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Saving your own seeds

Collecting seeds from your best plants closes the garden cycle, saves money, and lets you adapt varieties to your local conditions over generations. Some plants are beginner-friendly, others need more care.

Why save seeds?

  • Free next-year seed supply – one tomato yields hundreds of seeds.
  • Locally adapted varieties – plants selected from your own garden thrive better each year.
  • Preservation of old and rare varieties that commercial seed catalogs dropped.
  • Independence from suppliers and a deeper connection to your food.

    • Where to start

    Not all plants are equally easy to save seeds from. Self-pollinators barely cross with other plants, so the seed stays true to the mother plant. Cross-pollinators can mix with other varieties, so results are unpredictable.

    Beginner-friendly (self-pollinating)

  • Tomato
  • Bean & pea
  • Lettuce
  • Arugula
  • Bell pepper & chili (with caveats)

    • Advanced (cross-pollinating)

  • Cucumber, zucchini, pumpkin – cross within species, need isolation
  • Brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, kale) – heavy cross-pollination
  • Corn – wind-pollinated across fields
  • Onion, carrot, beetroot – biennial, flower only in year 2

    • Important: F1 hybrids

    Packets labeled 'F1' or 'hybrid' produce seeds that don't stay true – the next generation varies wildly or is sterile. Only use heirloom / open-pollinated ('samenfest') varieties for seed saving.

    How to harvest seeds

    Wet-seeded fruits (tomato, cucumber)

    Scoop out seeds with pulp into a jar. Add water, let ferment for 2–3 days at room temperature (stir daily). Good seeds sink, bad ones float. Rinse and dry on a paper plate for 1–2 weeks.

    Pods (beans, peas)

    Leave pods on the plant until fully dry and brittle (color turns brown/tan). Shell them indoors, spread seeds to air-dry for another week, then store.

    Leafy greens (lettuce, arugula)

    Let one plant bolt and flower. Once flower heads turn fluffy and seeds brown, shake them into a bag or cut whole stalks. Sift out chaff.

    Biennials (carrot, beet, onion, parsley)

    These flower in year 2. Overwinter the plant in the ground (mulch) or in a cool cellar, replant in spring, let it bolt. Collect seeds from dried umbels in late summer.

    Storage

  • Dry thoroughly! Damp seeds mold within weeks. Aim for snap-dry (beans should shatter when hit).
  • Paper envelopes or small glass jars. Label with variety name + harvest year.
  • Cool, dark, dry – ideally 5–10 °C. A cellar or the fridge (in an airtight jar with a silica gel packet) works well.
  • Avoid temperature swings and direct sunlight.

    • How long do seeds last?

    Seed viability drops over time. Rough guide:

  • 1–2 years: onion, leek, parsley, parsnip
  • 3–4 years: carrot, pea, bean, corn, spinach
  • 5+ years: tomato, cucumber, pumpkin, cabbage, lettuce

    • Germination test: put 10 seeds on moist kitchen paper, keep warm for a week. If 7+ germinate, the seeds are good. Below 5, consider them past their prime.