stupid question

Ok I'm really upset that I cant get this done right.. What is the easist way to get the chaft(?) off the seeds of zinna, purple spike flower(?)- marigolds, etc. I'm even having a time getting the little black seeds away from the"junk" on the I call them fireglow. and the herbs.Yep, I'm new atthis, but I want to send them the way they should be, Another dumb question - Is the dahlias-- theseed on the bottom of the petal there like the zinnia?? thanks.

Bon, what I like to do with maridgolds is to wait till the head is dry, hold the bottom where the seeds are, then twist the dry unwanted part off. Works great for me, then all you have to do is open the head and pour out the black seeds. For zinnias, well, I take a pinchful of petals and gently pull them out. Then I GENTLY twist the petals off the seeds and put the seeds in a yogurt container or something similar to dry completely. Hope this helps!

I am guilty of not getting rid of the chaft, as I look at it it will not hurt the germanation any. I plant chaft and all on all my seeds and have very good luck.

I just send more in my trades to off set the chaft.I have to many things to worry about than chaft in my seeds.
So far I have not had anyone complain about the chaft.

Don't stress out if there is chaft in your seeds.

Mike

I wondered about that too, and have done tha same thing as Arrianna, but that takes considerably more time! LOL These dern morning glories are easy though...swirl the seeds around in a container and blow inside and the chaft blows away!

My Agastache seeds were really difficult to separate from the chaff. I found some old screens in the shed, and sifted my seeds through successively finer screening until most of the chaff was gone. I also noticed there were a lot of pinhead-size bugs in with the seeds, so I put the seeds in a large glass bowl and set it in direct sun for the afternoon. As the container heated up, the bugs scurried for cool shade. No more signs of life in the seeds :)

My zinnias I do one head at a time on a large, deep plate, and tug the petals from the cone. I pull the seeds to one side, the chaff to the other, and when I'm done, I toss the chaff in a compost bucket and the seeds in another bowl to be measured and placed in packets.

For plants with spike type flowers like agastache, veronica, lambs ears, foxgloves, etc. - I find it's easiest to cut the flowers stems and lay them out on trays to dry. Then when they're dry - I tip them (one at a time) into a tall sided container - like a large ricotta cheese container or a jumbo soda cup. Then the seeds are knocked out by vigorously shaking them so it thumps against the sides of the container. Usually this worked like a charm and there's very little chaff to worry about.

poppysue - thats what i did, if the seeds are really ripe they should just fall out, as they would in nature to sprout in the soil.

lil

For fairly tiny seeds after I have worked with them, I put them in my blanching pan (spagetti strainer), the little seeds will fall through into a large bowl and most of the chaff sill stay to be tossed. I throw all my chaff out in a large bare spot at the edge of our woods, I know there will be ome surprises next year!!

THANKS-- that makes me feel better, the idea of the strainer is great, I have one of those!! The screen sounds like alot of work, but I bet if you have them they are in different sizes too.. I was doing sunflowers, Iknow easy right?? I have slivers all over my thumb from those darn things.. Ill learn...Say what about dahlias seed or just the tubers???? Thanks for the help and I try not to stress out but thats what I'm best at. I drive my family nuts!!

Hi,
My dear grandson was helping me clean seeds one day and noticed all the chaft, had the seeds in a deep bowl and he gently blowed the chaft and cleared it away but remember to close your eyes!

Cheers,
Ima

This message was edited Sunday, Oct 21st 9:56 PM

I agree with those of you who send seeds with the chaff, but I do place them in the fridge overnight to kill any bugs. I didn't always do that, but when I went to package some seeds for a trade and found that bugs had eaten out the insides, it seemed like I needed to change my tactics. Since most of mine are wildflowers, and they would certainly go through some cold after dropping to the ground, I reason that they need this treatment, or at least it won't hurt them. People who know me are never surprised at what's in my fridge and freezer, but they do check for labels before assuming it's something to use in a salad.

Bon, all my dahlias are tubers.. I either put them in a paper bag for winter or take a chance leaving them outside with TONS of mulch on top. And I agree with just leaving the chaff on the seeds and putting it in the fridge overnite. I spend way too much time going through seeds in the first place. =)