Nasturtium Seeds?

Do they have to be all brown and dry before you pick them? Most of mine are still green peas and I am afraid they will freeze before they all turn brown.

When ever I have a question like this, I pick the ripest ones and hope for the best. If the remaining ones look OK in a week or 2 pick some more.
They may survive a frost in any event.
Andy P

Caitlin, I have to pick them green around here... our season is so short. I try to wait until they have become plump and large, however, and I air dry them in a wicker basket, stirring them occasionally. It may take a month or more for them to dry enough to package.

I've always just picked them at the stage in the pic, then dried them in old pie plates, stirring them every couple of days, and packaged them in small paper lunch bags, to make sure they don't mold in storage, because it does take a long time for them to dry.

Thanks for all of the comments - I had a really gorgeous mass of different varieties this year - one especially bright climber called "spitfire" - bright red orange. Have you seen the pic of monet's garden with all of the arches and the walk underneath them? He liked to grow nasturtiums along the side of the walk and then just let them grow out till they nearly covered the whole area.

What a wonderful sight all those nasturtium must have been in Monet's garden! 'Empress of India' has lovely orange red blooms and dark leaves. The stems and leaf edges are tinged with pink.

When I lived in North Dalota the winters came quickly. I put a lot of things into brown paper bags to finish ripening. Just be sure to give them enough room so they don't get mildewed.

Yes, I often envy those who have a long season and can simply tip the seedheads and pour out the seeds! We get a rainy period before it start to get truly cold, so I've got to time my harvesting to get the seeds as ripe as possible without letting them get waterlogged. I've had seeds in my poppies actually start to germinate in the pods.

I think it's ok for the poppies to germinate in the fall - they seem to survive the winter here and start growing again in the spring. (If they are germinating on the ground that is.) What kind of poppies do you grow? I have some "heirloom" poppies that reseed nicely. Mostly pinks and lavendars with darker splotches in the middle.

Empress of india is one of my favorites. I especially like the bluish cast to the leaves.

I grow several types of poppies. The Iceland, Oriental, and Himilayan Blue Poppies all are perennial here. The Shirleys and somniferum are not. I grow lots of different nasturtium, as well as the Empress. I think Empress and the Alaska are my favorites.

You grow Himalaya Blues there? Wow, guess there is one advantage to Alaska! Yeah, I like Alaska too - it's the multicolored mix with the variegated leaves? And I like whirleybird mahoghany a lot too.

Yes, I can grow blue poppies up here. They like our cool climate and moist conditions. Yes, Alaskas have the variegated leaf. It makes them interesting even when they aren't blooming... and I really love the mahogany ones. The flowers are so dark and the leaves a limey green!