Beginner Gardening: New New-bee thread!! Come on in!! , 0 by lycodad

lycodad wrote:
Getting back to Sandra's question - Yes, I like to pick off the seed heads when they are sort of a crispy brown color and nice and dry. Frost won't hurt them much, in fact will help in the drying process. It pays to wait a bit and not harvest them too soon when still green. My only exception to this rule is when the seeds are threatened by birds, then I bring the seeds inside to my screened porch to dry. The birds around here will outsmart me every time, and I stand to lose about everything!

Every variety is a little different, but you'll soon get the hang of it! Some would say it's kind of addicting. Seed pods are usually located somewhere near or under the flower part.

Zinnias are easier than some. The seed pod is a fingertip shaped bump in the middle hub of the blossom. I trim up the leftover dried petals with scissors to minimize chafe. The loosened seeds look like little arrowheads. I can't possibly sort out all of the excess chafe, but I plant them quite generously anyway.

By the way, the easiest way for me to plant a lot of these somewhat generic seeds is to use a square or rectangle pan with drainage holes in the bottom. Fill with potting soil, grow them out, then cut out the plant starts just like piece of cake or brownie.

Al