Collecting Seeds
At this time of the year I am collecting seeds from the years crops. Today it was runner beans. They are a marvellous colour a soft mauvy pink with a bold splash of black and they look like someone polished them. Their pods are brown and crisp now and I have shelled the seeds.
How to store seeds?
- Check they are all whole
- Leave them out overnight (or longer) to dry fully
- Separate the seeds from any dry plant bits
- Put them in a brown envelope, marking the type of seeds & date harvested
- Store them somewhere dry, cool and dark
Next May they will be ready for planting! This is the beauty of planting seeds… they seem a bit expensive when you buy them but at the end of the season you have plenty for the next year.
Children are often curious about what a seed is, that’s why we tell our Seed Agents all about ‘the secret of the seed’. It is a sort of miracle that one bean can provide loads of lovely green beans all Summer and then some more seeds for the next year.
There are other seeds that are hard to resist picking up, like the Conker. These are great fun to plant, just put them in soil in a good sized pot in the garden and next year you will have a little tree. If you have room plant it out in your garden, but watch out… these are very big trees when they are fully grown!
