julianna_il,

With most vegetables, you allow the fruit to dry on the plant (this way you know the seeds are fully matured), just as nature would allow them to do so. Then they fall to the ground and come up again when environmental conditions are favorable. But it's best do do a bit of reading up depending on what you have. Ripe tomatoes need to be fermented in water, seeds strained, then dried. If you're seed saving, you'll also want to make sure you're not cross pollinating certain varieties if you want to maintain pure strains.

If you are truly interested in seed saving, make a once in a lifetime investment in this book Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth. You can refer to it for the rest of your life.

Johnny's Seeds puts out a little booklet called "Growing Garden Seeds." This is what it says about eggplants.

"Seed matures after the fruits reach edible size. A fruit will generally contain mature seeds when thumb pressure applied to the fruit leaves an indent, instead of springing back out to normal as it does when the fruit is still at a good edible stage. However, seed from harvested, edible size fruits will sometimes mature if fruits are allowed to sit at room temperature for several days."

So yeah, it sounds like it's best to let the eggplant get overripe, till it's getting slightly soft. I've never tried doing this, so I can't give any advice based on experience.

I allow eggplant grown for seed to fully mature on the plant. If possible, the fruit should be left on until it begins to soften, at which time the seeds may be processed. Keep in mind, it may take an additional two months or so beyond the normal harvest stage for the fruit to reach the proper harvest stage.

Squash grown for seed should be picked when fully ripe, then cured for about a month before removing the seeds. During the curing time, the seeds will fatten considerably, and the germination rate & storage life will be much improved.

Violet's point about seed purity should not be overlooked. Eggplant & squash will both cross easily with other varieties, unless prevented from doing so. Squash, in particular, will cross with others of the same species grown by your neighbors - up to 1/4 of a mile away in some cases! It would be a shame to spend all that effort saving the seed & growing it next year, only to find that you no longer have the variety that you started with.

Besides the book mentioned above, you can find seed saving tips here on GW under the appropriate forums (such as beans, tomatoes, and peppers) or in the FAQ's in the Seed Saving Forum.

Once you ferment and dry tomato seeds, how do you store them?

>Once you ferment and dry tomato seeds, how do you store them?Once the seeds are very well-dried I put them in a labeled paper envelope. The envelope goes in a glass jar I keep in the fridge just for storing seed packets.

Check out this FAQ on Saving Tomato Seeds

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Saving Seeds Forum

I keep reading about storing them in sealed glass jars, would clean jars like salsa or spaghetti jars work? Also for the paper envelope...do you mean like the ones for mailing letters? Should I use those silica packs in the envelope or just in the glass jar?

If seed has been thoroughly dried & is sealed in moisture-proof containers, no desiccant is necessary. But if there is any doubt about the seeds' dryness, then a small amount may be used - not to exceed the total weight of the seeds within the container. Use small paper envelopes within the jar (such as coin envelopes), or the original seed packets.

The silica packs that come with consumer goods are unreliable for seed storage, since their effectiveness is questionable. There is usually no way to determine how much moisture has already been absorbed. The color-changing silica gel (available from hobby stores) is better, and can be renewed in the microwave for years of use.

Seeds stored in this way will maintain better germination rates than seed stored in the open air, especially if refrigerated or frozen. However, if there is no room in your refrigerator, a dark cool basement can serve nearly as well. Just be sure that the jar (or other container) is air-tight.

Some speak poorly of zip-lock storage bags for seed storage, claiming that they kill seed. If the seed was not dried properly, or was exposed to heat or light while in the bag, that may be true. But if the seed was properly dried before storage & stored in a dark location (such as a drawer or box) zip-locks can be very effective. I have used them for many years, with a wide variety of vegetable seeds, and with excellent germination rates over time.