how best to save hot pepper seeds (w/o removing from pods yet)?

[Zeedman]

I want to make sure I understand correctly. Can I let a red pepper dry out and then cut it open and remove the seeds? I would only do a couple of peppers so I don't want to hang them. I just want to have them on a plate till they dry out.
Mary

The short answer is yes - provided the seeds are good. Drying whole is probably the most practical method to remove seed from the smallest hot peppers. Some larger thin-walled hot peppers can (usually) be dried whole, but chances are that at least some will mold internally. The mold may not be visible in the outside, or it may appear as discoloration. Once molded, it is good for neither food nor seed. As @Ridgerunner stated, you increase the odds of successful drying if you cut the peppers open before drying. For smaller peppers, I cut off the stem end, to expose the seed cavity. Some of the fleshier hot peppers (such as Serrano) benefit the most from being cut or split lengthwise before drying; those I actually pry open somewhat (with gloves!!!) to accelerate drying.

Also, do peppers cross? This spring I want to cram several different types into a corner of my bed and save their seed.

Again, the short answer is yes; peppers can & do cross. In fact, both peppers & tomatoes - which usually self pollinate - can cross heavily under the right (or wrong?) conditions. Some varieties are more prone to crossing than others, but if different varieties of the same species are grown in close proximity, some degree of crossing is almost certain. The pepper I am breeding originally appeared as a cross between two varieties... and since that plant was open pollinated, it then crossed even further with 3 others! That's great if you are trying to breed diversity into a new variety, but undesirable if you are trying to keep a variety true to type.

The good news in that pepper flowers will (with only a few exceptions) self-pollinate, even without insects or hand pollination. So any method which completely blocks insects from contact with the flower, will - if the flower sets - result in pure seed. This can be blossom bags (such as tulle gift bags), pieces of cloth, blossom taping, or covering the entire plant. A "pepper head" that I know swears by using drops of glue to keep the flowers from opening; but since bees can still pry their way in, I would not recommend that technique. I prefer to cover the entire plant, but all of these methods have been used successfully.

I & others have had a few hot peppers which were reluctant to set while under cover. Shaking the plant every day or two was enough to cause pollination.

If you are bagging individual flowers, you need to mark any peppers which set from those flowers... so come harvest time, you know which ones to save seed from. This could be string, twist ties, or any material strong enough to stay on through wind & weather. Personally, I avoid string, because birds like to use it for their nests, and can be very persistent.

 

[ninnymary]

Thank you Zeed and Ridge. I had forgotten about the bags around the flowers. Well it sounds like too much work for me. I only have about 4 different peppers and since a package lasts for years I guess I shouldn't worry too much about saving seeds.

Next spring is my first time with seed starting so I guess I have enough to occupy me without taking another step. Baby steps first.

Mary

 

[henless]

I'm saving seeds from my Jimmy Nardello peppers this year. I just made sure they were good and ripe (deep red), cut them open to take out the seed, then chopped up the peppers and put in the freezer. I still have my seeds sitting out to dry.