In my earlier post I had written about letting your fruit ripen or maybe even over ripen for seed saving. I do pick and roast/dehydrate/ freeze green bell peppers. I hope to sometime this week stuff and freeze some of my bell peppers. But I have also allowed some to fully ripen and turn red. Namely because I like to dehydrate the red ones because I like the taste and use them in many recipes. But also I use these ripe fruit to save my seeds. These seeds are nice and mature and plump seeds that should germinate well if dried and stored properly. This variety is the open pollinated variety California Wonder bell pepper.
It really is as simple as cutting the peppers open and taking the seeds out. Picking them off the core and laying them on a saucer to dry. I do not rinse them.
The meat of the pepper is chopped to go in the dehydrator.
And the saucer of seeds I will simply set out on the little oak table here in the kitchen to air dry for a week or so. Then we will bag, label and freeze for next year. About 3 large peppers should give me all the seed I should need for several years. And I add one more vegetable seed to the list of saved seeds that i will not have to buy in the future.
Blessings from The Holler
The Canned Quilter
Thanks for that post. I've got some seeds from my bell peppers ~ and now I know how to save them!
ReplyDeleteDo you leave the seeds on the core to dry or pull them off? We might do this with some jalapenos.
ReplyDeleteI pulled mine off and laid them out on a saucer to air dry in the window
DeleteDo you freeze most of your seeds? I remember many many years ago some of my elderly gardening neighbors said they froze theirs in an old coffee tin but years later, I read that you shouldnt... I was always afraid to with mine.. I just dry them out first, then put them in baggies in coffee tins in the basement where they stay cool but arent frozen..
ReplyDeleteHave you ever eaten a sweet Carmen Red Pepper? They're long and oblong like a fat Italian pepper but man they have the BEST sweet red pepper flavor.. I've got to get these growing next spring.. I could eat them out of hand day in & day out.. They're sooo good. They are an F1 so they may not come back true to seed but they're so good.
I have not had that type pf pepper but may have to try : ) I have started freezing some of mine. First year doing it so I will let you know.
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