# Storing seeds for next year....



## Leeroy Jenkins (May 16, 2015)

I had a real successful garden this year. I started with all high quality,heirloom & organic seeds. I've read the different ways of drying and storing seeds. Some say dry fast..some slow..and some say to freeze yet others say to store in a cool dry place.

Well, I'd like some real world experience form you all here who have experience in seed saving and storage.

Any advice?


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## paraquack (Mar 1, 2013)

My mother had a large garden after we moved off the farm. I can remember her taking seeds from tomatoes and smearing the pulp on a piece of news paper and letting it dry. Same for musk melons. Water melon were just saving the seeds us kids would spit out onto a newspaper. I don't remember her saving corn. Potatoes were just using the old ones that had lots of eyes. For beans and peas, she would let a few "pods" stay on the plant until they were dried. She would always let one plant of radishes, carrots, beets and such (I won't mention rutabagas) stay and let it go to seed. Things like rhubarb, strawberries, raspberries, dill, asparagus, etc. took care of themselves or were perennial. When all the stuff was dried sufficiently (2-3 weeks in the back porch) we would put them into used envelopes (the seeds that were stuck to the paper would have the paper folded up first) and stash them away where the temps would go to near freezing in winter.


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## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

My gut always said store them in a cool dry place but Mrs S read something a few years back and has stored seeds in both the fridge and freezer. We've had success with both. Good luck and good thread.

On a side note, one of our best yielding tomato plants this year was a Jellybean Tomato plant that grew out of seed left over in the raised bed from last year. Its still producing! Nature (God) is pretty smart!


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## Auntie (Oct 4, 2014)

Leeroy I highly recommend the book Seeds to Seeds by Ashworth. There are different ways to dry different seeds. For example you do not dry a tomato seed the same way you would dry a melon seed. I have learned so much from this book. Seed to Seed: Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners, 2nd Edition: Suzanne Ashworth, David Cavagnaro, Kent Whealy: 9781882424580: Amazon.com: Books I understand that she also has some youtube videos but I haven't seen them.


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## Leeroy Jenkins (May 16, 2015)

Thanks all...great info. I'm definitely gonna get that book Auntie. Thanks!


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## cdell (Feb 27, 2014)

I will be ordering that book as well. Thanks


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