How to save seeds from your garden to grow next year
With summer officially over, here are some tips on how to save the best seeds for your garden next year
The North Grove is a community food centre located in Dartmouth, N.S. Last year, the organization hosted a workshop for residents, offering tips on how to save seeds from their gardens for the following year.
Community farm coordinator Katherine Carey explained that saving seeds can help save money while also preserving the best-growing plants.
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“You want to pick your favourite tomato...the nicest, most beautiful, juiciest, tasty one, and you’re going to take that to save, and the seeds are going to be inside that tomato,” Carey said.
You need to ferment the seeds to get the gooey outside off and then dry them. If there’s moisture left in the seeds, they can rot.
Saving Seeds workshop held at the North Grove in Dartmouth, N.S. (Nathan Coleman/The Weather Network)
That's because they’re still building food for the seed. They need to be dry before you can really save them to seed.
You can put them on a plate or a paper towel and let them dry, anywhere from a few days to a few weeks.
“They don't need to be in the sun," explained Carey. "[They can be] just in your kitchen or wherever. Just check on them, kind of turning them over every once in a while."
If you're just starting out, beans and peas are the easiest seeds to save. You don’t want anything fresh from the supermarket, but any pod that has gone really dry, the beans inside are seeds for planting next year once they’re fully dried out.
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Those in attendance at this workshop got to pick and choose from a variety of plants that have performed well.
“It’s kind of letting you save the seeds that are doing really well in your garden, adapting for our climate. Even for your personal preferences...'oh, I really like the ones with the thinner skins. I’m going to save those ones,'" Carey noted.