Saving Seeds

You can customize your garden by saving seeds from the plants that you like best for their particular color, size, shape, or other qualities. Some annuals will reseed themselves if you let them bloom, die, and drop their seeds to the ground. Most perennials, like chives and sunflowers, do this all by themselves. When you decide which plants have seeds that you want to save, you will have to let their flowers bloom and wither. This signals the plant to stop producing new buds so all of its energy will go into feeding the seeds developing on the stigma. If you want to save the seeds, you need a bunch of small bags and envelopes. You'll also need silica gel which you can buy at a craft, hobby shop, or pharmacy. Before you use it, dry it in a warm oven and let it cool completely. Put about a teaspoonful (15 ml / 0.5 fl oz) into a small paper envelope. Use one with each envelope of seeds to keep them dry. You can also use the little bags that come with a pair of new shoes.

Collecting Seeds

This is the best way to separate and save specific colors for flowering plants like cosmos and calendulas.

• Once your chosen blooms have shriveled and started to dry out, remove the whole flower head.
• Let the blooms dry out completely and gently break them open over a small plastic or paper bag.
• Allow the seeds to dry out for a week or two.
• Store them in small envelopes labeled with the type of flower, what year it was saved, and what color the bloom was.
• Put the envelopes in airtight containers like Mason jars or freezer bags.
• Add an envelope of silica gel to each jar or bag to keep the seeds dry.
• Store your jars or envelopes in a shoebox in a cool, dry place.
• Don't forget to label your boxes, too, so you'll know what's inside and when it was stored.

Seed Pods

Some plants produce a seed pod, like roses and beans. The seeds complete their growing inside a hard shell that provides it with enough stored energy to complete maturing.

Some seed pods are so hard that a bird or animal has to break them open before the seeds can be released. Of course, some seeds become their dinner, but there usually are enough seeds inside the pod to ensure a portion will make their way to the soil. Once the pod dries out, break it open and collect the seeds the same way as above. This is how beans, peas, and corn are saved. It usually takes 2 to 3 weeks for larger seeds to dry completely. Store them the same as regular seeds, in labeled envelopes with a little silica gel in airtight jars or freezer bags. Different seeds will last different lengths of time:

• Onions up to 1 year
• Beans and carrots up to 3 years
• Cucumbers last up to 5 years
• Lettuce and tomatoes will last as long as 6 years

planting

Kids' Valley Garden by Louise Larabie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.