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Cornelius, Oregon

Just some tips on seed drying for the newbies out there. The following is not gospel by any stretch, but its what I do to get a really good batch of dried seeds for seed exchange time. First I get them from the fruit and get as much crap off the seeds as possible. Mushing the guts and the seeds in between your hands for a bit seems to work well. Now take them in the house and throw them in the sink. Make sure the drain cover has small holes so seeds do not go down the drain. Cover the drain and get yourself about 3-5 inches of cool/cold water. Now I put in the antibacterial hand soap and go for a good vigorous washing of the seeds. I get it really sudsy. Remove the drain cover and completly rinse them off. Then I take small handfulls at a time and run them in my hands in the running water until all goop and slop is off of them and throw them in a strainer. With the seeds in the strainer (all non-seed material should be gone at this point)I squirt another few glops of the antibacterial soap and totally rinse again. I rinse until I can get no more suds.
Okay, they are now clean. Cool. Next I put them in a food drier set at around 80 degrees. Do not go much higher as Murphy's Law shall dictate, you will cook them and get really mad. It usually takes about 3-5 days in the drier. I watch for the clear outer coating to begin to flake off and once it comes off the seeds with an easy rubbing I call them done. **Remember, you can over dry a seed.** Reaching the optimum dryness level takes experience, but watch that clear membrane. Once it comes off easy call it good and then just keep your seeds in a dry dark location. Check on them for a day or two and make sure no mold is begining to grow ( a sign they we not dry enough). I go so far as to remove all the clear membranes so they are nice and neat for seed trade.

10/10/2005 3:08:42 PM

Antigonish,Nova Scotia,Canada

What can you use instead of a food drier?....would placing them on a screen fairly close to a pellet stove in the basement be too much heat?

10/10/2005 3:26:45 PM

Menomonie, WI ([email protected])

Put them in front of a fan or dehumidifier. We use a sweater rack with a slippery nylon type covering works awesome. Just make sure you buy your wife a new sweater rack.

10/10/2005 3:48:06 PM

Eastern Pennsylvania

Is that how you do it for all types of seeds... peppers, yellow squash, etc.... ???

10/10/2005 4:22:38 PM

Thanks for all the info Brett... hopefully this prevents many unneccessary posts asking how to dry seeds!

Another thing that several growers do is put the rinsed seeds onto an old towel, wrap it up around the seeds, then rub it around. Any extra chunks of goop tends to stick to the terrycloth, and the seeds turn out pretty clean. This is just one more method. There are many ways to skin a cat.

10/10/2005 8:24:49 PM

Montoursville, PA

My 2004 diary shows the seed spread out over a towel, with a fan working, to keep the air moving. Dry, to the point, of the transparent membrane popping lose, is about a week, of drying with occasional stir or turn, of the seed.

10/11/2005 10:39:01 AM