Savvy Seed Care
(Page 3 of 6)
December 2006/January 2007
By Barbara Pleasant
Some people freeze all of their seeds, but unless you need to extend their normal life span, this may be a waste of energy. If you do refrigerate or freeze your seeds, be sure to allow the containers to reach room temperature before you open them — a step that keeps condensation from forming inside the containers, which the dry seeds will absorb as excess moisture.
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Cleaning Home-Grown Seeds
When I tidy up my seed box in winter, I always encounter crumpled paper bags containing seeds I’ve saved from the garden that need cleaning — a fine agenda for a long, cold evening.
You can make or buy framed seed-sifting screens that have holes of various shapes and diameters, or you can try my homemade version that consists of embroidery hoops — purchased at a thrift store for 50 cents each — and several pieces of nylon net and tulle, which you can get at a fabric shop for less than a dollar. Stackable, washable and easy to store right in my seed box, the hoop screens make it possible to separate seeds from chaff quickly by placing a coarse, quarter-inch mesh nylon screen over a finer screen outfitted with one-eighth-inch tulle. (See illustration.) To accommodate small or oddly shaped seeds, it’s easy to double up with either fabric.
Next comes a crucial task — sorting through the collected seeds to remove the small and the weak. Just as pulling up slow or spindly seedlings while thinning a row favors the most vigorous plants, a second round of selection for the most robust seeds can make a huge difference in the quality of the next season’s crop. With large seeds you can do this visually, by picking out any seeds that are small, discolored or broken. But with smaller seeds, you will get faster results by placing them in a clear drinking glass or jar with a half cup or so of water. Swirl the seeds and water for 30 seconds, then pour off the excess water along with any floaters — weak seeds will float because of poorly filled embryos or damage from feeding insects. (See illustration.) Dump the heavy seeds from the bottom of the glass onto a drying screen, paper towel or, in the case of seeds that develop a sticky coating when wet (as most mustard family plants do), a baking pan with a nonstick coating. Let the seeds dry for a day or two before packing them up and storing them in paper envelopes, pill bottles or airtight glass jars. Label and date each seed container.
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