Saving Seeds in September: NYC Gardeners Prepare for Next Spring

On a breezy Saturday morning in Red Hook, you’ll find Brooklynites hunched over raised beds, snipping the last of their cherry tomatoes and peppers. September in New York is the season of transition—stoops piled with fading basil, rooftop planters pulled up for compost, and, for the urban garden faithful, the annual ritual of seed saving.

At the Union Square Greenmarket this week, seed envelopes traded hands alongside late-season squash. “Saving seeds is part thrift, part tradition,” says Mariella Ortiz, a community garden coordinator in East Harlem. “It’s how you reclaim a little control over what you grow, especially in a city where patch of soil is precious.”

In practical terms, seed saving means slicing open your best tomatoes, rinsing the seeds, and letting them dry on a plate by a sunlit window. Peppers, beans, and even some flowers—marigolds, zinnias—are easy targets for beginners. Local garden shops, like Brooklyn Grange, have started offering quick workshops this month, and the city’s GreenThumb program shares tip sheets for residents eager to harvest more than just produce from their plots.

Seed saving isn’t just a backyard hobby. For New Yorkers, it’s a way to build resilience into their neighborhoods. With new community gardens opening in the Bronx and Queens this fall, organizers say sharing seeds helps create a sense of continuity across generations and boroughs. “You get to taste last year’s summer again,” Ortiz adds, pocketing a handful of scarlet runner beans.

As the sun sets earlier, these small acts—envelopes labeled in Sharpie, dried seeds tucked into kitchen drawers—signal a city quietly preparing for next year’s bloom. For now, the reward is immediate: a chance to savor September’s harvest with the promise of another spring waiting in every seed.