On a brisk cold winter day, when the skies are clear and the afternoon sun is targeting my back porch, I pull up a chair with my back to the massaging warmth and process previously harvested dried blooms into seeds for the next planting season.
The easiest blooms with which to do this are Gomphrena, cylosia, larkspur, marigolds, nigella (bachelor buttons), cosmos, and poppies. I dedicated a whole blog post to cosmos seeds last summer. Pictured here are dried purple gomphrena or more commonly called, globe amaranth. Each fall, as their blooms start to fade with the first Texas cold front blowing through, I pull them up to dry and save the seeds for next year. The process of saving seeds is quite rudimentary.
1. Pull up the entire annual plant, roots and all, when blooms are spent at the end of their growing season.
2. Tie a bunch of plants together with twine just above the roots.
3. Place the bundle bloom heads down in an old pillow case and secure the top opening closed.
4. Hang the pillow cased bundle upside down in a shed or garage till completely dry, about two months.
5. Snip off the seed heads and store in paper bags or baskets in a dry, protected place. You should see my rows of baskets lining the tops of my kitchen cabinets! They’re not for decor!
Enjoy your stash of seeds to plant in the appropriate seasons and never waste money on seed packets again if not necessary!
Are you ready to take the next step in sustainable, organic gardening?
Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening, let your hands not be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.