Seed Gathering

It is time to collect seeds from my garden. I always have an abundance and love to share them with my gardening friends thus creating Friendship Gardens.
Saving seeds and seedpods will give you many seeds to plant in your garden next year. Trading seeds with other gardeners provides you with new plants for the cost of a postage stamp.

Although plants need to be dead headed to ensure continual bloom through the season you can always leave the odd flower to develop into a seedpod. At the end of the season I leave all the flowers to dry out and produce seedpods.  Be sure all seeds are dry before you package them - especially if you are using the mini plastic zip lock bags. Store seeds in a cool location over the winter. Some seeds need to be stored in the refridgerator before germination.
My filing system comprises a 4 quart basket and recycled envelopes. I open my mail on the edge of the envelope and then it can be re-used again. Print the plant name on each envelope and file alphabetically. This makes it easier to find certain types of seeds when it gets to be planting time.  This might not be the prettiest way to store seeds, but it sure works for me. Over the winter this container can be stored down the basement in the cold storage room or in a cool garage (not one where the temperature drops below zero as you don't want those seeds freezing).

But if you really have an over abundance of seeds and you aren't giving any away you can always put the seeds on your bird feeder and see what feathered friends stop by for a snack. For those of you new to seed gathering I have a series of posts with the label Sow then Grow and it will help you identify where to find the seeds, the seedpods, seedlings and seeds of various plants.I do get a lot of requests for my seeds, but unfortunately I can only send to other Canadian gardeners because of postal restrictions.
So get out there and gather seeds and share with your fellow gardeners. What seeds are you gathering and how do you store them?