Saving your own seed — print version.
Press Cmd/Ctrl + P, then choose “Save as PDF.”
SUS Farms · Utah Gardening
Saving your own seed
design · intermediate · ~7 min read
Seed saving lets you breed varieties for your specific microclimate over generations. The legal requirement: only save from open-pollinated (OP) varieties, never F1 hybrids — F1 seeds don't come true. Look for "OP" or "heirloom" on the seed packet.
Easy starters: tomato, lettuce, peas, beans
These are self-pollinating, so you don't need isolation distance. Pick fully ripe fruit, ferment tomato seeds (3 days in water, then rinse and dry), let lettuce go to seed and shake into a bag, dry pea/bean pods on the plant until they rattle.
Harder: brassicas, cucurbits, alliums
These cross with anything in their family within insect range (often 1/4 mile). Need isolation by distance OR by timing OR by physical bagging. Cabbage in flower will cross with mustard, turnip, and bok choi.
Drying and storing
Spread seed in a single layer on a paper plate. 2 weeks in a dry room. Then into a labeled paper envelope inside a glass jar in the fridge — extends viability from 2 years to 10+. Add a silica packet from a vitamin bottle to absorb moisture.
Germination test before planting
Lay 10 seeds on a damp paper towel inside a plastic bag. After the variety's germination window, count how many sprouted. 8/10 = 80% — adjust your sow rate. <50% = compost the lot.