Its Time to Order Seed Catalogs Again

Geri K

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Anyone have a favorite seed catalog that they get every Spring? I have noticed that some of the free ones are no longer free anymore. I like Schumways seed catalog but they want $3.00 now and you get the money back on your first order. Will you pay for a seed catalog or do you think they should be free?
 
I have been thinking about seed catalogs in the last few months. I am not sure which company to go with and cannot remember in the years past who I have ordered from.

I was displeased with the seeds purchased at the local store this past year. They did not do very well and so I think the quality of buying through a seed/plant company is surely better.
 
I agree Barbara. I have gotten bad seeds in the past from stores as well. Sometimes they put out old ones from the year before and they are not fresh enough.
 
One option of drying seeds is placing them in a dehydrator, possibly.
I saw a method which is supposed to be the best way to dry seeds by soaking them first for a few days and then dry them. I will try to find the website that I saw that on and post it.
 
Best way to dry tomato seeds
Its more complicated than I ever thought.
Take your chosen tomato and slice it in half across the middle (it's "equator"). With a spoon or your well-washed fingers scoop out the seeds and their gelatinous "goo" into a clean cup or container. Add a couple of tablespoons of water to the seeds. Cover the container with a piece of plastic-wrap and then poke the plastic-wrap with a paring knife or pen point to put a small hole in it...this is to allow for air-transpiration. (A little fresh air needs to get in and out of the cup to help foster fermentation.)
Place the container of seeds in a warm location; a sunny windowsill or the top of the refrigerator are both excellent sites to place the container of seeds. Now Mother Nature will take over and begin to ferment the seed and water mixture. This takes about two or three days. Each night remove the plastic-wrap, stir the seed and water mixture, and then replace the plastic-wrap, if you use a new sheet of plastic-wrap then don't forget to put a small hole in it for air-transpiration. The top of the liquid will look "scummy" when the fermentation process has seperated the "goo" from the seeds. It also helps destroy many of the possible tomato diseases that can be harbored by seeds.
Take the container of fermented seeds to the sink and with a spoon carefully remove the scummy surface. Then pour the container's contents into a fine kitchen sieve and rinse the seeds with water several times...stir them while they're in the sieve to assure that all surfaces are thoroughly rinsed. Give a few sharp taps to the sieve to help remove as much loose water as possible from the seeds.
Line an open plate with a piece of waxed paper or a large automatic-drip coffee filter. Place the rinsed seeds onto the wax paper or coffee filter and spread them about so they are in a single layer. Place the plate in a safe location where the seeds can dry for a few days. Stir the seeds a few times during the drying process to assure that all their surfaces are evenly dry. Spread them out again into a single layer after each time you've stirred them. Tomato seeds are thick and can take up to a week to dry thoroughly. If you're having a rainy week that drying time may lengthen by a few days.
Dried seeds move quickly and easily across a plate, they do not stick to each other.
faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/seedsave/2002084456024410.html
 
Theresa, do you have a method that you use to dry out and store the seeds? I had always assumed that we could just let them dry out and save them or is there more to it than that?

Hi Geri, There is actually a trick to it. The seeds have to go through a period of cold just as they would outdoors. Many people collect the seeds, bring them inside to their warm houses, clean them and forget about them. Without the period of cold called stratification, the seeds won't germinate in the spring. It is explained here: http://www.perennials.com/content/saving-and-starting-perennial-seeds/

Here's an article on saving tomato seeds that's particularly good: http://faq.gardenweb.com/faq/lists/seedsave/2002084456024410.html

I also like this one (Because I wrote it;)):
http://www.examiner.com/article/tips-for-seed-saving-the-how-and-why-of-it
 
Theresa, thanks for the information. I did not know any of this before and that explains why the seeds I always dried out for reuse did not grow. Several times I had a exceptional tomato that would have been nice to grow again the next summer.
 
You're welcome, Geri K. I tried it once years ago with seeds from cherries and had no luck. I did some research and found most of the fruit trees sold commercially are grafts - meaning the cheery tree, for example is attached to a root base of a sturdier tree that has desired characteristics. While the fruits are wonderful, the seeds tend to revert back to what ever the base portion of the tree was and will not produce the same fruit. This lead me to do some more research on seeds in general. I can lost in research very easily. can you tell? lol
 
You're welcome, Geri K. I tried it once years ago with seeds from cherries and had no luck. I did some research and found most of the fruit trees sold commercially are grafts - meaning the cheery tree, for example is attached to a root base of a sturdier tree that has desired characteristics. While the fruits are wonderful, the seeds tend to revert back to what ever the base portion of the tree was and will not produce the same fruit. This lead me to do some more research on seeds in general. I can lost in research very easily. can you tell? lol
That's very interesting Theresa. I had no idea exactly how it was done but did know that grafting is involved in horticulture a lot. You are indeed a good researcher !!!
 
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