How to preserve your seeds from one year to the next?

Why keep your seeds?

Keeping your own seeds means entering a logic of autonomy, economy, and transmission. It is also a way to better know your plants, observe their cycles, and gradually create varieties adapted to your own garden.

Seed preservation is an ancient art, accessible to all. With a few simple gestures and common sense, you can build a true family seed bank, free and sustainable.

1. Harvest seeds at the right time

The first step is to know when to harvest. Here are the main guidelines according to plant types:

🌱 Dry seed vegetables

• Peas, beans, broad beans: wait until the pods are very dry and brown on the plant.
• Carrots, onions, parsley: let them go to seed and harvest the dry umbels.

🍅 Wet seed vegetables

• Tomatoes: harvest fully ripe fruits, remove the seeds, ferment them for a few days, then dry.
• Cucumbers, squashes: wait until the fruit is fully ripe (even a bit “too much”), then extract, wash, dry.

🌼 Flowers and herbs

• Marigolds, sunflowers, basil, coriander: harvest at dry flowering, shake or rub the seed heads.

2. Clean and sort the seeds well

Once harvested, seeds must be sorted. Why? To avoid mold, pests, and to keep only viable seeds.

• Remove the pulp for wet seeds (tomato, squash).
• Sift or rub fine seeds to remove the husks.
• Eliminate flat or broken seeds, often non-viable.

A sieve, a colander, a blower, or simply a good eye will do very well.

3. Dry properly

Drying is essential: a poorly dried seed = a seed that will mold.

• Spread your seeds on kraft paper, a plate, or a dry cloth.
• Avoid newspaper (toxic inks).
• Let dry away from direct sunlight, in a dry, ventilated place, for 1 to 3 weeks depending on humidity.

💡 Tip: a dry seed “snaps” between the fingers or breaks cleanly.

4. Store under good conditions

Once well dried, seeds must be kept in a dry, dark, and stable environment. Here are several options:

• Kraft envelopes with name + date (the gardener’s classic).
• Closed glass jars, with a sachet of rice or silica against humidity.
• Metal boxes or well-closed tea boxes.

Keep them away from light, in a non-humid room. Avoid the kitchen or bathroom. A cupboard, a dry attic, or even a well-ventilated cellar will do.

5. How long can they be kept?

Germination duration varies by species. Here are some benchmarks:

Species	Average storage duration
Tomato, lettuce, carrot	4 to 6 years
Peas, beans	3 to 5 years
Squashes, cucumbers	5 to 7 years
Onions, parsnips	1 to 2 years (fragile)

💡 Always do a germination test after 2–3 years: place 10 seeds between two sheets of moist absorbent paper, and count those that germinate.

6. Create your own seed bank

You can centralize all your seeds in a compartment box (sewing or DIY type), a binder with pockets, or even in labeled jars.

Remember to indicate on each sachet:

• The precise name of the plant (including variety).
• The harvest date.
• The place or plot.
• Optionally: weather conditions, observations, etc.

Conclusion

Keeping your seeds means extending the cycle of life and freeing yourself from traditional consumption circuits. It is also a rewarding, simple, economical gesture, deeply logical in permaculture. A few boxes, a bit of rigor, and your garden will be ready… every year, without buying anything.

🌾 To start, discover our reproducible seeds to sow, harvest… and pass on.