Seeds are generally saved from annual and biennial plants. Seeds you save from your home production system are accustomed to your climate and growing medium and are adapted to pests in your area. Seeds from hybrid varieties produce a mix of offspring, many of which may have different characteristics than the parent. Seedsaving is easy; people have done it for thousands of years, in the process breeding all of the wonderful vegetables that we eat today.

Saving seed requires you to grow plants to maturity and consequently they get bigger and stay around longer than normal, so leave a bit more space around them. Saving and growing seed, year on year, is taking part in evolution. Saving garden seeds at the end of each growing season can be a great cost saving measure and a way to duplicate last year's delectable harvest.

Plants are pollinated in three differing ways, by wind, insects or by what is known as self-pollination. Plants from the same species can cross with each other producing mixes of the parent plant. Plants with pods, like beans, are ready when the pods are brown and dry. Plants pollinated by wind (such as corn and spinach) and those pollinated by insects (such as squash and cucumbers) may produce a next generation that resembles a parent, or they may cross with other varieties to turn up something entirely unique. In recent decades, there has been a major shift to purchasing seed annually from commercial seed suppliers, and to hybridized or cloned plants that do not produce seed that remains "true to type"-retaining the parent's characteristics- from seed. To be successful at seed saving, new skills need to be developed that enhance the capacity of growers to ensure that desired characteristics are retained in their plant: learning the minimum number of plants to be grown which will preserve inherent genetic diversity, recognizing the preferred characteristics of the cultivar being grown so that plants that are not breeding true are not selected for seed production. Recommended minimums number of plants for seed preservation: 25 cucumbers, squash, melons; 50-100 radishes, brassicas, mustards; 200 sweet corn. Seed saved from these plants will breed true, provided the plants have been properly isolated from different varieties of the same species.

Open-pollinated varieties will grow true to type when randomly mated within their own variety. If two varieties of spinach bloom near each other, the resultant seed is likely to be a cross between the two. Different varieties of peppers should be separated by 500 feet to avoid cross-pollination. The closer the varieties are located, the higher the amount of crossed seeds. Theoretically you should aim for at least half a mile between varieties.

Heirloom vegetables are varieties that are grown, selected,saved, named, and shared by farmers and gardeners. Heirloom plants are accessible now because people have saved seeds for domestic use throughout generations of sustenance farming. You can really cut down on your gardening costs by gardening with heirloom seeds that you save year to year. You can also save heirloom flower seeds such as: cleome, foxgloves, hollyhock, nasturtium, sweet pea, and zinnia. You are in control of heirloom varieties that do best in your garden. Saving your own seeds increases your self-sufficiency; and it can save you money. It is generally accepted that, to be an heirloom, a variety must be open pollinated and be at least fifty years old. And since heirloom seeds and the practice of seed saving also hold hope for helping feed a hungry planet, they're even more compelling today. You can save favorite heirloom seeds for your own use in your garden, breed and improve varieties, swap with friends, join seed-saving organizations, or grow seed commercially at many levels of scale--the possibilities are numerous.

Before you store your seeds, make sure that you have thoroughly dried them. Home-saved seeds will retain their vigor if thoroughly dried and saved in air proof containers in the freezer for extended storage or in a cool dry cellar for next season. While some vegetable seed can remain viable in storage for as long as 15 years or more, and grains may remain viable much longer under stable environmental conditions, every year in storage will decrease the amount of seed that will germinate. When you have processed the seeds and are ready to package for the winter, it pays to buy desicant paks for your storage containers to keep your seeds dry. Seeds should contain 3-5 percent moisture while in storage. General rule is if your can bend your seed then it still has too much moisture in it and will rupture and die if frozen. However, if you attempt to bend it and it breaks instead, then it’s probably at 8% or less and can be safely frozen. Another point is that when you remove the seeds from the freezer, allow them to come up to room temperature before handling for planting or sowing. Saving seeds in storage will safeguard your family's food crop in the event of world-wide catastrophes, war, pandemic outbreaks and other unforeseen disasters.

Seed saving can quickly become a hobby and you'll be in good company. Seed saving teaches us about the wonder of nature and by saving seeds, we complete the circle of growing. What a marvelous way to end the garden season and look forward to next year's crops. What's more, seed saving is a marvelous way to introduce children to gardening.

Learning to build biodiversity in our garden through seed saving is one of the most important human activities we can participate in.

Common methods of preparing your seeds:
1) Allowing the seeds to dry naturally on the plant. Corn and garlics would be a good representative of these method. Pull the corn husks when the corn as fully ripened and allow to continued drying on racks (if protected from birds and squirrels) or in paper grocery sacks indoors until they are thoroughly dried. Then you can twist them in your hands to get the kernels to fall off. Package, label with name of variety and date or year of harvest and store. For garlics, the same drying method applies. Garlics can also be braided and hung from nails, or stored in open weaved bags while they are drying. This is also referred to as "curing" when in reference to garlics. Lettuce and cole crops such as broccoli seeds can be collected directly from the plant. When you notice the seeds look dry and about ready to fall off, then you can directly pull the seeds off by hand into a waiting paper bag. How easy can that be!

2) Removing the seeds and allowing to air dry. This would be the most common methods of vegetable seed storage. For example, cucumbers and other squash type plants. Allow the fruits to fully ripen even to the point of the fruit starting to turn yellow so that the seeds inside fully develop. Then cut open the vegetable and scoop out the seeds. I would recommend a gentle washing in a mild bleach solution (one part bleach to ten parts water) and then lay out in a single layer on newspaper or paper towels until the seeds have thoroughly dried. Then store in containers of choice with appropriate labeling.

3) For bean and pea plants, again, allow the pods to ripen fully on the plant, then remove the pods, open and out pop the seeds! You will probably want to let the seeds dry out some more if they appear to need it.

4) Fermenting:
This method is needed for tomatoes as the viscous gel substance or pulp, inhibits germination so must be removed. The easiest way to do this is to slice open your tomato, squeeze the contents into a glass jar, add water up to about ¾ of the jar, stir and set aside for a few days. You will notice a icky smelly moldy residue collecting on the top of the water as well as some seeds (these are dead seeds). The water will clear and the “good” seeds will sink to the bottom of the jar. After about 4-5 days this process will seem to have come to an end, so carefully scoop out the stuff from the top and throw away, pour off the water down the sink, and then lastly, pour out the seeds from the bottom of the jar onto newspaper or paper towel for the final drying. When the seeds have dried, they can be removed from the paper and stored.

Thanks for reading my tutorial on seed saving. This tutorial is from my own personal experience so soils, growing conditions and weather may be different for your location and you may need to amend these guidelines to fit your situation. A great source for information on seed saving is your local county extension office. Ask to speak to a Master Gardener or stop by and pick up a helpful brochure on seed saving. Most of all, have fun in your garden!

Here is a link for a Seed Saving article from Oregon State University Extension Service.

Happy Gardening!