Since the dawn of agriculture, seed saving has been a part of human culture.  Whether it be in the form of a corn kernel, an eye of a potato, or a small basil seed, seeds (or their equivalent) are the basis of all farming.  Saving seeds from plants with particular characteristics have brought about the varieties and strains of some fruits and vegetables we all enjoy, as well as foster better growth and longer-lived plants.
When window gardening, if you’ve grown from seed you’ve probably taken a few seeds from a package and put them in some growing medium and let the rest happen naturally.  What you might not know is what process that seed took to get to you.  I don’t know what exactly occurs to get a seed into your hands, but I bet the process would be more involved then harvesting your own seeds; in some cases seeds are even sprayed with anti-fungal treatments for longevity.  Take into account warehouses for storage, transportation to the store you purchase them at, packaging, processing, etc., and the cost (the true cost) of a seed goes up.

Why save seeds?  When growing a particular plant you might find the fruit is a little different (better tasting, larger, or it lasts longer), or the plant did exceptionally well under harsh conditions, or it out performed your other plants in every way; all these would be a good reason to save a seed.  The next time you plant, you can use these seeds and hopefully achieve a similar out come.  Seeds you save are far cheaper.  Though seeds are relatively inexpensive, one basil plant might produce 50 seeds.  If you have enough room to grow 50 basil plants, then you’re set for one growing season-if you have room for only 3, well you’re set for much longer.  By saving your own seeds from particularly well growing plants, you might also be able to help develop a particularly useful strain for the hydroponic garden.

How can you save seeds?  Saving seeds is relatively simple for most plants.  If you want to know about a particular plant, searching the web should give you at least one way to save seeds.  Here’s an example that I’ve successfully used with bell peppers with a 90% germination rate.  The great thing is I didn’t waste any pepper in the process!  (Remember to wear gloves if you’re sensitive to peppers!)

1. Remove core from the edible parts of the Pepper.

2. Remove the seeds from the core (rinse if needed, mine came off cleanly).

3. Place the seeds on a coffee filter (or a paper towel would serve the same purpose) Set in a warm location that preferably has a slight breeze.  Don’t set in sunlight otherwise you could risk damage. (I set mine on top of my fridge.)

4. Mix around on the plate once or twice a day (a step I might have skipped a few times).

5. Let sit for a few days until the seeds are completely dry.

6. Place seeds in an air tight container and put in the fridge until you use them.  (I used a baggie inside of a clean peanut butter jar.)

Some plants are even easier to save seeds! Basil seeds simply need to be left to dry and should tap right out of the flower stalk.  Successful seed saving results in germination rates of 85-100% germination.  You might need only save seeds from one or two fruits or plants to be set for quite a while.  The pepper I save seeds from gave me way more seeds than I’ll need for a few years.  The most important element to seed saving is to make sure your seeds stay dry!  Some people add those moisture absorbing packets you find with some products to absorb any excess moisture; I used brown rice with my tomato seeds and that seemed to work perfectly well.  With my pepper seeds I didn’t use anything, and they germinated very well.

Window farming and seed saving go hand in hand.  I’d love to know if anyone has tried to do this yet with their own window farm, and if others would like to try.  It would be wonderful to develop strains of plants specifically suited to window farming.  It only takes one seed to make one plant, and one plant can make many seeds.