Mixed results would likely follow saving grocery store seeds. You mentioned peppers - many of the bell peppers are hybrids and if you get them to germinate they may not come back true.

I have a friend that has had great results from planting grocery store dried beans. He is a real cheapskate and does this for that reason.

I plant fenugreek and mustard packaged as spices, from the Indian market. I did germination tests to make sure that they were viable. Many commercial spices are irradiated because of insects [tropical pests] and are not viable [or if they did come up you might grow the "The Mutant Dill that ate Peoria!]

For the peppers I would go with seedlings from your garden center or commercial seeds that you start indoors. Oops, you should have already started the seeds indoors - go with the seedlings and try the commercial seeds next year.

I am trying a germination experiment on some peppers that I got from Penzys spices. One in a Pakistani pepper called Dandicut and the other is the humble chili piquin, the mother pepper, perhaps the cultivar that all the others came from.

Good luck!

I say you should try planting red pepper seeds from produce. I had to stop throwing seeds from bell peppers into my worm compost bin because they were always germinating. Whether you'll have success producing your own peppers from them is another matter.

I've had amazing luck starting lemons, oranges, apples, mangos, tomatoes, and peppers from seed. Even from big-bin grocery store fruits before I moved to California.

You'll have much better luck sprouting organic produce or things from farmer's markets because of the great variety of heirlooms and they won't have been chemical treated to high heaven.

Simply googling "how to grow ___ from seed" will provide tons of info from other gardeners.

You have to be careful; I've heard (unsubstantiated, of course) from the owners of the grocery store I frequent that a lot of fruit is radiated (especially apples and corn) so people can't take the seeds and grow their own.
Maybe this is just where I live though. : \

I saved seed from a tomato marked 'Heirloom' that I bought at Central Market here in Austin a couple years back. It got me back into gardening. I've grown several generations now and it's one of my best producers. I don't know what it is, so I knicknamed it 'Upper East Side Heirloom'.

You should try it. You don't have much to loose if it doesn't work and a lot to gain if it does.

Often times the vegetables in the store are picked before the seed has time to fully mature. I've not had much luck with vegetables reseeding but the citrus fruits, melons, local garlic and non-irradiated potatoes will. Look at your compost pile for clues to which seeds/bulbs will grow. I've found lots of treasures in there.

I actually have a great book on this very topic:
http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Throw-Grow-windowsill-kitchen/dp/1603420649

The problem with hybrid seeds is not that they will not sprout (they usually will!) but that they will not fruit. It is a shame to care for a plant for weeks and weeks only to find that the flowers never come, or flowers are not followed by fruit. I know the sadness because I've done it myself. That's why I stick to seeds.

I do save my seed packets from year to year and use them until they are gone. After expiration I plant a few extra in case some of them are no longer viable but I haven't yet had any problems using years old seed.

Get seeds or seedlings that are not hybrid this year and save the tastiest ones to plant next year. My grandma always did this with tomatoes you have to put the pulp into a jar of water and let it sit and then save the seeds---I don't know the precise details though.

What if Monsanto owns the seeds?

Exactly what I was thinking btrussel.
The OP might wind up the next canola farmer from Saskatchewan.

What a great opportunity for a discussion about why GMO's are evil beyond the health concerns.

@splatgirl: As far as I'm concerned, that kind of ownership is probably one of the biggest reasons to be uncomfortable with GMOs.

On the original topic, I just finished a research project on seed-saving, and everything I looked at suggested that it's best to use open-pollinated heirloom plants, because you can't be sure that seeds from grocery store vegetables will germinate and fruit what you expect them to. The community garden at my university, which grows really fabulous tomatoes, agrees that (if you're anywhere around Toronto, at least) late March or early April is the time to start tomatoes and peppers indoors.

I completely agree, tariquata. Although "uncomfortable" is putting it quite mildly IMO.
I would love for this to be a topic here at the kitchn, because I don't think most people--even fairly well-informed, conscious people--realize exactly what is going on with the whole seed ownership thing. I know I could have said that about myself until fairly recently.

Huge and scary.

What is abigail97 commenting on? Sorry but ugh! keep seeing it in various pages today here in AT, re-nest. Real comments are appreciated okay, please!!!