Do you need special seeds to grow tom’s or peppers? Can you use seeds from store bought veggies?
A general rule of thumb that has worked for me....ifnit is heirloom variety at store you can harvest seeds from the veggie ot tomato.
The non heirloom ones are a waste of time....some types of veggies will be ok but mostly you get nothing or you get some mutant that is useless.
However I am not an expert.
You CAN use seeds from grocery store veggies, but those seeds are hybridized, which means you’ll get a ‘throw-back’ to the male or female species plant used to breed that particular PERFECT looking tomato or pepper in the Produce Section.
So, if you’re not picky, go for it.
If you want an EXACT variety, buy the seeds of your choice.
If you want to save seed from year to year, you need to buy ‘open pollinated’ or ‘heirloom’ varieties which will produce true from year to year.
HOWEVER, you need some protection from other nearby plants so they don’t cross-pollinate and ruin your future seed crop.
Ellendra is our resident seed-breeder/Mad Scientist; she can ‘splain more if you need more information. ;)
You can use seeds out of the store-bought ones. If they were hybrids, then the traits will be kind of unpredictable. Some will be better, some will be worse, some will be equal-but-different, and some will be so similar to the original that you’d need a DNA test to tell the difference. Personally I think it’s fun to see what shakes out. That’s why I’m a plant breeder :)
If you decide to go that route, just make sure you choose ripe ones. Green peppers, zucchini, cucumbers, and eggplants, are all picked while immature, so for those you’ll want to buy seeds. Other colors of peppers, tomatoes, pumpkins, and winter squash, should all be ripe enough to get viable seeds from.