How to Save and Store Seeds

By: Charlene Rennick

The success secret of preserving a seed is making sure that the climate and growth cycle experienced during the maturation of the seed is reproduced during the storage of the seed. To do this, the geographical origin of the parent plant must be determined ahead of time.   

Co-ordinate the Indigenous Climate with the Storage Environment

If the seed is from a tropical fruit grown closer to the equator, the storage area should be dry but warm.  This kind of seed will not survive a dormant period or freezing to preserve it because it does not have that kind of temperature or growing cycle in its natural environment.  Conversely, if the seed has been produced by a parent plant from a northern climate, it will lend itself to drying and freezing as a storage method because it is used to a shorter growth cycle followed by a colder, dry, dormant period.

Seeds are merely the casing for plant DNA which breaks down over time, even in ideal storage conditions.  Occasional sowing is necessary to keep the seeds fresh, the DNA viable, and the plant updated to the ever-changing environmental variables it will experience when it is eventually planted in the ground.

Recalcitrant and Orthodox Seed Storage

For the purpose of storage, there are two different kinds of seeds: orthodox and recalcitrant.  Orthodox seeds can remain inactive for years in a cool, dry storage condition while recalcitrant seeds can be damaged by drying and freezing procedures; they don’t store well at all.  Mango, avocado, cocoa, rubber tree, litchi are some examples of seeds that do not withstand freezing and drying. 

Large-scale and Home Hobby Seed Saving

Ideally, orthodox seeds should be allowed to dry.  For home hobby use, this is most successful in a well-ventilated, cool environment followed by wrapping in newsprint (unprinted) or a plain paper bag.  Moisture and mildew are destructive to seeds.  Once they are dried, they can be frozen in their paper inside an air-tight container or within a sealed jar.  If you are using them the spring following the drying season, paper bags should suffice to protect them. If the seed storage is a large operation, seeds are dried to a moisture content of less than 6% and stored in freezers at minus 18 degrees Celsius. (wikipedia).