The best options are not where you might expect!
Put down those seed packets and have fun finding free garden seeds at the grocery store. Finding free seeds is an accessible way to plant your next garden if you know where to look. You may think your best bet is to start with the produce aisle, but when it comes to seeds, you might not find as much as you were hoping. You can find a wide variety of seeds for every season in the garden.
Can I save seeds from grocery store produce?
Seeds are literally everywhere, including in your grocery store produce. But not all seeds are created equal. Can I plant the ones from this pepper I just cut up? What about tomato seeds? Where are the best places to find them? Is it a good idea to grow them? Before we get into the nitty gritty of vegetable seeds, let's start with understanding how a seed is formed.
Mature seeds are produced as the result of successful pollination in which the male pollen of a plant is combined with the female pollen and then seeds form in the ovule of the female flower. And much like animals, these seeds take time to fully mature. Through maturing, they will typically turn darker in color and form a protective shell or tough outer layer, which makes them more durable for release into the wild.
Many fruits and vegetables that you get from a big-box store contain seeds which are not fully matured. You can tell because they are often white and soft when you eat them. The fruits were likely picked when they were under ripe in order to stay fresh during transportation or they were hybridized to shut down seed development altogether. Those seeds inside never had the chance to full develop and will likely not produce any plants. So even though it is tempting to think saving those little seeds might work, you may be disappointed with the results.
What does it mean if they're hybrid seeds versus heirloom organic seeds?
More often than not, the conventional produce you buy from the store are the result of hybridization. This means that instead of coming from a long line of naturally evolved plants, they were the result of cross breeding two plants within the same family in order to enhance or diminish certain traits. For example, a hybrid pepper plant may have been cross-pollinated to produce larger fruits or to have disease resistance. If you attempt to plant seeds that are the result of hybridization, they will likely be less vigorous and more stunted than you would expect. The fruit developed will not carry all of the same traits as the parent plant you took the seeds from either.
If you attempt to plant seeds that are the result of hybridization, they will likely be less vigorous and more stunted. The fruit developed will not carry the same traits as the one you took the seeds from either.
Heirloom seeds to the rescue! (the best option for good tomato seeds)
If, however, you find foods that have "heirloom" in the name, then you should absolutely consider them for seed saving. Heirloom foods are grown from seeds that have been harvested and saved by people over decades or even centuries in order to preserve their unique properties. Many foods we have now, particularly corn and tomatoes, are easy to find in heirloom form, especially if you shop at a farmer's market (more on that below). In addition to carrying the same traits as their parent plant, heirloom and organic produce will most likely have been harvested later in the ripening process, so the seeds will be more matured and thus more high-quality and viable for planting.
Other great options in the produce section!
Squash, pumpkins, zucchini
Pumpkins, seasonal squash, and even zucchini are great contenders for seed saving. Kabocha, summer squash, butternut squash and countless others share similar growing methods and harvest times, which means their seeds will have similar quality and maturity. Why are their seeds so easy to grow? For starters, they're large and hardy seeds making them easy to store and germinate. Secondly, squash and gourds are left on the vine for a long time in order to encourage the fruits to get larger and more colorful. They also have a long shelf-life so producers don't need to rush harvesting by picking them prematurely. Both of those facts mean that the seeds will have had ample time to mature before they were picked, and will be healthy, viable seeds for you to plant.
Fresh Peas and Green beans
Fresh peas and green beans are other great places to find seeds. In those cases, the part of the plant you're eating is, in fact, the seed. If you buy a bag of sugar snap peas or green beans that you really enjoy, why not save a few pods for when you'd like to grow your own? In order to save them long term, set them somewhere to dry before you store them otherwise they could mold if they're still moist. Ready to plant right away? You can pop them out of the shell and plant them right in the ground.
What about Farmer's Markets or Organic Produce?
Farmer's markets and organic produce sections are much less likely to sell only hybridized options AND the veggies will be more ripe because they were not picked too early in the growing process. This means the immaturity of the seeds that are often found in grocery store produce won't be as big of a problem.
One more huge bonus?
If you're saving seed from the farmer's market, you have the added benefit of speaking with the expert that knows exactly how to grow it. Additionally, that farmer will have selected produce that they know grows well in your local climate! This is really a triple win for a hopeful gardener, you can save viable seeds, talk with a local growing expert, AND walk away with varieties that you know will do well in your yard. Key info to request: When do they usually plant?
Some great options for seed saving from these sources:
- Tomatoes
- Popcorn!
- Peppers
- Squash
- Pumpkins
- Watermelon
- Cucumber
- Zucchini
- Pumpkins
- Peas
- Beans
What can I grow from the produce aisle that doesn't come from seeds?
Potatoes
If you're looking for faster options than seeds, there are a few tried and true methods for growing food quickly using scraps of matured veggies. Potatoes are a perfect example of a veggie you can grow directly from store bought potatoes. Sweet potatoes, golden potatoes, red potatoes, russets, yams- all of them can be cut into chunks and planted directly in the garden. Again, you'll have the best luck in the organic section, as conventional produce may have been chemically treated so that it doesn't sprout. When your potatoes do sprout, what they're actually doing is regrowing the plant from the energy stored in that tuber. You can take these potatoes, cut them up to produce several plants, and then put them in the soil to keep regrowing. There's nothing quite like the satisfaction of planting a "bad" potato and then harvesting 30 freshly grown potatoes from it a few months later.
Garlic and Green Onions
Two of my other favorites to grow from scraps are green onions and garlic. After you use the greens from your store-bought green onions, plant the bulbs again to produce another round of delicious greens. Have a few pieces of tiny garlic leftover? Plant them in the fall and in the summer you'll have full heads of garlic to harvest.
Lettuces
Lettuces are also really easy to regrow from the base. Look for lettuce varieties that are still connected as one plant and not shredded or bagged. The easiest variety to regrow this way is romaine lettuce, but it does work with butter crunch, leafy green, red lettuce, and others. Once you harvest your lettuce from the initial produce, save the base and set it in a dish or bowl of water (just enough so it's sitting in water but not floating in it). After a few days you will start to see the lettuce regrow from the center. Change the water every few days to keep it healthy and happy. Once you see roots forming, you can plant your lettuce in the garden where it will grow larger and look just like any other lettuce plant.
Ginger and Turmeric
These lovely spices come from the rhizomes of a flowering plant. Rhizomes are just roots that run along the surface of the soil to create new plants. Fun fact, Bermuda grass grows this way too which is why it's so hard to contain! You can regrow ginger or turmeric using the fresh ginger root and turmeric root rhizomes you find in the produce aisle. I recommend planting them in containers so that they don't spread too quickly.
Great places to find seeds at the store (that aren't the produce aisle)
If you're going seed hunting at the store, there are other places I would look for options and none of them are the fresh produce section.
The Spice Aisle
This aisle has a surprising number of seeds you can plant! Coriander aka Cilantro seed can be planted to grow delicious cilantro for your next salsa garden. Dill seed can be planted for dill. Fennel, cumin, and sesame seed can all be planted to grow the leafy green equivalent.
Dried Goods (bulk bins)
Head over to the dried goods aisle for more growing options. Popcorn is one the easiest ones you can grow from seed. Literally just buy a bag of kernels and you can plant them to grow an entire field of popcorn if you want. If you can find organic or heirloom popcorn, they will produce the best plants. I like to use this as an inexpensive way to get glass gem corn seeds and crimson popcorn. Legumes like dry beans and lentils can be planted from store bought dried goods. Sunflower seeds are also very easy to grow from the seeds you buy in the bag and usually will produce a LOT of sunflowers. Look for raw, unroasted seeds, if possible. Pumpkin seeds can also be planted to grow your own pumpkins (start them in July for a pumpkin-filled October harvest)!
The Tea Aisle
If you look in the tea aisle you'll find other options including chamomile! It's a very fine, tiny seeded plant and the tea packet version is packed with them. Buy a box of tea, tear open the bags and sprinkle the tea (which will include the chamomile seed) on your growing medium to grow your own!
If you're in a location without easy access to seeds or plants, consider shopping your local grocery store for something to grow this season.
Comments