I have a new respect!

For seed cleaning!! I never bothered saving seeds (I know) until joining DG. But since my supply of purchased seeds will not last forever for trading I have been saving like crazy.

Tonight was my first night of cleaning. First Hollyhocks (easy), then Lemon Basil (tad bit harder), then the seeds of my all time favorite plant - Rudbeckia 'Indian Summer.' What a pain in the (insert word)!!!!!!!!!!!!

I am curious as I go through this process. Anyone know how the pros do it? Do they have machines? Don't laugh at me please! I just have no idea!!!

Here's is a pic of the plant who hates me! Still love IT though! ;--0

They're beautiful! I'd say definitely worth the work!

I cut the seed heads when completely dry, cutting also a short piece of stalk, place seeds down into a paper bag, and in a short while most of the small seeds have fallen to the bottom, simply remove the stalks( I use the brown paper lunch bags).. This sure saves your fingers from these prickly seed heads, lol..

Oh my, do I agree! This is my first year too. I have spent hours cleaning 'Profusion' zinnia seed this summer. I just know how how much seed costs (20 seeds for $2.50) when I started looking at last spring and that kept me going. I probably have at least a hundred dollars worth of seed now.

This summer, some things I have also harvested were Ruellia and Salvia (easy), Moss Rose (easy with a fine mesh strainer), Shasta Daisy & Zexmenia (more complicated), but nothing compares to the Zinnia. I have no earthly idea how the heck they clean it. I have come up with some slight shortcuts, but they still take time. Of course that's probably why it's so darn expensive.

sweezel - you aren't kidding on the zinnia, I've been saving white zinnia angustifolia and those small flat seeds are a nightmare to separate from the chaff. Definitely a tweezer job. Have you found any secrets to make them easier??

Petunia, Cleome, hyacinth bean, cypress vine, clary sage, columbine (super easy), cosmos, nigella, calendula (easy), verbena bonariensis & echinacea ( a little more work), zinnia (a big pain! )

I save Rudbekia seeds. This summer I bought Gloriosa Daisy "Green Eyes" (looks like Prairie Sun) for $2.50 plus shipping of $1.95 or $4.45 for 25 seeds. The seeds are hard to clean. I let them get very dry and you can stroke and shake them out. You get a lot of fluff with them. If you put them in a cake pan and shuffle it back and forth, a lot of the seeds fall to the bottom. I grab a handful at a time, put them on a sheet of white paper and seperate them out with a fingertip. This will be winter entertainment I guess - better than watching paint dry anyway. - No, as I seperate them I like to think that someone, somewhere will be able to enjoy the flowers as much as I did this year.

If anyone finds an easier way, let me know.

This is what I have been doing. I cut the drying heads and leave them on a plate for a few days. Then I pinch a bit of the center and pull the seed and chaffe out. Then from the bottom side I kind of massage the other side while holding onto the pinched side. I do this over a plate and I get mostly seed with little chaffe. I keep doing this until all is removed. Here are some pics my daughter just took for me. The bottom shows seed in one coffee filter and the chaffe I dropped in the other. This is all the seed from one head.

Of course after doing this for a while, my lower back is killing me.

Great minds think alike : ) That's what I do, except over paper plates, while sitting on the couch, otherwise my back would be screaming too. Guess there's just no easier way for these little cuties.
The one's I have make large, short bushes. I grew them this year in front of my Austin roses and they have bloomed all summer & are still blooming strong. I was only going to save a "few" seeds, but just hate seeing all those seeds go to waste.

Those pics are good, if you haven't already, you should post it in the PDB. I think having pics of the seeds along with the flowers is very helpful, especially since it shows how to clean them.

Hey Sweezel - Oh great! I have many many Zinnia heads in a paper bag waiting on me now! My back didn't like my Sat night entertainment too much either! I can understand a little better why seeds can be pricey!! I agree sadiemaywebb! Pictures make the WORLD of differences when you are just learning! As a matter of fact before I started on my Rudbeckias I went into my stash too look at my purchased Rudbeckias to be sure I was getting the right part. ANY assistance in that area would be a blessing!

Sadie, I can't seem to let them go to waste either. I actually pulled the plants up yesterday and kept repeating "I am not going to harvest the seeds, I am not going to harvest the seeds". ...but of course, I just could not throw them away. I snipped off the heads of the ones that were ready and will probably just take them to an upcoming swap like they are. I just don't have time to clean them when I already have a pile to do.

I might just post the pic group to the PDB tonight after labelling each picture. I just have my reservations because even more people will see my dirty nails. LOL

I use long, bent-nosed tweezers for the hard seeds. It just seems to work so much better for me that way. Those Rudbeckia seeds can be a bear! The tweezers will just pluck them right out of the head if it's good and dry.

I'll just have to grit my teeth when I pull mine up, there will be 100s of seed heads. I think trading them whole would be fine, they're so dry inside when they're ready they'd probably even store that way. I threw away several branches of them that had gotten broken and went back and picked it up and then threw it down again and said "I am NOT picking any more of those seeds!!!!" I'll see if I stick to it : )

LOL, sadiemae, I'm about to that point myself :)

sadiemaewebb, I agree about the trading whole part. If you think about it - you are sending the other trader just a few seeds compared to what you have to clean! I would happily clean others seeds!

Me, too. It's a lot easier to sit down and clean them if it's a plant you've really been wanting, isn't it?

shazbot3 - yes it is!! Working for something you really want is always easier : )

Not only that, but I think you would appreciate them more.

I have been cleaning zinnia seeds today, I sit and listen to tv while I go through them. Zinnias are so pretty and the birds and butterfly just love them. I don't care if I get them perfect, just smaller so I can save them in less space
Sandra

Yes, that's my problem also. Not much space. Also have acquired LOTS of seeds in trades lately. I really am wondering if my yard is actually big enough for all these seeds!

I agree about the space thing! I actually keep my envelopes, etc for trading in my car! Mine is more about my DH throwing them out though - if he doesn't know what something is he either throws it away or puts it 'up' and I have no idea where it is! Arrggghhhh! All my seeds are in paper bags inside a big bag in our spare room... Hoping they will stay out of sight!

Hey- just joined DG though I browse it all the time and have had my membership (free part) all summer. But everytime I do a search on Google, the info I am looking for is on this site, but you have to have a paid membership to get to the info! So, that tells me this may be a good investment for me. I am in gardening club and try to get specific info on seed collecting but I just get more frustrated. I don't get responses to what I need and it's like everyone else just knows what they are doing and don't want to take much more time to explain to us new seed collectors! I have never done it before as I hate growing from seed (I am very impatient) but the expensive world of gardening has forced me to get over that! :) So, this is awesome, detailed, explain it to me like I'm a 5 year old advice. Love it! My husband and I sat outside for about an hour separating zinna seeds. Dead silent, pulling off one seed at a time. About 45 minutes in he goes "this sucks." I just about died laughing... because that describes it exactly! But he likes the "free" part so he helps. I have asked repeatedly if you can just clip the brown flowers off yarrow, purple salvia (different than the red I have found!), etc. Then let them dry and shake them into a bag. I am not entirely sure what the heck the seeds ARE though I have looked at that seedsite repeatedly. There are lots of parts that look like the alleged seeds, but all the particles are so similar that I'm not sure. Soooo, I went over the edge. I actually took what I thought was the seed and put it in wet paper towels and put them in an unseald ziploc bag under a grow light. If they sprout, they're seeds. I am horrified that I may send a nice big bunch of chaff to someone in my first trade of my own seeds (I have traded my purchased seeds for Brugmansia cuttings but that's it). Anyway, I find the whole process tedious and frustrating. Here I feel like I am normal instead of that negative impatient girl who doesn't "get it." Thanks! :) Jamie

Jamie you are SO right!!! I grow from seed in part to get a winter 'fix' but also to save money. I never saved until Dave's and usually look at my purchased seeds or go on DG to make sure I am actually saving seeds!!!

Nicole

Jamie, you will fit right in here at Dave's Garden. WELCOME to the best gardening site in the WORLD. As for whether the $15.00 fee is worth it...................I'd pay $150.00 in a heartbeat now that I've been here awhile. There are a HUGE lot of us who are addicted to DG.

I'm not going to be much help to you in regards to a lot of the seeds, but if you're talking about the salvia I think you're talking about, it's probably Mexican Sage? The long spikes of fuzzy lavender flowers? http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/457693/

I have that and I don't think anybody knows how to get those seeds out, at least if someone does know, they haven't told the rest of us yet. That plant has to be propagated with cuttings or babies at the base of the plant. However, it should be hardy in your zone. I'm guessing that you are in zone 8, haven't looked.

No one here has ever made me feel stupid. The more experienced gardeners seem to remember what it was like being new.

Jamie, here's another thread that talks about DG addiction.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/459479/#new

One tool I find indispensable for seed collecting is a cookie sheet with a nice raised edge. Many of the hard to collect seed heads can be tapped on a cookie sheet and all the seeds will dislodge and roll to the bottom edge. Chaff and other nasties will not roll to the bottom and can easily be blown away. With rudbeckia... remove the brown fuzzies by pinching it out with your fingernails from the central cone. She seeds will still be deep inside the cone.... tap the cones pretty hard on the cookie sheet as many times as it take to get the seeds dislodged. they'll roll down to the bottom edge and the cone part will still be intact... not in your pile of chaff.

Some of the salvias can be done in the same manner. Another way to do salvia is just run your hand up the spike and collect all the seeds, husks... and all. After it dries for a few days take handfuls of the mess and rub it between your palms. The husks and chaff will be pulverized into a dust. The seeds are round and hard... they roll great on a cookie sheet ;o) After most of the dust has been pulverized a couple of gentle blows will get rid of it all and you'll be left with clean seeds.

Zinnias are another story because the seed is actually attached to the petals. There wouldn't be any problems if you trimmed the petals with scissors first... as long as you don't cut into the seeds. Sometimes you just have to live with some chaff mixed in. I try to clean seed a little better if it's going out as trades... but I don't bother so much with the stuff I keep for myself. A little chaff won't hurt the germination.

Thanks for the responses! Great tip about the cookie sheet! I have lots of those. I did crush a lot of stuff and have it in cups but didn't know what to do w/ it since I can't tell what is seed and what is junk. So, I'll roll it on a cookie sheet and see what happens. :)
My "purple salvia" does look like that picture, but not near that big. It smells like mint. The tag on it said "purple salvia" and my red one said "red salvia" but it doesn't look like the purple at all. It has the individual red petal-like flowers. My issue on those is the flowers are still bright red but the seeds are gone. So, I have about 5 on one of my plants that still has the red "stuff" intact in the middle (empty on the other ones where the seeds have fallen and a few days later they are brownish-white and fall off too). So I am actually going to breakdown and do the "pantyhose" trick and see if I can save a few seeds to trade. They self-sow very easily so I figure I don't need to keep any for myself. When you talk about "cleaning" zinnia seeds are you just refering to the part where you pull the petals off the seeds, one by one? Because that's all I do to them! On that note, each petal has a seed on the end- at least on mine. Are they all considered "good" or is there something special to look for? Some of them seem kind of fat while others are flatter. I was wondering if the flat ones maybe wouldn't germinate? Thanks for the feedback. I'm sure it will be well worth the $15. :) Oh- yes, I am in zone 8.
Jamie

Welcome to Dave's Jamie! You are just down the road from me. : ) It sounds like you have a wonderful man there if he is helping you with seeds. Regarding Salvia, I have only collected seeds from Salvia Greggii & Salvia coccinea. With both of these, they are very small black oval seeds that are held in the calyx. Usually I just pinch the calyx cup off once it is very dry looking and light tan in color and bring them in and dump them on a plate to dry.

FYI, A couple of us N. Texas DGers are trying to get together at the end of the month. You might check out this thread. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/458324/

We would love to have you join us!

Ok Sweezel - for those of us that are new - what's a calyx? Don't laugh please!!!! Still learning.

The little cup that holds many flower petals to the stalk is the way I think of it. :) The one on the Salvias I was speaking of are long and deep, like a tall cup. If you want better descriptions with pics, check out this definition in the Garden Terms section: http://davesgarden.com/terms/go/144.html

Thanks Sweezel! Sounds like fun! I am actually in north Oak Cliff- Winnetka Heights Historic Distric if that rings a bell. :) But yeah, we are close!
My salvia (red) is one of the few that I actually know what the seeds look like and where they are! The problem is they fall out well before the pod even thinks about turning brown. They are bright, bright red and totally empty. The few that actually still have "stuff" inside them- still all red and full in the middle- are the ones I put the pantyhose over. My others that I want seeds from - scabiosa, delphenium, foxglove and columbine to name a few were well done blooming before I decided to start collecting seeds. So, that will have to come in the spring I guess. Then I'll have a whole new list of questions.
Nicole- the only reason I knew what my MG and hollyhock seeds were is because I had purchased them from seeds. I have not grown a single other plant in my gardens or containers from seed. I'm telling ya, NO PATIENCE! I planted purple bachelor buttons in Spring 2003 and pulled them all out after the first freeze killed them last fall/winter. I know, don't pull stuff out... that's one lesson I have learned! Anyway, I didn't plant any this year and that same bed is full of entirely different flowers now. It is sort of up on the edge of a retaining wall. Yesterday I was weeding in that area and noticed little bb plants at the base of the retaining wall. This is an area I have been weedeating, not watering, horrible dry soil, right next to a sidewalk etc. So not one bb in the bed itself, but a few down at the base?! Ha! Funny what God and Mother Nature manage to do without us. :)

Winnetka Heights? How neat! I would love to live in one of the historical homes in the area. What style of home do you have down there?

This is my first year collecting seeds too. I am just waiting to see how patient I will be when it comes to growing all these wonderful seeds. I tried to grow some stuff from seed this spring and ended up buying the transplants for one of them (Profusion Zinnia) when the seeds were not cooperating. There are so many things that you can rarely find in the stores that you can get from seed though.

I collected seed from columbine and scabiosa this year. The columbines pretty easy if you just leave the flowers there. The Scabiosa was a little harder and I am not sure if I did it right but I think I got a few flowers. I looked at this website http://theseedsite.co.uk/db19.html to figure it out.

I love the seedsite and use it frequently! I have heard columbine is easy. Scabiosa seem to have that tiny seeds and lots of chaff thing going on so I'm sure that is a bigger pain! My best friend in Midland has a wine red scabiosa she ordered online. She is going to give me some seeds off it next year. I had never heard of red pincushion- just the blue, purple, pink, yellow and white run of the mill kind.
We have a single story craftsman style house. Most houses in WH fit that description. We are having our tour of homes on December 4 from (I think) 2-8pm. The homes are spectacular. I think admission is $8 but I'm not entirely certain. It was well worth it last year. Anyway, if you're into that kind of thing, it is neat to see the houses! We have loooots of work yet to do on ours but it costs lots of $$ and my husband is in school. So until he graduates I just have to deal with it I guess. Ha!

I think the Scabiosa seeds are easy when you get the hang of it. You just have to make sure they are dry. I think most people just leave the seeds in the little hairy seed "chaffe" and store it like that.

I will have to check out the tour of homes. I have never been through Winnetka Heights, but I have heard about the Gingerbread houses. I bet yours will look great when you get done. Actually there are very few times I have been south of I30, except to go down 35. I have driven through Kessler Park once when getting lost on the way to the Bronco Bowl though. LOL

Well we call it "the Oak Cliff Oh." People are talking and saying "I live in Plano" and someone else says "we're up in Frisco," etc. Then one of us will say "we live in Oak Cliff." There is an odd, short little silence followed by "Oak Cliff.... ohhhh." Like they don't know what to say! I worked with a lady who lives in Kessler and she REFUSES to admit she lives in Oak Cliff. She says she lives in Kessler, which I respond with "yes, which is in Oak Cliff." Then she started saying NORTH Oak Cliff. As if it isn't still Oak Cliff. I love it- I love it for the shock value if nothing else. Most people haven't even driven down here and when they do they are stunned. We like it that way- keep your traffic problems up north! I know OC has a bad reputation and it irritates me to no end. They say most of Dallas crime happens in OC, then fail to note that 2/3 of the city of Dallas proper IS OAK CLIFF! Grrr... oh well, I'll get over it. I hope you can make it to the tour. It is truely a fabulous experience! I think the gingerbread houses you are referring to may be more the M Street area- lots of English Tudor in that area. Munger Historic District has lots of Victorian homes which have gingerbread detailing if that's what you were refering to. WH is mainly Craftsman/Prairie style- 4 square and bungalows. I'll take that over the cookie cutter, slap 'em up in a week, glorified tract homes of the suburbs any day. No offense anyone! Ok- way off topic now so I'll stop. Ha!

you know for sure that companies like Burpees have machines or our price per seed package would be way way higher.

Some seeds are easy, even fun to collect, some are a chore. I have some on the wayside, waiting for me, but those are the pain in the neck ones, so they usually don't get any attention until, oh maybe after Christmas is over........ lol.

I am learning methods on making it easier, sometimes with science, and find it all intriguing.