Seed Collecting
Summer is the time to think about collecting your own seed from a variety of sources. This may be from plants growing in your own garden or from plants growing in the other places. Here are some ideas for collecting seeds.
Collecting
Seed cleaning.
Storage
Collecting
- Collect seeds only when ripe.
- Some seeds will germinate if collected when slightly immature.
- Be alert – some seeds disperse quickly.
- Use paper bags to collect seed into – they don’t sweat.
- Sometimes you can spread a sheet under a shrub or tree so seed can drop, or be dropped, onto it.
- Collecting fern spores. Cut the frond and place directly into a bag.
- Dry seeds can be stored for sometime without cleaning.
- Fleshy fruit need to be cleaned as soon as possible. Flesh can be removed by pulping and washing in a sieve.
Seed cleaning.
- Remove surplus material using suitable methods:
- Dry seeds - crush and remove husks by hand or using sieves or by blowing husks away.
- Fleshy seeds - pulp and wash.
- Sticky seeds - separate and use fine sand to keep separate.
Storage
- Store in a dry cool place. An old refrigerator is good.
- Pests and diseases. Seeds may need treatment to prevent infestation of pests and diseases
- Do not store for to long as seed viability deteriorates over time. Some seeds are viable for only a few weeks. If in doubt Google it.