Save money in your vegetable garden? Here's how to harvest vegetable seeds.

Early autumn is the perfect time to harvest seeds from your edible crops. Harvesting vegetable seeds is easy, fun, and will save you money next year. We'll show you how.

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September is a time of abundance in the vegetable garden. There's plenty to harvest. But it's also a time when many plants are exhausted and set seed. You can take advantage of this! By harvesting seeds from vegetables like peas, Swiss chard, and lettuce, you're guaranteed plenty of sowing next year—for free! It's quick and easy, environmentally friendly, and even good for wildlife: birds like goldfinches will feast on the ripening seed heads in your (vegetable) garden. But there's always plenty left over for you.

When harvesting seeds, select strong, healthy plants that show no signs of pests or disease . You can also select for desirable characteristics, for example, seeds from tomato plants with abundant or deliciously sweet fruits.

Seeds can sometimes produce plants that are crossbreeds of their parent plants. With some vegetables, such as pumpkins and zucchini , this can be dangerous. They also have inedible and poisonous relatives, meaning crossbreeds can be mildly toxic. If your pumpkins and zucchini taste bitter, don't eat them and throw them away.

Harvesting the seeds of different vegetables is done in different ways. We'll show you how to do this for 7 different vegetable varieties.

Squeeze the seeds and flesh of a ripe tomato into a bowl and let it sit for a few days until the mixture begins to ferment. Then stir it into water in a jar, reserving any seeds that sink to the bottom. Rinse them well and let them dry in a warm place. Tomatoes can cross-pollinate, but they are usually true-breeding.

Also try this with: tomatillos, Cape gooseberries

Tip!

When picking peas, you'll often find dried pods hidden among the leaves that you might have overlooked. These are ready to harvest. Remove the pods when they start to rattle, shell the peas, and dry them for a few days in a warm place. If there's a frost, bring the pods indoors to dry. Peas are usually self-pollinating and produce true-to-life seeds.

Also try this with: green beans (more chance of cross-pollination than with peas )

Spinach sorrel cross-pollinates with Swiss chard and beetroot , but this shouldn't be a problem, as the new plants will still produce tasty leaves. These are biennials , so you may have to wait until next year to harvest seeds. In sunny weather, wait until the seeds have dried on the plant and then rub them off into a container. In wet weather, cut the stems before the seeds ripen and let them dry indoors.

Also try this with: beetroot, Swiss chard.

Runner beans can cross-pollinate with plants up to 800 meters away. Isolate them by covering the flowers with fleece or insect netting and pollinating them by hand. Let the beans ripen in their pods on the plant, then shell them indoors and let them dry. In wet weather, remove the pods and store them in a warm place until dry.

Also try this with: broad beans (can also cross-pollinate).

If you want the same variety next year, it's best to grow just one variety of chili peppers , although they are usually self-pollinating. Cut open a ripe chili pepper, remove the seeds, and wash them. Wear gloves to avoid getting the sap on your fingers. Let the seeds dry for a few days in a warm place. The seeds are ready when they break, not bend, when you press your fingernail into them.

Also try this with: bell peppers.

Chives produce masses of seeds that dry quickly on the plant. Collect the seed heads as soon as they turn black in an egg carton. Alternatively, place the top of the plant in a paper bag and snip off the seed heads so they fall into the bag. Shake the seeds out and store them in a cool, dry place in an envelope.

Also try this with: onions, leeks (high chance of cross-pollination between varieties).