I've had tomato seeds fermenting for a few days now, and yesterday I started checking summer bloomers for ripe seed. I've collected about a dozen varieties so far, but have had the most fun with the quick twist and pop of the Impatiens balfourii seedpods! I feel like a youngster playing out there...touch -pop!, touch -pop! Can you tell that this is my first experience with exploding seedpods?

Mother nature gives us many fun things in our gardens.
Several varieties collected here too, but none of the fun seed pods.

I have fun collecting the butterfly pea seeds before the spring open and spew their seeds all over and in my eye.

I saved some seeds a few months ago from a Columbine that showed up a year or two after I tried to start some. Those pods were very cooperative: as far as I can tell, they didn't drop any seeds even after they were dry and rattling.

And those pods were pretty easy to get lots of seed from, I just shook them hard inside a big plastic tub. I didn't get ALL the seeds out, but did get plenty of seeds, with very little fine chaff.

It's probably from a traded seed, Burpee C"olumbine, Harlequin, Mixed Colors", no binomial name. (It MIGHT have been from Botanical Interests 2010 year-end sale, "Columbine McKana Giants Blend' Aquilegea hybrida, AAS Selection 1955. My bloom form was not close to either one! Small, nodding blooms, dusky chocolate-purple.

At first I didn't know where it COULD have come from, because the proper plant marker had been buried during some weeding. The Botanical Interest Horticulturalist said that iot LOOKED like A. vulgaris, and MIGHT have been a recombinant or revertant from their stabilzed (OP) hybrid. But the color looks more like some of the NOID Burpee product, and have some typical plantss from the B.I. McKana's giants - very different colors.

My lesson is to make maps of what I plant where, because even a "failed crop" of perennials can surprise you later.

I also saved some seeds from an OP Daikon Radish 'Minowase' that went to seed years ago when I planted it at the wrong season. Those seeds know the RIGHT season, and have been surprising me ever since by growing in my rock-hard clay and drilling pretty deep all by themselves.

These are also really easy seeds to save! I pulled some "weed" radishes that had a few pods, maybe ripe and maybe not. I dropped them in a corner of the deck until I got around to carrying them to the compost heap. That was enough "care" for them to finish ripening and drying.

When a guy came to tear up my deck and haul it away, I had to throw them somewhere else to get them out of his way. I forget what that was, but I had to jam them in to make them fit.

Abracadabra, "saved seeds".

So I rubbed the pods a little to get more seeds, and now I have them.

Just about the only thing they did not do by themselves was to put themselves into packets and label themselves.

RickCorey said:

...Just about the only thing they did not do by themselves was to put themselves into packets and label themselves.

Too funny, Rick.


I'm growing out Joseph's (joseph) landrace radishes for seed collecting. It looks like there will be a bunch! Their blooms are ever-so pretty, too.

The white Clematis-Flowered Columbine seed that I collected earlier this year was evidently ripe enough. I have a container of sprouts started from those seeds that are growing quite well.

I love the blooms on the Daikon radishes, too. They were a little sparser than some flowers, but I would grow them for decoration if I didn't have toomany flower seeds already.

And the pods were tasty! Not as hot as the roots.

I've only collected a few marigold pods. I froze them to kill bugs, forgot all about them in there. My freezer is packed. I'll have to search.

Karen

Thanks for the reminder, Karen! I had some in the freezer as well, and it'll be much easier to get them out now before they get shuffled around and buried!

Still steadily collecting here since there's been little rain yet this fall.

I found them.

Karen

I really wish I could save seeds from some of my favorite tomatoes. But, I grow them way too close together to even consider that. Thank goodness for some places that I can buy fresh seed each year for a low price.

I also unearthed some seeds that feel behind my refrigerator shelves from a year ago I have no idea how it got lost since we pull these shelves out regularly to wash I also think I have some Bells of Ireland in my refrigerator from last year. I did not do well on getting things planted this year. sigh.......

Linda, if they are just for you and not for sale or for trades with "braggin' rights", tomatoes' self-pollinating nature ought to get you at LEAST 85% and probably 90-95% self-pollination.

And if you wanted to, you could drape netting over the whole patch so that only vibration, not insects, did ALL the pollination. I think that cross pollination would drop below 1% at that point Or bag some blooms and mark the fruit. 100% pure PLUS nerd bragging rights.

Even without a science project, out of ten plants, 9 or 10 ought to be self-pollinated. And it's not like any one seed can be 80% pure: it's either 100% parent or 50% parent.

The only downside ought to be that a few plants out of however many will be "off". That IS wasted garden space, but if you have enough room, you COULD save your own seeds and just pull a few plants after you see what the fruits look like.

>> I can buy fresh seed each year for a low price.

That's probably the smartest, most practical approach. And then you can trade left-over seeds or seedlings or give them away.

In saving tomatoe seeds----for your own use----you probably only need the seeds from one or two tomatoes.
So what you can do is:- bag one blossom cluster just as it forms.
Mark it with a tag or tape etc., and remove the bag once the small tomatoes grow.

This same idea could be used if you want to make crosses.
Bag new blossom clusters on both plants, and use a brush to move pollen from one to other.
Probably good idea to remove pollen possibility from the one first. (I think the Male book tells how to do it.)

CarolineScott said:In saving tomatoe seeds----for your own use----you probably only need the seeds from one or two tomatoes.
So what you can do is:- bag one blossom cluster just as it forms.
Mark it with a tag or tape etc., and remove the bag once the small tomatoes grow.

Thanks, Caroline!

For some reason I never thought it could be as easy as just bagging one.

It might be an idea to shake that plant so pollenation occurs inside the bag.

Two "finds" I'm excited about: found some jewel weed and collected seeds for pods; also found scarlet creeper, a sweet miniature red morning glory.

I was not going to collect seeds this year. But Friday when I got home early from work it was so nice out. I took the dogs out to play. I ended up gathering all kinds of seeds! Great time of year too because almost all the bugs are gone since we've had plenty of hard freezes.

SCButtercup, Jewelweed? Lucky you!!! when you say "find," do you mean growing wild?