Save Your Seeds to Grow Next Year’s Garden

Every year around this time, I am often asked, “Can you harvest seeds from this year’s plants?” And my answer is absolutely! There are no guarantees in life, especially when it comes to nature and its conditions. Saving seeds is a great way to ensure that next year’s harvest will produce greater results than the year before.

In recent years, the price of seeds has risen steadily while the number of seeds in a packet has fallen – often as a few as 25 seeds per packet. When possible, saving seeds from year to year can not only save money on gardening but also allow the seeds to adapt to the local conditions and create new varieties. Personally, it is incredibly satisfying watching seeds grow during the off-season and mature from flower to seed.

When deciding to save seeds, it’s important to save as many seeds as possible; it’s better to have too many than not enough. Whether it’s a vegetable, herb or flower, all seeds can be saved. The dry seeds can be stored in old mason jars or baby food jars. Once the jar is full with the seeds, it should be stored in a cool, dry place. And always remember to label the jars – as much as we may think we’ll remember which seed is which next year, in my experience, we never do!

Although saving seeds is an easy process, there are a few tips to keep in mind:

• Only save seeds from heirloom or open-pollinated varieties. Although hybrid seeds will grow, the final product will not be as the one originally planned.
• To prevent cross-pollination, isolate varieties. Simply put nylon around a cluster of flowers buds and remove after the plant starts to form.

Saving seeds year-to-year from a well maintained garden ensures a favorite variety can continue to grow while maintaining old favorites. For a little bit of effort, you get plenty of rewards!