Gathering and Harvesting Seed © 2012
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Gathering and Harvesting Seed |
 Saving Seed |
Saving and gathering seeds from garden or wild plants can be a fascinating extension of your gardening skills. By gathering seeds from plants you can expand the range of flowers in your garden, ensure the survival of plants which may be short lived, or increase the numbers of some of your favorites. The scope of this article will cover small scale seed gathering and should serve the needs of the average gardener. Large scale or commercial collectors or gatherers need specialized equipment and more efficient methods.
Before beginning there are some items the seed gatherer will want to have on hand before gathering seed. Most of this equipment is found in the home or easily purchased. Before gathering seed you may want to have:
A clip board.
A small notebook
A small scissors – a child’s type (metal, not plastic) is compact enough to carry in a pocket and will work just fine in most cases.
Pen, felt tip or ball point, or pencil
Some paper envelopes – # 10 work well. You may also want some larger eight inch by ten inch envelopes.
Resalable plastic bags
Twist ties
Small labels
Wax paper
Latex gloves
Some cookie sheets
Paper Small Parts Envelopes
Digital Camera
Some postcards – cast off advertising cards will work well
Small aluminum or cardboard bowls – pot pie or paper cereal bowls work well. Plastic will work, but it builds up static electricity which may cause seeds to stick and make it difficult to remove them from the bowl.
Your field kit:
You will not need to carry all of that stuff into the field when you collect seeds. For gathering you will need:
Digital camera
Clip board
Scissors
Pen or pencil
Envelopes
Resealble Plastic Bags
Some labels.
Twist ties
A waterproof box, preferably with a handle, to carry the equipment and harvested seeds in.
It pays to remember that if you are saving seeds from hybrid varieties, the seed saved may either not come true, or may be sterile and not germinate. Even if the seeds don’t come true, you may still get some worthwhile seedlings from them. Part of the activity of saving seeds is the adventure of not knowing exactly what you will get when the resulting seedlings grow and bloom.
The first step in saving seeds is to find places to gather them. They may be gathered from your garden, the garden of a friend, wild places like state forests and wildlife areas. It is best to check first to see if it is permitted to gather seeds from a public park or wildlife refuge before you do it. Many areas have stiff fines for the unauthorized gathering of wild plants or seeds. If you choose to gather on private property, makes sure you obtain the permission of the land owner. Take care when harvesting that you gather only a small portion of the seeds available in an area. Plants depend upon their seeds germinating in the wild to continue their species.
There are no hard and fast rules for seed gathering as there are so many different types of seeds. Some seeds are difficult to gather as they are dispersed from the plant so quickly after they ripen. For these you may want to bag the un ripened seed heads with a plastic bag or envelope and seal it with a twist tie. Then you will want to check every few days until the seeds have fallen. Alternatively, sometimes you can cut the top off the plants and take the unripe seed pods home. Most seeds will ripen on this plant and may be harvested then.
Ripened seed heads like those of gaillardia, daisy, coneflower and black eyed Susan’s you may cut the entire ripened seed head and put it in an envelope and seal the envelope. Berries or small fruits may be sealed in plastic envelopes and labeled. Make sure that you write the date, what the plant is and the location you gathered the seed from on the envelope before you place the seed heads into the envelope, using the clipboard and pen. Labeling afterwards can be tricky in an envelope filled with bulky seed heads. If you are unsure of the plant that you are gathering seed from, you may want to photograph the seed head while it is still on the plant and some of the leaves to aid in identification. Some plants will have both ripened seed and flowers present at the same time.
Small fruits and berries may be placed in sealable plastic bags, labeled and sealed.
Pine cones, if they are still closed, can be also be harvested. Place them in an envelope and label. If they have opened the seed is likely already dispersed.
Once you get the seed home, it is best to allow the seeds to dry a few days on a piece of wax paper placed in a dry, dry area out of reach of pets and children. Seed pods and heads may be placed in the bowls, labeled and placed on the cookie trays. Allow these to dry a few days or weeks before rubbing the seeds free over the post cards, which have been folded in half to form a shallow “v”. The chaff may be separated using a tooth pick or very gently blowing over the seed. Be careful or you may scatter the seed and lose it. The seeds may then be poured into the small parts envelopes, labeled and put away for storage.
Fruits and berries present a challenge. They may either be placed on wax paper and allowed to mummify in a cool, dry area or you can soak them in water for a day or two and them express the seeds using a colander or slotted spoon. Be careful if using kitchen implements as many fruits and berries are poisonous. Once the seeds are removed from their fruity containers, spread them out on some wax paper for a few days to dry. Wear latex gloves and thoroughly wash any kitchen implements after use. If allowed to mummify, you can separate the seed from the dried fruit parts by rolling between two big spoons and gently blowing the resulting chaff away. Or use a toothpick to separate the chaff on a folded post card. Once the chaff has been separated you may pour the seed into a seed envelope using the folded card. Again, be careful as some berries and fruits are poisonous, as well as some seeds.
Nuts like hickory, beech, acorns, or other may simply be bagged and placed in storage. No other treatment is needed except for walnut and butternut. Placing walnuts and butternuts on the driveway and driving over them with the car will remove the hulls. If you have concrete or asphalt driveway you may want to not do this as walnut hulls have a persistent stain in them which may stain your driveway. Wear latex gloves when handling to avoid this stain as it is hard to get off.
Pine cones should be allowed to dry in a small bowl for a few days until they open up. Place them in a margarine bowl and put on the lid. Shake the bowl vigorously for a few minutes. The seed left in the cone should be shaken free. Remove the cone and pour the seed onto the folded postcards and pour into an envelope. Label and the seeds are ready for storage.
Grass seeds may be stripped from the stalk, using thumb and forefinger pressed together and pulled along the stem. Do this over a folded postcard, then pour into an envelope and the seed is ready for storage.
© Gardens and Nature 2012
October 4, 2010
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Tags: Seeds · Posted in: Plant Propagation
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