Have you checked out all the FAQs, tips and techniques, and discussions over on the Seed Saving forum?

Dave

No, not yet. I forgot there was a seed saving forum. I suppose they are busy this time of year. Thanks

You do have to plan ahead to save seeds from some things so they aren't in the way and you need to prevent cross pollination with some things. But it's not too much trouble. Most vegetables can give you hundreds or thousands of seeds from each plant and most seeds easily last two or three years so you don't have to collect the same things yearly.

As for cleaning the seeds, some vegetables, especially the non-fruiting ones, can be held over until there is time to clean them. What I mean is that you can cut the plants when they are dry and ready then keep them inside, not in the garden. For example, just a few days ago I cleaned the seeds of a lettuce plant I cut back in summer.

Does it save me money? Sure, a few dollars here and there. Improved health and productivity? Not that I've really noticed. I do it because I want to be more self-sufficient, because I find it interesting/fun, and in some cases to trade/share.

Rodney

I leave stuff laying out (out of direct sunlight) on paper towels until I'm bored/motivated enough to stuff packets.

Sometimes I'll just pre-label some seed packets and not even get to bagging the seeds for days to a week+ afterwards.

Laziness and piece-work turns it all into less of a chore. You gotta have the space to leave stuff laying around, though.

Not sure why I didn't think this when I made my previous comment. Having two or three sieves with different mesh sizes really makes cleaning small seeds a lot easier.

Rodney

Rodney, very good point about not having to collect every vegetable every year.

I also am motivated a lot by trying to be more self sufficient and I like having control of the seed I use and knowing it is from organically grown produce I grew myself.

LOVE the idea of different size mesh sieves. I need to get some of those, right now I have one size and it only works some of the time.

NCCRN- You bring up another good point. I realize that one of the issues I have is IâÂÂm always pulled to âÂÂneaten things upâÂÂ. [g] I want to pull that plant as soon as itâÂÂs finished. It feels a little chaotic when I want to put another crop into a bed, but IâÂÂm going to leave two plants to go to seed. The same with collecting the seed. YouâÂÂre so right, you have to have the space to leave stuff laying aroundâ¦and againâ¦the neat thing, we donâÂÂt enjoy the paper plates of debris all over the Dining Room table, etc. lol

IâÂÂve had a few Sunflower heads sitting on a desk for a couple of weeks that I need to finish pulling the seed out of.

I'm not great at saving all my seeds, BUT we have several seed banks and seed libraries starting up in our area! (Sonoma Co CA....VERY AG area!)
All are free, some request some work in the seed garden. Most want organic seed from plants growing in this area.
The one I attend usually has an hour class on some kind of gardening practice, be it seed saving, composting etc.
I'm addicted to altoid smalls, so I always bring the little tins to store seed in! I add in a sharpie pen and I'm good! I do give what seed I can give, just not all is ready to go! Nancy

Nancy, youâÂÂre lucky to have a working seed bank near you. Those altoid containers are a great idea. We use old prescription bottles with the labels removed and those little plastic zip lock bags too.

Thanks!

This year was the first year I collected vegetable seeds from my garden. I managed to save some "Rio Grande" tomato seeds from a plant that did well, as well as "Kentucky Wonder" green beans. I tried to get my spinach to set seeds, but I don't think it worked. I also collected cilantro seeds.

Although I do want to be more self-sufficient with my seed supply, like others have stated, I didn't put a whole lot of effort into saving the seeds I mentioned. It was more of a "Hey, there are some seeds dried up on the vine/plant so I might as well collect them" type of situation. Whatever I plants I can't save seeds from, I will just get those seeds at the store next year.

It does save me a little money, but not much considering how little I collected. Can't comment on the productivity/health because it's my first year saving seeds. Maybe I'll have more to report in the spring of 2015.

Yes maybe a thread for the seed saving page.
I do my seed processing in winter. I have a few dozen overly ripe cucumbers in the basement, along with some eggplant, summer squash, winter squash and a whole bunch of dried bean pods and other pods waiting for processing. As long as they are labeled it can wait. Then I have tons of little paper plates with dried tomato seeds and the name written on. I get them all into snack, sandwich, quart or gallon plastic bags or paper bags, eventually. That is why I never start seed trading until January and get kind of annoyed when people respond to my post from last winter, months later in the seed trade forum. I mean, look at the date!

Tripleione, you did well to collect tomato seed your first year. I still havenâÂÂt tried that, being a little more involved and messy.

I did the same thing , not a lot of effort, but I guess IâÂÂm going to try to make a little more effort.

Minnie, I didnâÂÂt think of saving cucumber seeds, does it work with hybrids? And how long do you leave them on the vine?

I'm not Minnie, obviously, but I'll answer the cucumber question. To save seeds from cucumbers you leave them on the vine until they are golden before picking them. If you save seeds from hybrids you won't know exactly what you'll get next year. It's also best if you only grow one variety to avoid cross pollination (although there are ways around this).

{{gwi:118162}}

The above photos were taken last year and are a couple of Ellen's Family White cucumbers. The one on the left is a good size for eating/pickling (it could have gotten a little bit bigger). The one on the right is perfect for saving seeds, which is what I did with it.

Rodney

Here is a link that might be useful: Saving Cucumber Seed