Collecting Seed

 

 

 

Fall is typically the best time for finding the most seed ripe for collecting. I enjoy participating in the American Horticultural Society Seed Exchange, so every fall I check around to see what plants I have with lots of seed. This year the definite winner was South African foxglove. In the middle picture you can see the little pouches of seed that have two sharp ears. Believe me, they are sharp and will get you if you are not careful. The pouch opens up as it dries and the small black seed pop out at the least shaking of the plant. The easiest way for me to collect seed is to get a bunch of large paper grocery sacks. These are not as easy to accumulate as they used to be since most stores use that infernal plastic and put in one item per bag. It would work almost as well to just carry the groceries in your hands. But I digress.
Take the bags to the garden and cut off the whole stem with the seed and drop it quickly upside down in the sack. Be sure to hold it upright till it is over the bag. This works well with all kinds of flowers and seed. When you are through collecting, close the top of the bag and shake to jar the seeds loose. I usually let them set in the bags in the house (it is dryer there) for a day or so, then shake again. Then I pull out the stems and throw them somewhere I would not mind having a few volunteers. I do NOT throw them in the compost. The seed can then be poured into a pan or bowl and allowed to dry a few more days before being packaged up for storage. It is very important that stored seed be completely dry or mold may start to grow on them and ruin the whole batch. I usually store my seeds in a zip lock or film canister (saved from when we used film)or other small bottle or jar. LABEL. This is extremely important. Put the name of the plant and the year collected at the very least. You will NOT remember unless you label.
Fleshy seed like the ones in the third picture need either additional drying to make sure they do not mold, or else planted immediately.
Collecting the seed when they are ripe is also extremely important. If they are picked immature, the seed will not germinate. Seed in fleshy fruit is typically ripe when the the fruit is ripe. If the fruit is edible, you can be pretty sure the seed are ready when the fruit is ready for eating, for example an apple or orange. If the fruit in not edible, it is best to wait till it drops off the plant and then collect the seed from the flesh. One time I collected seed from an osage orange. Eee Oweee what a mess!
Seed from daisy type plants or other seed that form in pods is ripe typically when the seed pod or flower dries and turns brown. Harvest too early and the seeds will not be viable, harvest too late and the seed will already be dispersed. Seed pods open to release the seed and when you notice the pods beginning to open, get ready to collect. If you have to dig the seed loose from the pod or seedhead, they are probably immature and will not germinate.
This week I saw some seed of Empress Tree for sale at the flea market. The green pods were sealed in ziplock bags and moisture had collected inside. I would guess that the seed in the pod might not be mature, but even if they were mature, they were likely to go through a heat in the bag and that would kill the seed.
Seed collection is a fun project and one that enables me to trade plants with people across the country and across the world. (I have sent and received seed from Reunion Island in the Caribbean).