Should Collected Seed Be Stored in the Fridge or Freezer?

It is fall and you have just collected some seed from your garden. Should they be stored in the fridge or freezer? Both suggestions are quite common for storing seed, but the true answer will surprise you.

In this post I will have a closer look at storing seeds from your garden.

Should Collected Seed Be Stored in the Fridge or Freezer?
Should Collected Seed Be Stored in the Fridge or Freezer?

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Collecting Seed – Great Way To Propagate Plants

Collecting seed is an easy and cheap way to propagate and share plants. It allows you to make more of your own plants or add new types of plants to your garden. You can collect from both gardens and the wild, and it is a great pastime when you are traveling.

In this post I will describe different types of seed and help you determine when they are ready to collect.

collecting seed from clematis seed head (achene) by Robert Pavlis
Clematis seed head (achene), by Robert Pavlis

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Best Method for Starting Seeds Indoors

There are several different methods for starting seeds indoors that work well for vegetable seeds and flower seeds. In this post I will review the various seed starting methods and help guide you in selecting the right method for your situation.

None of the seed starting methods are right or wrong – they all work and produce results. Each method is the best when it is matched to the right type of seed and the correct home environment. Learn about the best germination method for both vegetable seeds and flower seeds.

Best method for Starting Seeds Indoors
Starting Seeds Indoors

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Days To Maturity – What Does It Mean?

Days to maturity, or days to harvest, is a number that can be found on most annual flower and vegetable seed packets. What does days to maturity mean? How can you use the number to grow more food and flowers in your garden?

Days to maturity is a very useful tool for selecting the right variety of seed and gardeners, especially  in colder climates, should understand the term. This is even more important if you grow a vegetable garden.

Days to Maturity for tomato varieties, by Robert Pavlis
Days to Maturity for tomato varieties, by Robert Pavlis

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Plant Seed Basics

In my last post, Plant Seeds – Getting Started, I explained what a seed is and discussed different types of seed such as heirloom, open pollinated and hybrid. Today I’ll discuss the storing of seed and give you some suggests for getting a wide variety of seed. We’ll also look at the germination process – what is germination and what happens during germination.

Plant seed basics - germinating trillium seed, by Robert Pavlis
Plant seed basics – germinating trillium seed, by Robert Pavlis

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Seed Dormancy – Are Seeds Really Dormant?

I have always been fascinated with seed germination and seed dormancy. The idea that a complete plant can be grown from a small hard nugget of cells has to be one of natures best creations. As you become familiar with seeds you soon realize that the germination process is not as straight forward as you might think. For many plants you just can’t take seed, plant them, and have germination in a few days.

Every seed seems to require its own process for germinating. Some need to be stratified, some scarified, and some need cold-warm cycles. There are many options for getting seed to germinate and I’ll discuss these in a future post.

The term ‘dormancy’ is used to describe a seeds reluctance to germinate; or more correctly seed dormancy to distinguish it from plant dormancy. The seed lies dormant until environmental conditions are favorable for it to germinate – or at least that is the impression you are left with. But is the seed really dormant? What does dormancy really mean? Good questions that I’ll try to answer in this post.

seed doemancy, plant development diagram, gardenmyths
Plant development diagram, developed by GardenMyths.com

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Plant Seeds – Getting Started

Fall is coming to a close and I have been collecting plant seeds from the garden for several months. In a few cases I want the seed so that I can grow more plants, but most of the plant seed I collect will be donated to a couple organizations that operate seed exchanges. Other people around the world are doing exactly the same thing. In December, members of these organizations are allowed to order these seeds. That is where my fun starts.

I will have access to thousands of different types of seed. Anything from perennials and grasses to shrubs and trees. The groups I belong to don’t distribute vegetable seed or house plant seed, but I am sure organizations also exist for these kind of seeds.

Over the next month or two I plan to write a number of posts to tell you everything there is to know about growing plants from seed. Well, almost everything. After 40 years I am still learning.

Plant Seeds - Propagation Secrets
Plant Seeds – Propagation Secrets

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Organic Seeds – Why Buy Them?

Lots of people are looking to buy organic seeds but as a chemist this has never made any sense to me. I started asking people on social media for their reasons for selecting organic seeds over conventional seeds or heirlooms seeds. The answers clearly indicate that people don’t understand why they want organic seeds, but one valid reason did emerge.

In this post I will look at the reasons people give for buying organic seed and discuss the validity of the reasons.

Burbee organic seeds
Burbee organic seeds

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