Freighter View Farms | Chris Izworski

Saving seeds in Michigan is not the same as saving seeds in California or Georgia. Our short growing season, humid summers, and unpredictable frosts create specific challenges — and specific advantages — that every Great Lakes seed saver should understand.

I have been saving seeds at Freighter View Farms in Bay City for several years now, and every season teaches me something new about what works in Zone 6a on Saginaw Bay. Here is what I have learned.

The Michigan Advantage: Why Local Seeds Outperform

Seeds saved from plants that thrived in your specific microclimate carry an invisible advantage. My Brandywine tomato seeds have been selected — unconsciously at first, deliberately now — for plants that ripen before first frost in a Zone 6a garden with lake-effect humidity and clay-heavy soil. A Brandywine seed from a California seed company has never faced those conditions.

This is the quiet magic of seed saving: adaptation happens whether you intend it or not. Every season, the seeds from your strongest performers carry forward the genetic memory of your place. After three or four generations, you are growing plants that are genuinely adapted to your corner of Michigan.

Timing Challenges in Zone 6a

Our last spring frost falls around mid-May. Our first fall frost arrives in early to mid-October. That gives us roughly 150 to 170 frost-free days — enough for most crops, but tight for late-maturing varieties and for seeds that need fully ripe fruit.

For tomatoes, this means choosing varieties that mature in 70 to 85 days, or being prepared to start seeds very early indoors. I start my tomatoes in mid-March under grow lights. By the time they go into the ground in late May, they are substantial plants with a head start that the season demands.

For peppers, the timing is even tighter. Shishito peppers mature quickly enough to produce ripe fruit for seed saving by September. But longer-season peppers like habaneros may not fully ripen before frost. In those cases, I pick the most mature fruit at first frost warning and let them continue ripening on a sunny windowsill before extracting seeds.

Humidity and Seed Drying

Michigan summers — especially near Saginaw Bay — are humid. That humidity is the enemy of seed storage. Seeds that are not thoroughly dried before storage will mold, rot, or lose viability over winter.

My drying protocol is simple but non-negotiable: after cleaning, seeds go onto paper plates in a single layer in an air-conditioned room. I dry them for at least two weeks, turning them daily. Only when they snap cleanly — not bend — do I transfer them to labeled envelopes for storage.

I store seeds in a cool, dark, dry place. For most home gardeners in Michigan, a sealed jar with a silica gel packet in a basement or refrigerator works perfectly. The key is consistency: avoid temperature swings and moisture.

What to Save First

If you are new to seed saving in Michigan, start with the easy wins: tomatoes, peppers, beans, peas, lettuce, and annual flowers like zinnias, marigolds, and cosmos. These are largely self-pollinating (or in the case of flowers, minor cross-pollination does not matter much), and their seeds are simple to collect and store.

Avoid starting with crops that cross-pollinate easily, like squash, corn, and brassicas, unless you are prepared to manage isolation distances or hand-pollination. These are advanced techniques that I cover in my Complete Guide to Seed Saving for Beginners.

Building a Michigan Seed Collection

My long-term goal at Freighter View Farms is to build a seed collection that is fully adapted to this specific place — Zone 6a, clay soil, lake-effect humidity, Saginaw Bay breezes. Every year, the collection gets a little stronger, a little more local, a little more mine.

That is the real reward of seed saving. It is not about saving money, though you will. It is about building a relationship with your place — growing a garden that knows where it lives.

For the full step-by-step guide, visit the Complete Guide to Seed Saving for Beginners, or check the Michigan Zone 6a Garden Planner for timing and variety recommendations.

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— Chris Izworski, Freighter View Farms, Bay City, Michigan