Harvesting garden seeds is easy and fun

Get ready for next year this year. Saving seeds in most cases is easy and economical. For lettuce and radish simply let a few grow until they "go to seed". Each plant will have it's own level of difficulty when harvesting seeds. Lettuce for example is easy. Just a tug on the white fluffy material that sticks out of the pods will produce a good number of the small seeds. You can have hundreds in a matter of a couple of minutes.

Lettuce:


Radish seeds are little bit more difficult so let's put them in the medium difficulty category. The radish plant will eventually develop pods. Leave these pods on the plant and they will turn a light brown color and dry out. Then remove the pods and break them open. There are only a few good seeds inside each pod so some labor is required to get enough for the next crop.

Radish:

We previously discussed saving Okra seeds which require leaving the pods on until they dry and begin to split. There are a good number of seeds in each pod and the seeds are big enough to be easy to handle.

Flower seeds can be harvested also. Black-eyed Susans and Marigolds are easy. Both actually have seeds as part of their flowers. Let the Marigold flower dry out. Pull on the exposed ends of the flowers and many seeds will come out. Marigold is an amazing plant based on the number of seeds it produces.

Marigold:


Dill:


Don't harvest all your seeds. Leave some out to attract the birds and help them get through the winter. Store seeds in a cool, dry location. Keep in mind that some seeds will not retain the hybrid characteristics like many varieties of tomatoes. In this case, it is better to purchase seeds each year.