Seed Saving DAILY

IrisB
IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭
edited October 2020 in Seed Saving & Fall Prep

CHALLENGE:

Since so many members here are interested in seed saving, why not post daily HERE what seeds you have collected today, found today or plants you are carefully nurturing in order to collect seeds from - to keep us all inspired and motivated. It's so easy to forget our goals in the daily buzy-ness.

I have been saving seeds for more than 25 years. In recent years I admit I have been lazy because it was so easy to buy them. So I just collected the seeds from plants and varieties I was really, really attached to and would be upset if I couldn't get them from a catalogue in the following year.

But like many others I'm making a new effort due to covid 19 and lockdown rules.

TODAY: I cleaned up the glasshouse and found some additional caigua fruit on the floor. The fruit were seconds, so I didn't bother about eating or harvesting for seeds. But today I did pick the seeds out and will test grow them. If they do grow into nice seedlings despite coming from less than optimal fruit, I'll donate the surplus plants to neighbours and schools (we're now out of lockdown and are allowed to share plants now).


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Comments

  • AngelaOston
    AngelaOston Posts: 249 ✭✭✭

    Waiting for my arugula and lettuces to finish. Like to let them go all the way to dry on the stem before pulling.

    planted the few pees i had gathered. And some creature came through and thanked me for the dinner. 😎

    also saving dandelion seeds. Hard to believe. Had four fout dandelions last year. This year none came up except what i already over wintered in my planter. Believe it or not, read a thing that you can use dandelion flowers, when small, to make something like capers. Also looking forward to roasting the roots, And of course we through a few greens into the daily green mix

  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    I purposely let my dandelion self seed as well. I noticed that the leaves are bigger and less bitter when they grow in the vegetable garden, so I eat more of them than when I just pick them wild.

    I've also just tried making dandelion capers a few days ago - for the first time ever. Will be able to report soon. First result: definitely pick the buds early before any yellow petals build up inside.


  • JodieDownUnder
    JodieDownUnder Posts: 1,483 admin

    I visited a guy who sells fruit trees and practices permaculture on his property. I noticed he had some amaranth and pigeon peas flowering and he happily picked me a handful of each. He also pulled up 2 elderberry seedlings for me. What a nice guy. I also bought some fruit trees from him, a Reed avocado, dwarf mandarin and a white guava. Looks like I've got some jobs tomorrow, get these in the ground before the predicted rain!

  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    How nice. This is what I love about gardeners - always sharing some treasures.

  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    With an abundance of passionfruit around (already going wrinkly because I can't keep up with eating), I decided to donate half a fruit to future plants today: I scooped out half the goodness and stirred it into a glass of water and will let it ferment for a few days. Then I'll plant the clean seeds into a pot with seed raising mix.


  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    As I was planting asparagus today (late winter here where I live in New Zealand - actually feels more like early spring), I did wonder if anyone here has ever collected their own asparagus seeds. I've seen the red little "fruit" but never collected any seed. Any advice? Might be a good time for you on the northern hemisphere to think about.


  • herbantherapy
    herbantherapy Posts: 453 ✭✭✭✭

    I collected pea seeds for the first time yesterday! Like @Iris_Brueck said I have relied heavily on catalog seeds. The only seed I have ever collected before and reseeded was calendula. This year I hope to collected some giant nasturtium seeds, they are beautiful and I hope to keep growing this variety in the future. I do let a lot of my herbs and flowers self seed but never took the extra step in collecting seed.

    This year I was unable to grow chamomile because everyone (stores/nurseries/catalogs) was out of seeds and my go-to Master Gardener plant sale with herb starts was cancelled due to COVID-19. I let the chamomile self seed last year, but only got one tiny start, that JUST came up. If I’m so lucky to get seed from her, I will definitely collect and save some!!!

  • MelissaLynne
    MelissaLynne Posts: 205 ✭✭✭

    I have parsnips from last year that I let seed and they will soon be ready to start collecting.

    The caraway is nearly ready also...


    ive planted lots of poppies from saved seed with the intention of collecting it. I love baking with poppy seeds.

  • COWLOVINGIRL
    COWLOVINGIRL Posts: 954 ✭✭✭✭

    I am just starting to venture into the seed saving world! This was such a good idea Brueck.iris! Also, what is it like to live in New Zealand?

  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    What is the first seed you'd love to save?

    And I'd love to answer the question about living in NZ with the romantic answer everybody expects. However I think the entire world is struggling right now.

  • dottile46
    dottile46 Posts: 437 ✭✭✭

    @Brueck.iris beautiful photos. Seed saving is something I have always planned to do, but haven't. I tried this spring with the overwintered spinach. Didn't work. The soil dried out too much each day with us both gone to work. The seed didn't get to mature and was dust.

  • nicksamanda11
    nicksamanda11 Posts: 755 ✭✭✭✭

    I collected lemon balm, bee balm, cucumber, i have patty pan and zephyr seeds fermenting in water until probably tomorrow.

    I let my radishes go to seed and have been eating the pods because they're almost better than the radishes! I'll let some dry now that I've had a good harvest from them.

    Oh and I also got some Cleome seeds from a friend and I'm excited about those because they are edible and bugs tend to leave them alone- so yeah!

  • annebeloncik
    annebeloncik Posts: 62 ✭✭✭

    I've never saved seeds before, but my dad sent me home with canteloupe and blackberry seeds from his plants last month, and I have saved some seeds from fruits and veggies I have bought from local farmers. I have several peach pits, banana pepper, yellow watermelon, and plums so far. Haven't tried to save tomato seed yet, but my Cherokee Purple and yellow cherry tomatoes are so good this year, I may try to save some and see what happens!

  • AngelaOston
    AngelaOston Posts: 249 ✭✭✭

    That’s wonderful. Didnt know anyone else had heard of dandelion capers. Ill have to wait now until next spring. Really beautiful your picture of it. Looking forward to it

  • MelissaLynne
    MelissaLynne Posts: 205 ✭✭✭

    I collect seeds nearly every day. Currently collecting caraway and parsnips. Looking forward to when the poppy seeds are ready. :) our poppies just started blooming last week.


    @nicksamanda11 I will I’ll have to try our radish pods, I let some seed and have been throwing the plants to the chickens. Didn’t bother saving the seeds because the plants never developed radishes, just went straight to flowering. I didn’t want to risk it being a characteristic that might be passed on.

  • MelissaLynne
    MelissaLynne Posts: 205 ✭✭✭

    5 years back I collected a bunch of poppy seeds from a friend. I am not sure, but I think I filled a gallon bag with seed heads and ended up with a sandwich bag full of seeds.

  • chimboodle04
    chimboodle04 Posts: 286 ✭✭✭

    Collected Tomato and pepper seeds today from my homegrown ingredients for spaghetti sauce :) I have no idea what the tomato variety is, since I saved seed from some that I had purchased last year from a local farmers market (they were heirloom but the girl could not remember the name). Planted three this year just to see how they would do and they are out performing every other tomato I have! They have even resisted the blight that my San Marzano's succumbed to in July even though they were planted right next to them :) After having so-so luck with a pepper variety named Adjvarski, I tried some Doux D'Espagne sweet peppers and am in love with this variety too! Highly productive for me with a solid yield of 7-8 inch long, thick-walled peppers. Very excited to grow both of these again next year!

  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    Radish: I love the seed pods of radishes as well. It feels I get a much bigger harvest eating flowers and seed pods and young leaves from the radishes than just the root. Radishes are so easy to grow that I do plant some for roots, but always let several of them go to seed.

    I haven't used radish seeds in the kitchen yet. Has anybody ever eaten them? We eat coriander seeds, fennel seeds and many others. Why not radish seeds?

  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    Well done! Do you grow your sweet peppers close together? Do they cross with each other?

  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    Let us know about your success with chamomile. I'm struggling with that one, too. I always let them go to seed, but somehow I'm always busy with other things and miss the collection time. Just relying on self seeding for chamomile seems to be hit and miss in my garden. So I always rely extra sowings.

    I use chamomile tea for raising seedlings - helps against fungal diseases.

  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    Isn't it amazing how many seeds we can collect in the kitchen? So even if we're in the unlucky areas where we get locked down, we can save seeds from the delivered organic produce - ideally directly from the grower. I'm so happy that growers are getting so much more support from consumers now.

  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    Unfortunately not every attempt works. That's why I love this column, so that we can share ideas and what worked.

  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    Here is my currently favourite radish: Blue/redmoon.

    It tastes really nice, not too hot and looks absolutely stunning. And to my surprise I get both colours in one root. The above soil part gets purple and below soil half is pink.

    BUT it's an F1 hybrid, so I can't save seeds. Does anyone know of a similar open pollinated variety?


  • chimboodle04
    chimboodle04 Posts: 286 ✭✭✭

    @Brueck.iris I try to plant the peppers in blocks away from each other. The one variety was blooming before my second this year, so I made sure to collect seeds from the first ripe pepper to ensure seed purity :) And I agree with saving seeds from the kitchen! It is a bit of a tossup sometimes though :) We saved some seed from two different squash varieties that we had purchased from a local organic grower last year - a delectica and another variety... I planted both this year and have some sort of hybrid growing from both plants?! 😂 I know squash readily cross pollinate so I should have expected it :) One looks like a green mottled pumpkin and the other is growing into a huge thick patty pan shaped squash... Going to let them both go and see what happens :) Luckily these were both experiments anyways and I planted some of my regular favorites (which are growing true to form thankfully lol!) Still, its all part of the fun of gardening!

  • nicksamanda11
    nicksamanda11 Posts: 755 ✭✭✭✭

    I haven't tried radish seeds themselves- and we eat the pods before they mature so they're still tender like a green bean.

  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    I love experimenting and in past years I sometimes did collect seeds from plants I knew had crossed, just to see what developed. But with world events I'm now making sure I have the basics secured and then experiment. The garden size is limited. And so is time.

  • IrisB
    IrisB Posts: 142 ✭✭✭

    How much space do you leave between your pepper blocks @chimboodle04 ?