With my love of Vintage and Antiques, it just comes natural that I am fascinated with growing and saving Heirloom Seeds that have been passed down for generations. A Flower, Scent or Taste that has remained true for years…
I have been saving heirloom seeds for years. I purchased some tomato plants from a local farmer years ago and he gave me a little lesson on heirlooms and so it began.
If you enjoy growing veggies from seed and having varieties of foods you can’t buy at the supermarket, you might enjoy this hobby.
I was totally inspired by P&G Everyday with their Article on Making DIY Seed Tape.
I immediately recognized that this would also be a great way to save seeds.
You might say that I am a casual gardener and a messy one at that. This is my method of savings seeds and truthfully, will probably continue to some degree.
When it comes time to plant, I just tear off a piece of the paper towel with the seed attached and plant.
But, not only are seeds fun to save, they are also fun to give and share. I wouldn’t really want to give a friend bits of a stained paper towel.
I chose a ripe and good quality tomato. These are Cherokee Purple tomatoes that I purchased from a local nursery this spring and they are yummy.
Just start with a section of paper towel and cut into strips about 4 inches wide.
With these handy little tweezers, I just pull the seeds out and place on the paper towel in a line.
Then you fold one side and then the other, like a piece of bias tape.
Add a little glue t one side to hold it in place.
With a pen, make little dots or slashes as a guide for cutting the seeds apart come planting time!
I photo copied the label from the tomato plants and made a little envelop to slip in a strip of the seeds.
Another fun aspect to Heirloom seeds are the stories that go with them. Check out the history of the Cherokee Purple on Wikipedia!
Happy Seed Saving!
oh this is super helpful- thanks for sharing! I just started gardening this year and it’s been fun to keep learning more.
Oh Awesome ! Glad you liked it!
How clever of you and what a good idea. Do you start your seeds indoors or do you plant them directly in the ground. My parents would bury their tomato scraps and then they’d get fantastic volunteer tomatoes. In fact this year we have a volunteer plant come up — not sure of what it is. It will be a pleasant surprise. I am definitely going to try your method.
Hi Marisa, Yes I start them indoors and have had great success. I also had a bunch of volunteer tomato and watermelon plants come up in the garden this year. I had a volunteer surprise plant come up that I thought was a zucchini. I posted a picture of it on our Facebook page and thanks to our followers they helped me figure out it was a pumpkin! This vine has about 10 pumpkins growing on it! Go to our Facebook page and post a picture, maybe we can help you figure it out!
Super fun and what a great way to give someone a gift! Love it! :)-Ashley
Thanks Ashley, I loved your Naked Yoga post. I am really worried about what is coming next.
Agreed!