Saving seeds

18 years ago

Hey,

I recently found out that I will be moving sometime between August and September and would like to save this seasons seeds until I get settled again. Any suggestions?

In addition, I am going to need to shrink my collection for the move and will need help with this for anyone interested. Here is a list of my adult bulbs, which does not include those I have started from seed (about 400.)

Amalfi

Amoretta

Amputo

Bolero

Baby Star

Black Pearl

Charisma

Denver

Elvas

Emerald

Exotic Star

Exotica

Fairy Tale

Faro

Gold Medal

Grandeur

Green Goddess

La Paz

Lemon & Lime

Madame Butterfly

Melusine

Naughty Lady

Papillo Improved

Peacock

Picotee

Pink Floyd

Pink Star

Queen of Hearts

Ruby Meyer

Salmon

Trentino

Veneto

Yellow Goddess

Thanks all,

Tyson

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Comments (8)

rcarrow143
18 years ago
Tyson,

I don't have any suggestions on saving seeds, as I always try to used them fresh. However I would be interested in any of your collection you would like to thin out. I would be happy to pay for the postage. I don't have anything at the moment I could trade, but would be happy to compensate you for your bulbs or send you seeds later after some of my plants have seeded. If you would like to email me directly I think you can access my email from my page? Thanks..charlene
tokyomafia
18 years ago
I too would be interested in some of the adult collection. I could pay for postage and/or a price for the bulbs. As for seeds, I've read this in the seed forum but store them dry and cool (not freezing). Put them in a zip lock with some moisture aborbant such as that stuff they put in medicine bottles. You can also staple a bag of new kitty litter in napkin bags which is what I do which also aborbs moisture. Some suggest dry rice but I've never done that before. From what I read you get a better count the sooner you germinate the seeds but there was one guy here that stored his in bowl on a shelve in his kitchen for a year and got 95% germination.
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Lol, just about all of the above mentioned plants are botanical perennials, though many are used AS annuals. I think that larkspur is a true annual. Many of our most popular 'annuals' are tender herbaceous perennials, which means that in colder parts of the world, they are killed by freezing temperatures and do not return though many of them reseed. That behavior still doesn't make them annuals in the botanical sense of the word. It makes them tender perennials. ;-) We'll see them labeled as annuals in catalogs and seed packets and on-line because that's how the vast majority of us use them. The annuals in your data base are perennials, with the exception of the genus Linaria, in which there are true annuals and perennials. Canna, for example, is a rhizomatous plant. It's not hardy where you are, but actually quite long lived warmer temperate zones. I'm only being a stickler on this because you seem to be taking great care in compiling your database. I know that you want it to be accurate. And you really couldn't be faulted by clumping many of these plants together because they are used AS annuals. You should do a search on true annuals so that you can add to your list. Zinnias and marigolds qualify. If you are collecting information on other categories of plants besides those known for their flowers, there are lots of grasses and food crops that are annuals, too.
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I prescrub the seeds in a sieve and add alot of water to the sieved gel juice. About half the time it takes 3 days at room temperature but sometimes up to 5. It is a lot less messy, time consuming and disgusting to do a little cleaning on the font end. No nasty sludge/floating mold to deal with. I use 16 oz deli containers with lids, but ziplock bags work just fine in an emergency. I've left seed in for a week many times with no sprouting, the ones that did sprout were sprouted on day 4. Sometimes seeds sprout inside the fruit, generally in store bought fruit possibly from long term storage, so I wouldn't rush to take half fermented seeds out just because you are afraid of sprouting, its going to happen, rarely, or not.
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"1) How long do dry peas and beans remain viable for germination & growth? Will they be reasonably good next season?" If properly dried, placed in an air-tight container, and stored in a cool dry location, beans & peas will have good germination for at least 2-3 years. Some of my saved bean seed still has fair germination even after 6-7 years. If sealed in an air-tight container & refrigerated, the seeds will probably be good until they run out. *** If you use refrigerated or frozen storage, be sure to warm the container to room temperature before opening. Otherwise moisture can condense on the seeds, which will quickly destroy them. The same is true of seed received in the mail during freezing conditions. "2) If I want to save seeds from this year's plants, do I just let the pods go on maturing on the vines as long as possible or until they are brown and dry and then shell out the seeds?" If possible, allow the pods to dry on the plant before harvesting for seed. Be sure to keep those pods (and any shelled-out seeds) in a well-ventilated area, to prevent mold. If the seeds have dried for at least several weeks in a low-humidity environment, they can be stored. In a humid environment, the use of desiccant may be necessary for the seeds to reach the proper low moisture level. "3) If I grow several types of peas and their varieties (snow peas/snap peas/ shelling peas) and several types of beans and their varieties (Pole beans/long beans) would they cross pollinate, at least within the varieties, and the seeds will no longer be predictable? If cross pollination is a problem then is there a way to save pea and bean seeds true to the parent plant?" Beans & peas are both self-pollinating, but different varieties in the same species can cross if pollinators are active. In my experience, that is more likely with peas, perhaps due to their more conspicuous blossoms. You can reduce the chance of peas crossing by staggered plantings, 10-14 days apart, starting with the earliest & working toward the latest. Staggered plantings will work with bush beans too; but that is less effective with pole beans, since they flower over a longer period. For them, the distances quoted by @John D Zn6a PIT Pa will reduce crossing. I've used 20-30' between different pole beans for years, and have had less than 5% crossing (zero the last 2 years). Several other strategies can reduce crossing, such as the use of flowering crops in between, harvesting only pods from the first flowers (when pollinators may have been less active) or harvesting seed only from the center of the row. As a rule, you can assume seed is pure if you grow only one variety of each species. This includes peas (Pisum sativum), common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris), limas (Phaseolus lunatus), runner beans (Phaseolus coccineus), and yardlong beans or cowpeas (Vigna unguiculata). The one caveat is that bees really like limas & runner beans, so if neighbors nearby grow a different variety, those still might cross to a limited degree. @katyajini, I admire the enthusiasm you show in your posts; you should have a great garden this year!
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lora_in
18 years ago
Hi Tyson,
If I need to store seeds short term I keep them in the larger size coin envelopes in a little wooden cabinet. I've never stored them for months as you need to do. I have heard of people storing them for up to a year and still having good germination but I don't know the particulars.
As for your adult bulbs,it sounds like you need a foster care type situation. Please email me directly and we will see if we can come up with an arrangement. Lora
lonewolf_amar
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks to everyone that replied. I am most grateful and will get in contact with those interested as the time for the move grows nearer. In addition, is there any good manner to plant my new seeds where I can have them in container or containers that is more conducive to moving? If they will not store well I would rather start them and move seedlings. Thanks again,

Tyson
mariava7
18 years ago
I can take some adult bulbs too. Email me for details and cost.
snowdogmama
18 years ago
Hi LoneWolf,
To store your seeds, harvest them, dry them for a couple of days (I put them on a coffee filter on top of about a cup of silica gel from the craft store. Put the silica and coffee filter in a closed container.) After 3 or 4 days, put the seeds in a paper envelope, put envelope in an airtight container that contains silica gel, put the container in your fridge. The seeds should maintain fertility for about a year. I am interested in your Papillo Improved, Pink Floyd, Trentino, Veneto.

After you get settled into your new home, you can contact me and arrange an exchange/trade for your bulbs that you sent me. I almost always have amaryllis bulbs available. Check my member page for my grow list and my trade page to see what I currently have available.

Email me and we can work out the details.

Pam
soultan
16 years ago
Anyone here tried sowing a year old batch of seeds?
I have some seeds from last year and I also have a lot of new seeds, and I will most likely plant them in two mini green houses outside once the weather agrees, so I could see how fertile they will be.
jodik_gw
16 years ago
I would think that if stored properly, most seeds would be fine after a year... germination rate will probably not be 100%, but you should get a decent amount of seedlings.

I haven't been growing and breeding hippeastrums long enough to have a batch of year old seeds to test, but I did leave a box of perennial seeds out in the garage over winter the year before last... I planted them, thinking that they most likely wouldn't grow at all... I got about 50% germination on most types. I was pretty amazed!

The bottom line is, you have nothing to lose by trying except a little bit of time and some seed starter soil. I would be very interested to find out how well the older seed germinates.

Saving seeds

Comments (8)

rcarrow143

tokyomafia

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Saving seeds

Comments (8)

rcarrow143

tokyomafia

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