PREPPING AND STORING SEEDS PROPERLY

A Follow-up to Last Week's Seed Saving Guidelines

The longevity times given in last week’s article on seed saving (“SOME SEED SAVING GUIDELINES”) are based on common basic measures taken by home gardeners who save seed: they clean, they thoroughly [?] dry, and they store seeds in a cool, dry, dark area. With a little finesse and a bit more care, those times will be increased. These storage practices apply to both self-harvested seeds as well as to leftover seed from purchased packets.

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CLEANING SEEDS

If you’re saving bulk quantities of seed, the technique called winnowing separates dried-on-the-plant seeds from the chaff and other debris left during harvesting. Basically, it’s tossing the seed and rubbish into the air and letting the wind blow away the rubbish, which is lighter, leaving the heavier seeds behind. Another way to winnow: Outside on a breezy day, drop seed from one container into another and let the wind blow away the unwanted chaff. Don’t use a fan for this; it can be risky.

The ancient art of winnowing

You can also use a framed screen with holes just large enough for seeds to pass through, with the larger crud left behind. A second screen, one with holes just smaller than the seeds, can sift out the remaining small debris. The issue with this should be obvious: if you’re cleaning more than one kind of seed, you most probably have more than one size od seed.

If you’re cleaning small quantities of seed, you can certainly do it by hand but make sure your hands are clean and dry.

Seeds that are “wet” (surrounded by juicy pulp of some kind) should be cleaned of the glop. After somehow scraping out as much glop as easily possible, place the seeds in a large bowl or bucket and cover them by twice their volume in water. Stir vigorously. The viable seeds (weightier) will sink to the bottom of the container while the less hefty seeds will float. Then scoop them off (I like using a “spider” — a sieve-like kitchen cooking tool); you’ll get a bit of other floating debris. Repeat, with more water, until only clean, viable seeds remain. Strain the seeds, rinse them, and dry them.