Freighter View Farms | Chris Izworski

The first time I saved seeds, I did it badly. I squeezed tomato seeds onto a paper towel, let them dry for a few days, and folded the whole thing up and labeled it. In the spring I could not get the seeds off the towel without tearing it apart, and half of them were stuck to the paper and lost. I planted what I could. Some germinated. That first clumsy season taught me more about seed saving than any guide I later read, because it taught me the two things the process actually requires: a proper drying surface, and patience.

I have been saving seeds at Freighter View Farms for several seasons now, and what I have learned is that Michigan growing conditions make seed saving both more important and, in a few ways, more demanding than it is in longer-season climates.

The Michigan Advantage

Seeds saved from plants that thrived in your specific conditions carry the accumulated selection of all the seasons you have grown them. A Cherokee Purple that has been grown and selected in Zone 6a Bay City gardens for a generation performs better in Zone 6a Bay City gardens than a Cherokee Purple that has never seen a Michigan summer. This is not mythology. It is how selection works — gradual, incremental, real.

The short season is an advantage for seed saving in another way: it selects for earliness. If I save seed from the plant that set fruit first, the earliest to ripen, the one that made the most of a short window — I am, over time, developing a strain that performs better in the window I actually have. This is breeding, in the simplest sense, and it is available to any gardener who pays attention and saves seed consistently.

Tomato Seeds: The Fermentation Method

Pick the best fruit from the best plant at full ripeness — past eating-ripe, into soft and very ripe. Cut it open and squeeze the seeds and their surrounding gel into a jar with a little water. Let the jar sit at room temperature for two to three days. The gel ferments — this mimics what happens when a tomato falls and rots in the soil, and it improves germination rates. After two to three days, viable seeds have sunk to the bottom. Pour off the water and debris, rinse the seeds in a fine strainer, and spread them on a ceramic plate to dry.

Not a paper towel. A ceramic plate. I learned this the hard way.

Dry completely — a week or two in a warm, dry place, turning occasionally. Store in paper envelopes labeled with variety and year in a cool, dry location. A kitchen drawer works. A refrigerator in a sealed jar with a silica packet works better.

The Michigan Humidity Problem

High summer humidity affects seed drying. In August in Bay City, when the tomatoes are fully ripe and ready for seed saving, the humidity can work against you — seeds that seem dry are still holding moisture you cannot see. I extend the drying time in humid summers: three weeks instead of two, checking the seeds by trying to bend them. A properly dry tomato seed snaps. A seed with residual moisture bends. Store seeds that bend and they will mold. Snap the seeds, then store them.

What I Save Every Year

Cherokee Purple is the constant — I have been selecting from my best plants long enough that these are in some small way my own Cherokee Purples now. Shishito peppers, for the same reason. Zinnias, because they are easy and the dried heads full of seeds are one of winter’s best gifts to give a gardener friend. Beans, because they could not be simpler — leave a few pods on the plant to dry completely, crack them open, store. Basil, which goes to seed readily and produces more saved seed than I will ever plant.

What I do not save: anything that cross-pollinates easily and that I want to remain true — different pepper varieties grown in the same beds will cross, so I save only the shishito and accept that the others will be purchased new each year. Cucumbers cross freely with other cucumbers, so I save seed only when I am growing one variety.

The seed envelopes at the end of October are the part of the season I look forward to most. They are the season, compressed and folded, labeled in my own handwriting, waiting for the next spring to open them again.

The complete method — fermentation, drying, storage — is in the heirloom seed saving guide at chrisizworski.com.

Related reading:

• For the full method regardless of growing zone: Complete Guide to Seed Saving.
• The varieties most worth saving seed from in Zone 6a: Best Heirloom Tomatoes for Michigan.

Saving Seeds in Michigan: Common Questions

Is Michigan a good climate for saving seeds?

Yes — with some adjustments. The short season selects for earliness, which is an advantage: seed saved from your best-performing Zone 6a plants gradually adapts to your specific microclimate. The main challenge is August humidity, which makes thorough drying critical. Dry seeds on ceramic plates (not paper towels) in a room with good air circulation for 2 to 3 weeks before storing.

What seeds are easiest to save in Michigan?

Tomatoes, beans, and zinnias — all are self-pollinating and forgiving for beginners. Tomatoes require the fermentation method but are very reliable. Beans need only to be left on the vine until the pods are papery and dry, then shelled and stored. Zinnias are the simplest: let the flower dry completely on the stem, pull the seeds from the dried head, store in an envelope.

How do you store seeds through a Michigan winter?

Cool, dark, and dry. A sealed jar in a basement or back of a cabinet works well. Avoid the kitchen, which has humidity fluctuations from cooking. Silica gel packets in the jar extend viability. Most vegetable seeds remain viable for 3 to 5 years stored properly — tomatoes often last 5 to 7 years.

Can you save seeds from hybrid tomatoes?

Technically yes, but the offspring will not breed true — you may get plants with characteristics from either parent. Save seeds only from open-pollinated or heirloom varieties if you want predictable results. The five varieties in the Best Heirloom Tomatoes for Michigan post are all open-pollinated.

For a structured comparison of trade-offs in yield, flavor, disease resistance, and seed-saving viability, see the heirloom vs. hybrid seeds guide at chrisizworski.com.