By: Garden Gate staff
These tips will ensure your seeds will be kept safe for years at a time and still sprout when you decide to plant them. Once you’ve followed the tips in our article How to collect your own seeds, gathered the seeds from the garden and brought them indoors, there are a few steps you need to take to get them ready for storage.
Clean the seeds
Not all seeds are readily visible and ready to store. For example, if you stored the intact seedheads of marigolds you collected, the seeds might not dry fully and eventually could rot. To get at the seeds, peel away the spent ray flowers (the colorful petallike parts) and you’ll find a mass of narrow seeds inside the receptacle. Gently pull them out.
After you’ve extracted the seeds, there is a chance there’s still chaff or soil particles that might carry pathogens or pests and could infect next year’s crop. Use your fingers to pick out debris around larger seeds. A fine mesh sieve will hold larger particles and let smaller seeds fall through the holes into a bowl below. Clean the seeds as best you can before setting them out to dry.
Once you’ve cleaned the seeds, pick through and discard ones that are a different color, misshapen or smaller than the rest. The largest ones usually grow to be the most vigorous seedlings.
Dry them out
The next step is to set them out to dry. If you just have a few seeds, the open shallow bowls in the photo above work fine for small amounts.
If you have large seeds or a large number of them, spread them out on a tray. Place them in a spot indoors out of direct sun, which can damage them, and leave them to dry for a week. The drying process induces dormancy and helps to preserve nutrients that are needed for germination. They store best with a moisture content of 5 to 8 percent; seeds that are dry enough will be hard so you can’t smash or bend them. If the moisture content of the seeds stays above 30 percent, they may germinate during storage or get moldy. Even at 10 or 15 percent, the seed’s food reserves can break down and be depleted.
Store them
Place your seeds in a container that will prevent moisture and humidity from getting inside. Zip-close plastic storage bags and small glass baby food jars are good. Paper envelopes are fine, too, but they’re better for holding seeds for short-term storage, such as until the next growing season, because they aren’t air-tight.
Even if you think you’ll remember which seeds you saved, it’s a good idea to label them before putting them away for several months. And when it comes time for planting, you’ll know what you have. It’s also important if you’re saving many types of seeds, and especially different varieties of the same species. Write as much information as you need—species and variety, color, date and where you collected them. If you don’t get around to planting them next year, you’ll know how long they’ve been in storage. Keeping track of where plants were grown is helpful if you have more than one area where you collected seeds from the same type of plant. Once you grow them again, you may notice important trait differences. If you want to be really organized, create a spreadsheet to keep track of the information from year to year.
Keep the seeds in a dark, dry location at 32 to 41 degrees F (like in the refrigerator) until you’re ready to plant. How many years they stay viable depends on the species, usually between two and five years, but sometimes longer. When it comes time to plant, start them indoors or outside, depending on their needs.
Now that you know how easy it is to collect and save seeds, it’ll be easy to have success!
Published: March 11, 2018
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FAQs
Cool environments that are optimal for keeping seeds in dormancy are ripe for causing water to condense, so airtight containers will be your friend here. Mason jars are favorites with seed savers, while ziptop bags, freezer bags, and other plastic containers with tight-fitting lids will also do the trick.
What is the best way to store seeds for long term? ›
Cool environments that are optimal for keeping seeds in dormancy are ripe for causing water to condense, so airtight containers will be your friend here. Mason jars are favorites with seed savers, while ziptop bags, freezer bags, and other plastic containers with tight-fitting lids will also do the trick.
Can I store seeds in Ziploc bags? ›
Store your seeds in a cool, dry location away from direct sunlight. Exposure to temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit will greatly decrease the viability of your seed for future planting seasons. Seeds can be stored in sealed containers, plastic bags, and wax or paper envelopes.
Should seeds be kept in the fridge? ›
The ideal storage temperature for seeds is 35-40°F with a relative humidity of less than 40%. Most refrigerators hold a temperature of about 40°F but have high relative humidity. Seeds stored in a refrigerator should be kept in containers that have a good seal to keep the humidity levels low.
How do you save seeds for next year? ›
They should be stored dry in a cool location, and preferably in an air tight container. Put the seeds in a small paper envelope or wrap in paper. Label the envelope with the name of the plant and the date you collected the seed. Place the envelopes in a glass jar or air tight plastic container.
What is the best container to store seeds in? ›
Ziplock bags, freezer bags and other plastic containers are also great options. If you are planning on keeping your seeds in their paper envelopes for organization, it is especially important to keep them dry as the paper of the envelope can absorb water and impart that to the seeds.
How to store seeds so they don't mold? ›
Make sure your seeds don't sprout or mold by storing them in a spot that isn't humid and ensure the seeds are dry before sealing them in a container. Moisture is an especially important factor if you are freezing or refrigerating your seeds.
Should seeds be stored in airtight containers? ›
For long-term storage, place seed packets or bulk quantities of seed in a large, airtight container (such as a mason jar with a 2-piece lid) and store in the refrigerator or freezer. It's very important that the container be airtight to prevent moisture from getting onto your seeds.
What will happen if seeds are kept in refrigerator? ›
Seed germination requires a suitable warm temperature. Both very low and very high temperatures are unsuitable for germination. The temperature inside a refrigerator varies between 5∘C to 20∘C and this is certainly very low temperature. Therefore the seeds kept in refrigerator do not germinate.
Does freezing destroy seeds? ›
How do frosts and freezes affect seeds? Frosts don't usually kill most seeds. This is partly because seeds are higher off the ground and frost tends to settle lower. Freezes can kill seeds from species that originated in warmer climates, like tomatoes.
Saving seeds allows you to select for particular characteristics you might like to cultivate by selecting fruits or plants to harvest from with those same traits. You can choose the best tasting, largest, earliest ripening fruits to save from that would ensure these same qualities in the next generation.
Should I freeze my seeds for next year? ›
As long as your seeds have been able to dry completely, they can freeze without a lot of damage. Since changes of temperature are gradual outdoors, there is less danger of condensation, and winter air tends to keep the seeds dry anyway. The important thing is make sure that the place stays dry.
Why can't farmers save seeds? ›
Legality. While saving seed and even exchanging seed with other farmers for biodiversity purposes has been a traditional practice, these practices have become illegal for the plant varieties that are patented or otherwise owned by some entity (often a corporation).
Is it better to store seeds in paper or plastic? ›
Store them
Zip-close plastic storage bags and small glass baby food jars are good. Paper envelopes are fine, too, but they're better for holding seeds for short-term storage, such as until the next growing season, because they aren't air-tight.
How long will seeds last vacuum sealed? ›
Storage may be extended to 10 or more years under proper conditions. Seed moisture and storage temperature are the most important factors in determining how long seed can be stored. The drier the seeds are, the longer they will store.
Can you freeze seeds to preserve them? ›
As long as your seeds have been able to dry completely, they can freeze without a lot of damage. Since changes of temperature are gradual outdoors, there is less danger of condensation, and winter air tends to keep the seeds dry anyway.
What seeds last the longest in storage? ›
Beans, like the Chocolate Runners, are among the longest storing seeds, often sprouting after a century in ideal storage conditions.
