a good book about seed saving??

I am very new to saving seeds for next season, and am having a hard time knowing where seeds are on some plants, how to harvest and when, etc. Does anyone know of a really good reference book about this? I've looked in the DG bookworm, but am having trouble making a decision. What I am really looking for is a book about where to look for seeds, how to harvest, and how to germinate, and am about to decide it doesn't exist. Please help.

There are two that I reccomend...one for flowers and one for veggies. Both are priceless.

From Seed To Bloom by Eileen Powell is one for annuals and flowers

Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth is for all forms of edibles.

The best two investments that someone wanting to save seeds can make...there's good crossover info in each too..

I have Powell's book, but haven't seen a lot of info about how to collect the seeds, just germination. Like I said, I am very new to this - took me forever to figure out petunias and I'm still not sure I have it right :-)

Hmmm....I never thought about the seed pods...I guess growing up in a rural area, you just take this for granted...I've never had to hunt for a seed bearing pod.

The best advice that I can give is watch your flowers through the whole process...as the buds form and mature, you'll see how the flower itself is created. Then the flower blooms and fades. Usually, there is a 'nub' of some kind left right where the sexual parts of the flower were. If the pollen reaches the ovary, then it will swell and grow. As this 'nub' grows, it will form the shape of the seed pod of that species.

As it matures, some will show bumps of seeds, some will be capsules, but if you look at the spent blossoms of the plant, You'll see the same shape repeated over and over.

Petunias have a tiny little ball-like growth, usually they come to a point on the end. When these start to turn yellow, break them off from the plant and let them dry on a paper plate for a couple of weeks...tiny black seeds will come out of a petunia capsule...almost the size of dust.

Coneflowers seem to give folks a bit of trouble too....the seeds are tan, triangular shaped things that are held in the 'cone' part of the flower...they are difficult to extract unless you let the cone dry really well.

If you have a question about where the seeds are or what they look like...just ask here....believe me, you won't be the first..or the last.

As you learn to harvest seeds of a few varieties, others will come naturally...you'll learn to pick out what is a seed even if you've never seen one like it before..As you master one technique, the next one will fall into place...and you'll have more confidence.

One thing that I usually advise newbie seed savers to do is pick out 3 or 4 varieties of seeds that you really want to save...ignore everything else. If you start trying to save everything in your garden.....it will prove to be frustrating and you might decide that it's too much trouble. Just concentrate on a few favorite plants...ask for advice and help in identifying the pods and how to save them. A few hybrid flowers may not produce seed at all...like a mule can't procreate. This isn't often, but can happen. I had a hybrid verbascum that I loved...never produced the first seed...just one of those things.

Ask away, and you are welcome to D mail me too. Seed saving can be fun and rewarding...just take baby steps at first.

Thank you Melody for the good advice.

Richard

Thanks Melody. I have coneflowers coming up all over because I am real lazy about deadheading, but some of the others I would like to collect. Hope you don't mind me dmailing you because I am bound to have questions :-) I appreciate your offer.
Sharon