Seed saving

[ContainerTed]

Originally Posted by kurt

Using most of the methods above if I could add at the last rinse and dump parchment paper is a sure fire way not to have any seeds stick to the paper plates.

Kurt, I always use those paper plates that are the cheapest, flimsiest, uncoated that you can find. You know, the ones that no one wants to use at a picnic cause you need a dozen of them to hold up a plate of potato chips.

I also let the seeds dry for several days before I disturb them. the drier they are, the less they try to stick to the plate. The more fully fermented they are, the less they stick. If the plates are UNCOATED, the less they stick. The thinner the layer of seeds being dried, the less they stick.

In the end, they all stick just a bit. I use an old credit card or one of those card thingies that we all get in junk mail and use one of the edges to gently nudge the seeds loose. When they are all loose, I let them driy for a few more days and then they get put into old prescription bottles for storage.

For everyone new to seed saving, stay away from the coated or plastic plates when drying seeds. They really do stick quite a lot more, just like Kurt said. I don't use parchment paper because the cheap, flimsy, uncoated paper plates that I use absorb a lot of the moisture from the seeds quickly and this speeds the drying.

[travis]

To speed up the drying, I use #4 cone coffee filters. The cone filters also form a packet that prevents seeds wandering from one plate to another, or sticking to the bottom of the paper plate stacked atop.

Also, I ferment only long enough to deteriorate the gel sack because in warm weather, a long ferment results in seeds sprouting in the fermenting juice. When my seeds are separated from the gel sack, they get a good rinse in a strainer, followed by a 1-minute bath in 1 part 5% household bleach to 4 parts tap water. Then another good rinse to rid the seeds of any bleach residue. Then into the marked cone filters with the tops double folded shut and clothespinned on a line to dry in the garage.

[kurt]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RfRhEhKr34 Some more suggestions.These guys down in Australia use a baby bottle sterilizer bath on their World Record Trinidad Scorpian Butch T seeds before germination.

[Father'sDaughter]

Originally Posted by ContainerTed

Kurt, I always use those paper plates that are the cheapest, flimsiest, uncoated that you can find. You know, the ones that no one wants to use at a picnic cause you need a dozen of them to hold up a plate of potato chips...

For everyone new to seed saving, stay away from the coated or plastic plates when drying seeds. They really do stick quite a lot more, just like Kurt said.

Actually, you can use the coated plates by "popping" them inside out and using the uncoated bottom to dry your seeds on. It gives a nice sturdy surface with a turned up rim to help contain the seeds once you start pushing them around with the old credit card, and you can re-use the same plate many times. I always have a pack of the coated plates on hand, and this is how I avoided having to go buy some of the flimsy ones just for seed drying.