Seed Ledger

Tomatoes

Scoop seeds and gel into a jar with a splash of water. Leave it on the windowsill until a skin forms on top, usually two to four days. Rinse through a sieve, spread thin on a plate, and stir once a day so they don't clump.

Beans and peas

The easiest of the lot. Leave pods on the plant until they are papery, then shell on a dry afternoon. A week in the freezer once they are fully dry takes care of anything living inside.

Squash

Crosses with anything else in the same family flowering nearby, so only one variety per year is saved. Seeds come from a fruit left to sit for a few weeks after picking.

Storage

Paper envelopes, labelled with variety and year, in a tin with a packet of dried rice. Tin lives in the coolest cupboard in the house, not the shed.