HOW TO SAVE SEEDS FOR NEXT YEAR
                                  

Chose and label the plant that you want to obtain seeds from. Select the plant that produces the best tasting fruit to save for seed. 

The plant should  be healthy, free from disease and virus. Many viruses are systemic in the plant and can infect the fruit and seed. Seeds can also harbor fungi and bacteria pathogen.
Allow the fruit to fully mature on the plant before harvesting.

Make sure all seeds are thoroughly air dried before storage.

Store seeds in an air-tight jar or plastic bag, label with date of harvest and  keep it in your refrigerator or in a cool, dry place.

Different types of vegetable seeds have different periods of viability. Corn, leek, onions and spinach have a short storage life of about a year. Therefore, to maintain the viability of these seeds, you should plant and collect the seeds yearly.

Seeds lasting about 3 years are beans, carrot, Swiss chard, eggplant, parsley, peas, pumpkin and squash. Seeds of plants that stay viable for more than five years in storage
are from the cabbage family such as  cabbage, broccoli,
cauliflower. cucumber, lettuce, melons, tomatoes  and sunflower.

For Squash, pumpkins, watermelon and cucumber, allow the fruit to grow on the vine till the vine dries up.  Tap the outer shell of the fruit which by now should be hard and have a hollow thump. Split open, scoop out the seeds,
wash off the strings and pulp, and spread it over newspapers to air dry.

For tomatoes, allow the fruit is fully ripen first. It will have full color development without blemishes. Cut open and squeeze out the seeds with the jelly-like pulp. Add some water and allow it to sit and ferment for several days. The seeds should then be washed to remove the pulp, air dry on newspapers and stored in a cool, dry place.

For beans, cowpea, peas, allow the fruit to dry on the vine. Then cut the whole vine with the bean pods, and hang up in a dry place till completely dry. At this stage, the pods will snap open readily with a slight pressure and release the seeds.

Some seed pods, esp. from lettuce and cabbage plants with a flowering stalk, will break open and seeds scattered about if allowed to ripen on the plant. In this case, cut the seed stalk before it fully ripens and allow it to dry over newspapers. The best way is to protect the seed stalk is by enclosing  the whole seed stalk within a bag, and give it time to ripen on the mother plant.