Seeds - The Greatest Gift From Your Garden

When late fall strikes and the final harvest must occur, we put our garden to bed in preparation for the winter by removing all of the plants that worked so hard for us during the growing season.  The best days have passed for these generous summer friends that have devoted their prized work to our dinner table. Before we bid farewell, many of the plants offer a parting gift - seeds.  

As you make your way through the garden in its final days, look for opportunities to collect dried seeds, like these found on a corn cob.  

If these seeds are already dry, package them in a small bag or container, store in a dry location until ready to use in spring.  Consider this simple step an alternative to buying seeds every spring.  Once you are in the habit of harvesting your own seeds, you’ll never go back! Why would you buy a pack of 20 dried corn kernels for $2.59 when you can access your own at no cost?

 Look inside of a tomato, squash or corn for seeds that you might otherwise discard. Separate the seeds from the meaty flesh, spread the seeds flat on newspaper to dry for a week prior to storing.  

Tomato

Pumpkin

Butternut Squash

Cucumber

Other easy-to-harvest seeds include cilantro, lettuce, spinach, and radishes.  In order to produce seeds, these spring favorites will need to be allowed to flower, which usually marks the end of their harvest window.  Often times we refer to this as bolting, when the heat of summer settles in and the plants direct their effort away from creating tender leaves, instead focusing on the flower to foster an opportunity for seed production. Allow this miracle to occur and wait for bountiful seeds to replace the flowers in a matter of weeks.

While fall signals the end of the growing season for most gardeners, we feel the loss of the companionship by our fair weather garden friends.  The seeds that we harvest are a parting gift from them, a promise to renew our friendship in the coming year.  Until we meet again!