When planning a garden, most people think to just buy new seeds from a store or nursery, but saving seeds from plants and vegetables and reusing them the following year is an option as well. While this process might be a bit tedious, it is a great way to retain beloved plants and be more cost-efficient.
“It depends on how well you take care of those seeds and save them,” said Reid Nevins, an agent with Lowndes County Mississippi State University Extension Service. “It can be a difficult process.”
When deciding on which seeds to save, the first step is to determine if the plant seed is an heirloom seed or a genetically modified seed. An heirloom seed is any variety of plant that has been in cultivation for at least fifty years, said Melvin Ellis, owner of Mayhew Tomato Farms. Modified seeds are seeds taken by breeders to get particular attributes into those plants.
The goal of genetically modified seeds is to get a seed that does not contain those unwanted characteristics such as tomato catfacing. Because these seeds have been distinctly altered, they never grow the same twice, so genetically modified seeds would not work in trying to reuse them.
“You know, your grandaddy may plant that special okra that always comes back the same way,” said Raine Rosson, owner of local business, Rosson’s Awesome Sauce. “That seed is probably an heirloom that goes back dozens of years.”
Once someone has determined a seed is an heirloom, they must dry out the plant and pick out the seeds. The seeds then need to be stored in an envelope in a bit of indirect sunlight. They should not sit directly in the sun, but they need a fair amount of heat to completely dry out. Direct sunlight or too much heat could cause the seeds to lose their germination. Once the seeds are properly dried out, they must be reserved in a cool location such as a refrigerator. They should remain here at a constant temperature the entire off-season until they are ready to plant the following year.
The philosophy behind reusing seeds is to keep the same plants and vegetables year after year. Many people prefer to save seeds because they love the nostalgia behind them.
“My grandparents were the ones who taught me how to reuse seeds,” Rosson said. “When I was little, my grandfather would come in the door and say ‘Here’s a squash. Save your seed.’ It’s just something I grew up doing.”
Tomatoes and flowers such as zinnias and sunflowers are known to form well from heirloom seeds, but any plant seed can be saved for the following year as long as the process is carried out accurately.
While some people may prefer to continue buying their seeds in stores year after year, saving seeds is an excellent option for gardeners.
“As long as you get those heirloom seeds and you dry them out and store them properly, you should be successful with saving your seeds for the following year,” Ellis said.
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