How to Preserve Seeds from Bell Peppers

Co-authored by Jon Rowland

Last Updated: December 10, 2019 References

If you're a keen gardener and you'd like to keep the heritage of your bell pepper (Capsicum spp.) crop, you can do this by preserving the seeds. You'll need to select the healthiest plants, check that the seeds are viable and store them properly. Each of these elements is explained in the following steps.

Part 1

Part 1 of 2:

Harvesting the seeds

1
Choose healthy plants to source the seeds from. You'll want to pass on the best possible traits for the next bell pepper crop, so only select the plants that are growing well and are in good health.^{[1]
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- Signs of a healthy plant include good growth; ability to cope with hot, cold, wet and cool climates; well-formed fruits; uniform growth; supple branches; thick walls on the fruits; good flavor.
2
Select the seeds from the first fruits produced on the bell pepper (capsicum) plant. The reason for this is that the germination rate for seeds from later fruits drops to around 60 percent.^{[2]
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Andrea Heistinger, <i>The Manual of Seed Saving</i>}

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3
Harvest the seeds from ripe fruits only. This is when the seeds are ready. The bell pepper is ripe when it has changed from green to red or yellow or from light yellow to dark yellow or orange. The seeds will appear a golden yellow color; if they are still white, then they're not ready for preserving.^{[3]
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- If the fruit has dried on the stalk, the seeds can be harvested from this too.

Part 2

Part 2 of 2:

Preserving the seeds

1
Remove the seeds from the flesh of the fruit. Do this either using your fingers to run along the flesh and pull the seeds away or by scooping them out with a small spoon.^{[4]
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2
Sort out any flesh or other matter than isn't seeds. Place already removed seeds on a plate or tray as you work on removing more seeds from the flesh.^{[5]
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- You will likely get around 200 seeds per bell pepper.
3
Check which seeds will germinate and which won't. There is a simple test using water that will enable you to remove the seeds that probably won't germinate:
- Place all of the seeds into a small container filled with water.
- The seeds that won't germinate (non-viable) will float to the top. The seeds left at the bottom will likely germinate.
- Pour the non-viable seeds off, carefully keeping the viable ones at the base of the container.
4
Dry the viable bell pepper seeds. Spread the seeds out onto a suitable surface for drying. A screen or mesh make ideal drying surfaces, as the air can flow both sides of the seed. Put the drying seeds somewhere warm, such as in the sun or on a sunny windowsill.^{[6]
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5
Dry well. You can check when the seeds are properly dry by breaking one or two open. If the seed makes a cracking sound when broken open, it is sufficiently dried.
6
Transfer the seeds to storage. Place in an airtight bag and store in a cool, dark place. Label the bag so that you remember when the seeds were harvested.^{[7]
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7
Plant the harvested seeds next growing season. Repeat the process of saving the seeds for each consecutive crop, always focusing on the healthiest plants.^{[8]
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Expert Q&A

Question

What advice do you have for growing bell peppers?

Jon Rowland
Plant Specialist
Jon Rowland is a Plant Specialist and the Founder of the Green House Center blog. With over eight years of plant and garden experience, he specializes in greenhouse care, lawn and garden maintenance, and home appliance recommendations. Jon aims to share his knowledge so that others can live a more convenient, efficient, and environmentally friendly lifestyle.

Jon Rowland

Plant Specialist

Expert Answer

Bell peppers prefer warmth. You should plant bell peppers in the warm season. By doing this, you can provide bell peppers with the right temperature and enough sunlight. Use mulch. Mulch will help absorb sunlight and keep the soil warmer for a more extended period, which will encourage bell peppers’ growth. Use a low-nitrogen fertilizer. This type of fertilizer will bring the best rate of production for bell peppers. Avoid pests. Bell peppers don’t like flea beetles and aphids. You can either use pesticides or stake them higher from the ground, away from those natural evil pests. Grow them with companion plants. Bell peppers can grow well around tomatoes, carrots, eggplants, corn, cucumbers, etc. but not cabbage-related or apricot-related plants (they will develop some fungal disease that will affect the lifecycle of the bell peppers).
Question

Do seeds need to be dried before planting or can you take fresh undried seeds and plant them? Or, will germination be at a lower success rate?

Community Answer

Germination will be about the same. It is better to dry them though. Germination with wet seeds works better.