Saving seeds from store bought veggies??

I could of swore i saw a thread on saving seeds from veggies you bought at the grocery store? Is this possible?

Also looking for a thread that talks about saving seeds from your harvest and the process on doing that? I grew some great maters last year and tried to save the seeds but after a few weeks in the fridge they got moldy on me ... i should of placed a papertowel or something in there i know ... so what is the proper method for saving veggie seeds?

It's possible, but you may not get what you expect if it's a squash that was pollinated with the pollen from a neighboring pumpkin. Certain types cross easily, and create crazy produce.

Not to mention that many veggies are hybrids (or even GMO) and the offspring grown from collected seed won't be exactly like the parent.

Veggies whose saved seed produce the same plant are called Open Pollinated or Heirloom. There's an Heirloom Vegetable forum here you may want to check out. And a Seed Saving one.

As to tomatoes, you have to ferment them a bit (yes, let 'em rot) then rise and dry.

I've heard that many dried beans from the grocery will come up true- but I don't have any direct experience.

"Seed to Seed" by Ashworth is a good reference book, but alot of all purpose gardening books have sections on seed saving. Certain veggies/herbs are biennials, which mean they need 2 seasons to flower & set seed.

Seed saving can get pretty involved. But not impossible once you get the basics. If you have time & space to experiment you can certainly try and see what you get~

This message was edited Jan 27, 2009 7:24 AM

If you've got some of that Oxiclean washing powder that gets hawked on late night TV by the disturbingly energetic Billy Mays, then you might check out my Tomato Seed Saving Notes & Step-by-Step Photos:

http://www.feldoncentral.com/garden/photos/v/memberphotos/morgan/spring2008/seedsaving/


For tomatoes and peppers, and some beans, I save my own seeds, for pretty much everything else, I buy seeds. Some of the cheapest seeds around are http://www.heirloomseeds.com/ .

Feldon, thanx for sharing your tomato seed saving tips! - Wanda

Thanks Feldon, I bookmarked that. I am rolling in the floor thinking about the "disturbingly energetic Billy Mays", LOL! Everytime I see him I want to shoot the tv. Even worse is the wall-eyed nut that is now hawking "ShamWOW". Great info in your article, and love the pictures.

Glad I can provide some entertainment and advice. ;)

I'll offer a second on "that" LOL! So... how can you incorporate the ShamWow into a seed saving technique? 8 ) Off to tour your link. Thanks ~ pod

Here's step by step tomato seed fermenting instructions with photos. Done by our very own Dave! http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/23/

The part I really don't get is the stirring. I've never done it, Carolyn doesn't do it. I guess any technique will have variations among its practitioners. ;)