viable, will not grow a plant with the same characteristics as the mother plant.
If you are growing open-pollinated heirloom vegetables or flowers, the seed can be collected and planted in subsequent seasons. With some potential for variation, you will have much the same plant in the offspring as you had with the parent, including fruit quality and taste.
Many gardeners prefer growing heirloom plants because they like to collect their own garden seed and because they can grow some of the tastiest varieties of by-gone years. Garden stores are now stocking some heirloom seed and there are a host of mail order catalogs; many which sell nothing but heirloom seeds. Native Seeds / SEARCH, here in Tucson, is an excellent source of heirloom seeds from vegetables grown by generations of Native peoples of the Southwest.
Regardless of the type of seed you collect, purchase or store all will fail if not provided the proper conditions for germination. A good seed starting mix, one that stays moist but not soppy wet is critical. Seeds, prior to and after sprouting should be kept warm and moist. Letting the soil dry out, even for short periods of time, can result in failure. Seeds should also be kept in a warm location. For best germination results, temperatures should be maintained between 80 an 90 degrees Fahrenheit. Seeds will germinate at lower temperatures but will take much longer to do so.
"The How-To's of Drip Irrigation" is the topic for this week's garden demonstration. It will be presented on Wednesday at 9 a.m. at the Pima county Extension Center, 4210 N. Campbell Ave; and at 1 p.m. at the Wilmot Library, 530 N. Wilmot Road; and again on Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Marana Planning Services on the Northwest corner of Orange Grove and Thornydale.
Written by John Begeman, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, the University of Arizona, 520-626-5161. - Updated: January 27, 2002
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