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seeds De-Seeding
- Thread starter zappa883
- Start date
For saving, I usually just dry 4-5 peppers worth on a paper plate.
I like the paper bag method. Sometimes the dehydraters can overheat the seeds. Just put your seeds into a brown paper bag until they are dry the bag em up in ziplock bags, store in a cool dry place.
Here's what I've been doing lately:
Cut a circle around the stem and pull out as much as possible. Scrape those off onto a paper plate. Cut the chili in half and take out the rest. Try to keep just individual, healthy seeds. Fill a cup w/ 1 part bleach, 5 parts water, add the seeds and shake or stir vigorously. Strain and rinse the seeds. Let dry on a paper towel.
I recently took some seeds from dehydrated, halved, chilies. They ended up being very nice seeds and very clean. Taking dried halves and working the seeds out w/ a spoon might be even easier than above.
Cut a circle around the stem and pull out as much as possible. Scrape those off onto a paper plate. Cut the chili in half and take out the rest. Try to keep just individual, healthy seeds. Fill a cup w/ 1 part bleach, 5 parts water, add the seeds and shake or stir vigorously. Strain and rinse the seeds. Let dry on a paper towel.
I recently took some seeds from dehydrated, halved, chilies. They ended up being very nice seeds and very clean. Taking dried halves and working the seeds out w/ a spoon might be even easier than above.
Bleach?
Does the bleach kill fungus etc..?
I believe that's the NMSU protocol for their retail seeds. You can read more about it on their website. Properly dried seeds stored in fridge should work well enough.
I use a knife, gloves and a cutting board. Cut the pepper in half,cut the piece with seeds away from the rest of pepper, yes sometimes I mutilate my pepper. It doesn't matter if I am going for seeds.I dry the remains of the pepper flesh in the dehydrator. I put the seeds on a paper plate, write the name of the pepper on it.. Let seeds air dry. I have never bleached or treated my seeds in any way. After a couple of days to a week I put the seeds in an envelope and they are ready to be stored.
if you're gonna bleach anything, you should use very little of it and dilute it with lots of water. not sure the ratio of water to bleach there is. but i remember for anti-fungal / bacterial applications you need around 1 tablespoon per gallon or was it liter or water? not sure. haven't had fungal problems as of late. mostly pests trouble my garden.
Except I rinse it off. No damage to the seeds.
I use old cat food cans w the labels torn off to store mine during the year. They dry fine in the can. That way I can add to the can every time I eat a fresh chile. At year end I transfer to envelopes for long term storage. Re-use the cans again next year. I also use envelopes that come in all my spam mail - they're free. I then store my seeds in the basement where it's always cool and dry. I've germinated seeds that were 10 years old using this method. The bottom of the fridge also works well, but you can quickly run out of space. I don't use seeds from the dehydrator as I feel they're less likely to be usable.