Skip to Content

How to Save Eggplant Seeds – 6 Steps Guide!

Sharing is caring!

Not only do eggplants make an excellent ornamental addition to the garden, but they also taste amazing and have various delicious applications.

Growing, harvesting, and saving seeds from eggplants is quite easy, and we will teach you how to save eggplant seeds with our simple and helpful guide.

If you are particularly proud of a specific harvest of your eggplants and want to regrow them for the next season, then you can easily save their seeds. The seeds are saved from the harvested eggplants, which are fully grown and ripe.

Saving seeds is a very simple process; all you need to know is the correct instructions, so the seeds stay preserved for longer without going bad.

Follow our guide to learn how to save eggplant seeds and safely preserve them.

How to Save Eggplant Seeds? | A Step-by-Step Guide!

Follow these simple steps and learn how to save eggplant seeds and preserve them safely for the next few seasons.

Step 1: Choosing the Eggplant to Save Seeds From

The first thing that you need to do is to select one or two eggplants that are right for saving seeds.

For that purpose, choose two healthy eggplants and let them get fully mature and ripe. You can mark these eggplants using a sharpie pen or by tying a piece of thread by them.

It will ensure you don’t accidentally harvest these with the rest of your eggplants to be eaten.

You don’t have to put aside many eggplants to save the seeds. One eggplant is sufficient for you to save enough seeds for a whole season.

Step 2: Harvesting the Selected Eggplant

Don’t harvest the eggplant that you have marked.

Let it grow overripe to ensure the seeds have reached full maturity so they can be harvested and stored correctly.

The eggplant you are trying to save the seeds from should be left with the plant to overripe for several weeks longer than the other plants you are harvesting for eating purposes.

Let the eggplant overripe for long enough until it changes its color to yellowish brown and loses its shiny flaccid appearance.

Step 3: Removing the Seeds from Eggplant

Take a sharp knife and cut the eggplant in half vertically, exposing the middle of the eggplant, which contains seeds.

The lower part of the fruit contains the most seeds. These seeds are a little brownish in appearance.

The ideal way to take out these seeds is by removing the pulp using a spoon to scoop it out. You can also use your fingers to do so.

Step 4: Separate the Pulp from the Seeds

There are many ways to remove the seeds and separate them from the pulp, but using your hands is the easiest and simplest.

However, using your hands can be time-consuming and tedious work. An easier solution to this problem is adding the pulp to a blender and blending it.

Just add the pulp to the mixer, add some water, turn the mixer at its lowest speed and blend it. The pulp will get mixed with water, and the seeds will settle at the bottom.

It will make the whole process very fast and convenient.

Strain the slurry to collect the seeds and separate them from the pulp. Wash the seeds under water and get rid of excess pulp using your fingers.

A critical point to remember here is that you risk potentially damaging the seeds using the blending method. If done too vigorously, the seeds might get damaged, and hence they won't be viable to be used for planting.

Step 5: Dry the Seeds

Once the seeds are successfully separated from the pulp, it is time to dry them.

If the seeds are not dried thoroughly, they will quickly go bad. Wet seeds are more likely to grow mold, develop a disease, and go bad.

Drying is an essential step to ensure your seeds are preserved properly.

  • Place your seeds in between the layers of dry paper towels.
  • Pat them and absorb all the excess moisture.
  • Once the excess water is removed, you must dry out your seeds completely.
  • To do that, place the seeds on a baking tray and let them dry out in the sun for a couple of days.

You can also try baking the seeds to dry them out quickly; however, remember not to increase the temperature too much as it may burn the seeds.

Step 6: Storing the Seeds

The final step in saving the seeds is to store them properly.

For storing the seeds, you need to get an airtight jar or container to ensure the seeds aren’t exposed to humidity and air.

If the seeds are not appropriately sealed, then they might go bad.

Put the seeds in the jar and place it in a cold dark place. If you store them properly, the seeds will last up to three years without going bad.

If you see any condensation in your jar, it implies that the seeds have not dried properly.

It may cause the seeds to go bad, so you need to remove the seeds from the jar, dry it with a paper towel, dry your seeds again, then place them back in the jar.

Eggplant Seeds How to Save Eggplant Seeds
Eggplant Seeds – via Flickr

That was all about how to save eggplant seeds. I hope you’ll now be able to preserve your eggplant seeds for a long time!

Viability and Germination Test

If stored properly, the eggplant seeds can stay viable for four years.

However, if you are unsure whether the seeds are good and will germinate or not, then you can do a little germination test to check them.

Wet a paper towel, place a few seeds between the folds, and then put it in a plastic bag.

Check periodically to see whether or not the seeds have germinated in a few weeks. If the seeds sprout in three weeks, they are good; otherwise, they are just not viable to be planted.

That’s all!


Conclusion

Eggplants are used in cooking cuisines all around the world.

As gardeners, we can all agree that nothing tastes better than fresh fruits and vegetables that we grow by ourselves.

If you had a successful harvest of eggplants for a season and you want to regrow them for the coming season, then you can do so by saving the seeds.

We have elaborately covered how to save eggplant seeds so you can devour your eggplants every season!

If you find this article helpful, share it with humans!

Regards,
Happy planting!