Heirloom Seeds, 90 Years & Counting!

Harvesting seeds from the flower gardens is an almost century-old tradition in my family. Instead of sending seeds to the trash at the end of the growing season, in this Instructable I'll describe the fun and easy way to save seeds to plant next year.

My love for gardens, especially flower gardens, began when as a child, I helped my grandmother plant, tend, weed, and harvest her gardens. As we worked, she shared with me gardening know-how that she had acquired during her years growing flowers, fruits, herbs, and veggies. At home, my Dad and Mom planted a small grove of fruit trees, grew most of our fresh vegetables in the backyard garden, and lined the perimeter of our yard with flowers that bloomed from spring until fall.

A favorite take-away for me from these early lessons in horticulture are the marigolds pictured here. My grandmother began growing marigolds in the late 1930s. Each fall, she collected and dried marigold seeds and replanted them the following spring. More than 90 years and many flower generations later and as my mom did, I carry on my grandmother's tradition each year when I spread the seeds, planting the new crop.

Marigolds are not alone when it comes to drying seeds in the fall to plant the following year. In addition to perennials, bulbs, and tuberous plants, my flower gardens bloom with a large variety of colorful, mostly pest resistant flowers each year from seeds that I gathered the previous fall.

Supplies

Supplies needed are minimal. Here's the quick & easy list ~

· Clean scissors or garden shears

· Buckets (one for each flower variety)

· Newspaper

· Brown paper bags (lunch size with flat bottom work very well)

· Marker or pen

· Cool, dry area to spread seeds for drying

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The list is long of seeds I cut and dry - rudbekia, nasturtium, morning glory, ageratum, verbena, phlox, zinnia, cosmos, cleome, fever few, rose campion, greek oregano, stokes aster, larkspur, to name a few, and, of course - marigolds! Many of them can be seen in these photos.

How to get started? Folks who garden generally are happy to share planting tips, dos & don'ts, and talk about their success stories. Family, friends, and neighbors have been a great source of information for me. Over the years, I've learned that when visiting garden shops where plants are sold, it's easy to strike up conversations with staff and other like-minded shoppers to talk all things flowers. Always fun and a wonderful learning experience finding plants that grow well in your region.

It's been helpful to me to take notes of what I've learned during the growing and seed harvesting seasons. Having my personal handy guide for plants that may require extra care helps me provide the healthiest environment for them. Adding photos is a good idea, too!

I live in the mid-Atlantic region of the United States. No guarantees because I've seen snow here in early May, but most years it's seasonally warm enough to sow seeds outside starting the end of April through mid-May, when the ground is warmer and danger of frost is minimal.

Checking my notes, I can see that morning glory seeds, for example, take up to 120 days from seed to flowering. Starting these seeds indoors and transplanting them when all danger of frost and cold weather conditions have passed ensures flowers in August, giving me ~8 weeks to enjoy them. Other seeds, like the tall larkspur, can be planted in the fall where I live because they require a period of cold conditions in order to germinate in the spring; weeks or months of below freezing winter temperatures is perfect. If these seeds are stored indoors over the winter, however, they can be placed in a sealed container in the refrigerator for two weeks prior to planting to achieve the same result. Because I plant many varieties, having notes and photos is a big help and it's easy for me to share these gardening tips with others.

After the flowers bloom and start to dry on the plant, it's time to harvest the seeds to save for next year. Details on this process follow.

Flowers with dense seed centers are easy to separate after drying. Here are photos of rudbekias and marigolds before and after separating the seed centers. As you can see, one flower center produces hundreds of seeds for starting a new generation of plants.

Here are a few examples of flowers that produce seed pods after blooming - columbine, cleome (aka, spider flower), morning glory, poppies and others. I wait until the the pods have a dry, brittle appearance before I harvest them. The seeds vary in size and appearance.

Here's a look at my annual process in the fall when it's time to collect seeds.

Seed Pods

Collect seed pods carefully because often they will burst open as they are being removed from the plant. Seeds that drop to the ground in place will often reseed the following year. Collecting the seed pods in the fall gives you the chance to plant them in new locations or share the seeds.

I don't rinse the seed pods with water after I collect them, but I do spread them out on newspaper for about 2 weeks to allow total drying. I store the small round seeds in tiny glass jars, each jar labeled with the name of the flower.

Seeds with Dense Seed Centers

Cut seed flower heads (aka deadheading) with clean scissors or garden shears, putting them in separate buckets or containers as you collect them.

Rinse each variety of cut flowers (not the seed pods), preferably outdoors, to remove any hidden insects before bringing them into the house to dry.

Spread cut flowers on sheets of newspaper in cool, dry room, out of the way of foot traffic. Seeds should be spread evenly in a single layer, allowing air to dry the seeds and preventing mold. I occasionally shuffle and turn them to help with the drying process. Time to dry completely varies, but I allow a minimum of 2 weeks for total dryness of seeds.

Transfer dried seeds to individual paper bags (not plastic), marked with type of flower; I also include the date. Move paper bags with seeds to a cool, dry storage place until planting time in the spring.

My grandmother saved seeds annually out of necessity. For me, continuing to cut and dry her heirloom seeds from one season to the next is a way that I can continue an almost century-long tradition, bringing the past to life. Harvesting more seeds than I can use gives me the chance to share the bounty of my gardens with family and friends.

Flowers share with us their immense palette of colors, abundance of fragrance, and seasonal beauty. Flowers provide life-sustaining nectar and nourishment for hummingbirds, butterflies, moths, bees, and a host of beneficial insects, some of them endangered, like monarch butterflies and honeybees. Flowers - an all-around win-win!