Any tips for saving pepper seed?

Stvrob · June 13, 2014

Last year I was so impressed with Jimmy Nardello that I saved more than enough seed for any conceivable need. But this spring, my germination rate was absolutely horrific; less than 5%. (Even worse, I shared a huge amount of seed with people here at Tomatoville before I realized).

All the fruit was red-ripe and harvested August and September of 2013. (still crisp, not over-ripe/mushy), I simply pulled out the seeds as we were preparing meals, set them on a paper plate, and let them air-dry inside in and air-conditioned living area for a few days. Then I put them in a clean babyfood jar and set them in the lower drawer of my desk till early this spring the AC. Can you tell if I have done anything wrong? Luckily, I had a number of plants overwinter, but I need to get this right if I'm going to grow this every year and be able to share seed with my friends without worrying about wasting their time.

June 13, 2014	#1
Stvrob Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Jacksonville, FL Posts: 1,413	Any tips for saving pepper seed? Last year I was so impressed with Jimmy Nardello that I saved more than enough seed for any conceivable need. But this spring, my germination rate was absolutely horrific; less than 5%. (Even worse, I shared a huge amount of seed with people here at Tomatoville before I realized). All the fruit was red-ripe and harvested August and September of 2013. (still crisp, not over-ripe/mushy), I simply pulled out the seeds as we were preparing meals, set them on a paper plate, and let them air-dry inside in and air-conditioned living area for a few days. Then I put them in a clean babyfood jar and set them in the lower drawer of my desk till early this spring the AC. Can you tell if I have done anything wrong? Luckily, I had a number of plants overwinter, but I need to get this right if I'm going to grow this every year and be able to share seed with my friends without worrying about wasting their time.