How to:Harvest chilli seeds

In this guide I'll show you how to harvest your chilli or pepper seeds successfully so you can grow them yourself! This is great if you want to grow your favourite chilli or pepper so you can always have some near.

You will need

Chillis or Peppers


Knife


Kitchen roll


Ziplock bag


Step 1
First put your chilli or pepper on the kitchen towel because you don't want to make a mess, especially if its a hot chilli.(Chilli->Body=Pain)Next you need to take your knife and cut off the top of your pepper or chilli, cut just below the top because you don't want to cut any seeds by accident. Then do the same on the other end.



Step 2
Now that you've cut off both ends of the pepper/chilli. you'll want to cut it down the middle making a split. (You can eat or cook the bits that we don't need.)



Step 3
Now you should see the seeds all carefully attached to the chilli, usually at the top end. Take your knife and carefully cut this off trying to avoid cutting through any seeds.


Step 4
Next carefully pull all your seeds off the part of the pepper/chilli that holds them and put them on some paper.


Step 5
Now you have to wait for your seeds to dry, in hot weather this can take an hour to a few hours. Some people choose to dry them in a low heat oven, but I wouldn't do this because it's likely that you kill the embryo within the seeds. A good way to dry them is to put them on the back of your computer monitor for a few hours. If all else fails they will dry in a day or two. You will be able to tell if the seeds are ready for storage or not when they snap in half rather than bend. If they bend when squeezed, give them a few more hours or days.

Once they are all dry put them into your ziplock bag and gently squeeze out all the air, some people put silica gel in the pack to absorb more moisture but if you are going to do this make sure the silica doesnt touch the seeds. (It's not really needed anyway)


Step 6
Now that your seeds are all bagged up, they need to be put in a cool and dark place. A fridge is perfect for this and seeds stored in a fridge can be viable for a long time, even years in some cases.

WARNING: Some things described on this site are potentially dangerous/illegal. The writers of this site assume no responsibility for the consequences that may result from attempting the activities described here.

Want to submit an article? Email it to adventuresandmadness