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seeds saving pepper seeds

the666bbq

the666bbq

This year I would like to experiment in saving (pure) seed. Because I like to have many different varieties of tomatoes, melons and peppers, and they have to be all in the greenhouse and they all cross-pollinate, I should take some other precautions to prevent this from happening (I cannot space my varieties to the safe distances that I have seen on the net).

For my tomatoes I use a net that I made from a 30x30cm mesh - just a thread along the sides and when you pull the thread it encloses the group of flowers until the tomatoes are formed.

I could do the same for the peppers and the melons but for the melons I would have bigger nets probably and for the peppers a lot more sacks since they are small and don't come in groups like the tomatoes.

I read somewhere though that you can glue the flowers with some ordinary white crafting/children glue ? Does anybody know how to do this properly ?

How do you prevent cross pollination or I one of a very small group of freaks who minds the small chance of cross-pollination.
I know other (tomato)forums where they absolutely don't care about cross pollination but how can you make a fair trade/exchange/swap if you are not sure about the properties of the plants from the seed you saved ?
 
the666bbq said:
How do you prevent cross pollination or I one of a very small group of freaks who minds the small chance of cross-pollination.
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I would be a part of that group, too.

I know other (tomato)forums where they absolutely don't care about cross pollination but how can you make a fair trade/exchange/swap if you are not sure about the properties of the plants from the seed you saved ?
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That's why I'm very reluctant to participate in seed swaps unless the other person can explain what they do to prevent cross pollination. Most of the time they don't even know what cross pollinate means, much less do anything to prevent it.

I like your little nets, but if you move the plants outside, be aware that the grains of pollen can fit between mesh that size, and a strong wind might cross pollinate a pod or two.
 
Hi Pam,

I did consider the airborn pollens but than again they are sheltered from strong currents in the greenhouse (most of the time ;-) ) so I'm hoping on a fair isolation. The pollen that gets airborn and does happen to hit a non-related (pepper) flower and starts of a new cross pollinated generation was a divine intervention waiting to happen only for the benefit of pepperkind ;-)
When I see the bees go thoroughly arround my plants again and again I see them as the main 'enemy' in keeping it pure.
 
so let me get this straight, the only thing that matters is putting some form of fabric with very small openings (smaller than mosquito netting) over the flowers BEFORE they open up, but also allow light through the mesh. & this will make sure that pod & its seeds will be a pure strain of that species. (for outside growing)
 
chilehunter said:
so let me get this straight, the only thing that matters is putting some form of fabric with very small openings (smaller than mosquito netting) over the flowers BEFORE they open up, but also allow light through the mesh. & this will make sure that pod & its seeds will be a pure strain of that species. (for outside growing)
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Well, the trick is to keep the flowers from being pollinated by another plant. So, yeah, all you need is so material with a fine enough mesh to exclude wind borne or insect borne pollen.

I have used a fine tulle, the kind that is used in wedding veils, and mosquito netting that I bought at the Army/Navy Surplus store here in town. They double as caterpillar protectors for me since I plant a lot of larval food plants in my butterfly garden. With the wider-pored tulle, assassin bugs and other baddies can spear a caterpillar right through one of the little holes. I figure if a bug can suck the juice of a caterpillar out through it, pollen shouldn't have too much trouble getting through, either, on a windy day.

I'm very careful if I'm saving seed. I usually keep only one or two plants of each variety that I grow, and I would be pretty bummed to discover the one I kept is a hybrid. That would affect not only that season's pepper eating, but I couldn't save seeds that season.
 
the666bbq said:
Hi Pam,

I did consider the airborn pollens but than again they are sheltered from strong currents in the greenhouse (most of the time ;-) ) so I'm hoping on a fair isolation. The pollen that gets airborn and does happen to hit a non-related (pepper) flower and starts of a new cross pollinated generation was a divine intervention waiting to happen only for the benefit of pepperkind ;-)
When I see the bees go thoroughly arround my plants again and again I see them as the main 'enemy' in keeping it pure.
Click to expand...

Oh, yeah, didn't think about you keeping them in the greenhouse.

You know, if you want to plant a good "bee bait" crop, go with basil. Lemon basil has naturalized to my yard, and pops up all over the place. The bees *love* it! When it goes to flower, every stalk has at least one bee.

Lemon basil has become a weed in my yard, I have to take the weed eater to it or it makes these huge thickets!
 
well I bought some tulle today, because I want to have some pure seeds for planting next year(even though it seems like I have a black thumb) if I like that kind of chile or trade ? I think I'll have 3 layers of tulle since it still looks like pollen can get through just 1 layer - I dont know how big pollen is but I assume its very small so the extra layers I'm hoping would catch the pollen before reaching the flower.

but couple more questions, you only need to worry about each pod its self, meaning if a couple early pods get mixed no big deal & once the plant is big enough to hold the extra weight of the tulle then cover those flowers before opening up & they'll be pure (hopefully)
& once the pod is growing do you really need to keep the tulle over that pod ? (but keep a marker on that pods stem)
 
has anyone bagged entire plants with tulle for the whole growing season? or does this type of prolonged envelopment hinder growth and blossom/pod production?
 
I think I go with the teabag - method for peppers this year. I try to do mostly organic so the glue method is against the religion ;-) (maybe I'll experiment with this technique though just on a few pods). Tomatoes should be fine with the mesh I use now - most experienced tomatoe growers I show this technique to in other forums say that I shouldn't mind all the trouble except for white tomato varieties and potatoeleaf varieties who are more prone to cross pollination.

A chili friend send me some bhut jolokia seeds this week but they didn't survive the trip from germany to Belgium, they where scattered into pieces, other varieties included with the same sending where ok though. He told me that he collected these seeds from dried peppers he bought over the net; Is it a good idea to save seeds from dried peppers ? Maybe it depends on the way they are dried (dried by the sun, dehydrator, smoking them out,...) ?
 
chilliman64 said:
has anyone bagged entire plants with tulle for the whole growing season? or does this type of prolonged envelopment hinder growth and blossom/pod production?
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I've heard other people talk about doing that, but around here the humidity gets so high, I've always been afraid of fungi and mildews attacking the plant.

I think if I was going to cover the whole plant for the whole season I would make some kind of frame to hold the tulle away from the plant.
 
what if you place it on the lowest heat setting for drying is that still too much for to seeds. side note my dehydrator goes down to 95f.
 
and then what?

OK, you take a pepper, cut out the seeds, let them dry on a paper towel....and then what?

Put them in a sealed ziplock/ container till next year? Leave them out? Can you start them anytime or only in spring?

How do you give them a kick start to get them growing- just soak overnight and then press them into the dirt?
 
I make sure mine are good and dry, then put them in a small paper envelope, carefully label it, then put it in a larger zip lock bag. The bag goes in a plastic container with my other seeds, and into the 'fridge until I'm ready to plant.

I don't soak seeds unless I expect poor germination, but lots of other people do soak them.

You can start them any time you want, I do mine in the spring because I don't have the space to over-winter but a couple of plants, and we do have a bit of winter here. It's the kind of winter that makes people up north sneer and even laugh uproariously when I mention it, but things freeze and plants die, so it counts as winter.
 
ok

Thank you, that has been very helpful. Now I have a starting point. When I learn what a pod is I'll be 1/2 way there.
 
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