Grow your own vegetable seeds

Table Of Contents:

Anyone who grows vegetables in the garden should not only harvest the vegetables themselves, but also the seeds. That way you don't have to buy new seeds every year.

Do the tomatoes taste particularly good this year? It would be great if you could grow these tasty tomatoes again next year. That's easy. All you have to do is harvest the seeds. Of course, this also works with many other types of vegetables. This not only saves you money on the seeds, it's also a lot of fun. Here's how to do it.

How to win the seed

❶ Harvest ripe fruit:

First you need a ripe fruit of the desired type of vegetable. You can always recognize a ripe fruit by its soft fruit body. However, only harvest the fruits that best meet your expectations. Always harvest he althy plants, as diseases can also be transmitted through the seeds.

❷ Extract seeds

Now cut the vegetables open and carefully remove the seeds with a spoon. Depending on the veggies, you can also hold them over a bowl and squeeze them out. This works very well with tomatoes, for example.

❸ Ferment Seeds

If there is still pulp on the seeds, you don't necessarily have to remove it. Put everything in a container with lukewarm water, put it in a warm place and wait a few days. The mass then begins to ferment. The seeds then detach themselves from the pulp and sink to the ground.

❹ Wash seeds

Once all the seeds have sunk to the bottom, simply scoop out the flesh that floats to the top. After that, you need to put the seeds in a fine sieve and wash them.

❺ Dry Seeds

Lay the seeds on baking paper, in a coffee filter or on some kitchen paper to dry. They now need to dry in an airy place at around 25 degrees.

❻ Store seeds in the dark

Once the seeds have dried, it is best to place them in an airtight jar. Then put it in a dry and dark place. Next spring you can use the seeds to grow delicious vegetables. If you don't want to use the seed next year, don't do itfurther bad. Stored dry and tightly closed, it keeps for about five years.

Important
If the seeds are more than five years old, it is best to do a germination test before sowing (instructions for this here). This is how you can see whether sowing is still worthwhile.