Anaheim Seeds
 

I have been picking peppers and saving seeds for most of the day and half the night. There are only 5 varieties, but it took me a long time getting them picked and ready. I used the soaking them in a jar of water for an hour to cull the seeds floating method. One variety has me wondering if maybe I did something wrong? The Anaheim pepper seeds are 85% off-white color and the other 15% are a dark color.

The other 4 varieties are one color only.

Is this normal or should I get rid of the darker colored seeds even though they did not float?

I always discard any "off" looking seeds. As many hours as you have been processing seeds you probably have all you need of the ones that look healthy.

kayrobbins, thank you for your advice. Again.

It turned out that after 18 hours of drying, those dark looking seeds turned out to be specks of dark plant matter stuck to the seeds. I'm guessing I didn't wash them good enough? I took a pair of tweezers and removed the dark stuff, and it turned out that none of the dark matter were seeds.

In the other four varieties, there were three pods that the seeds were smaller and dark. I instantly put them in the compost bowl. The Anaheim variety - I did not notice the dark matter until after the seeds were separated, soaked, and had been drying for a few hours.

I hope this thread helps other newcomers to saving pepper seeds. Thank you, Kay.

I know you were relieved to find out there was nothing wrong with your seeds. Some peppers are so easy to clean but others are harder. I let my seeds get completely dry when that happens and the I put the in a stainless steel strainer and shake them. That gets a lot of that off and you won't have so much work removing it from individual seeds.

I checked the drying seeds today and made a rough count. There are 100 or so of the Anaheim which is plenty for the seed swap, but I need some for myself. Yes, the same back spots are on the plate of Anaheim seeds I started today.

I also learned that the area I put two varieties of seeds to dry in wasn't a good idea. My Banana and Serrano peppers seeds got eaten. Every single one was gone and a couple mouse droppings were nearby. I never thought about a hungry little mouse. Like they say: Live and Learn.

I always dry my seeds indoors. They do better away from the humidity we have here. I put them on the coffee filters and put all of those on a large cookie sheet that goes on top of the refrigerator. They are out of the way and still safe. I use to use my dining room table because the kitchen table is the only one used. I thought my cat knew he was not suppose to be on furniture but evidently the lure of playing with seeds was too tempting. That was a lesson learned.

Some varieties of peppers are more prone to mold on the inside. Habaneros are the worst but any pepper can do it. I most often see it as a darkening of the seeds which then spreads to the ribs and inner skin. Could be this is what's causing the darker seeds on your Anaheim. I would not use those seeds.
I wonder if they would even grow and if they'd be prone to damping off?

You can let one pod get red ripe and save seeds from it.
Other wise you can buy seeds from BBS.

I don't grow Anaheim, because they are sold real cheap in Asian markets. Same goes for Jalapenos ( @ 99 cents/lb)

I had a group of seedling that were jst sprouted and then, all the leaves were eaten off by the mice. Traps and peanut butter have eliminated some of the problem but the solution(temporary) advances.

Got to start some more.

jon:twisted:

I just take the pepper seeds out when I'm cutting up for eating and put them on a plate. Any peppers with dark seeds don't get saved as they may be moldy. Some peppers, like habaneros, have a great tendency to go bad from the inside out.
Saving pepper and eggplant seeds are easy. Maybe not as easy as winter squash and melons but not as much trouble as tomatoes.