Seed Saving Part Two: Dry Seeds

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Remember, last week we talked about

seed saving to ensure our food source heritage?

This week we are going to talk about saving dry seeds.

There are a few things to keep in mind when you are making your seed saving plans.  There are two types of seeds- wet and dry.  There are also semi-wet, but they are treated the same as wet seeds.  You will need proper storage for your seeds.  Peggy at My CSA Farm, Madison Creek Farms,  recommends unbleached coffee filters.  They are inexpensive, natural, disposable and easy to tuck away until planting season.  Another suggestion is an empty coin roll paper.

Peggy putting seeds into an unbleached coffee filter.

‘Dry’ seeds include beans, okra, peppers, basil and members of the onion and carrot families. Cleaning dry seeds usually involves simply drying and crumbling the pods or husks, then screening or ‘winnowing’ the seeds to separate them from the chaff.

Harvest dry seeds from their plants when their pods or husks have dried on the vine. Some seeds can be picked before they are fully dried on the plants if rains threaten. Other plants, however, (i.e., the Mustard family and others), will not finish ripening once they have been removed from the plant. Leaving seeds on the parent plant to full maturity and dryness is always preferable.

Once pods or husks have been harvested, store them in a dry place and wait until they are thoroughly dry. When the pods or husks are dry enough, they will easily crumble between your hands. Crumble the pods or husks until all the seeds are released.

Place seeds in storage container, such as the coffee filters, and label filter with type of seed enclosed.  Put in a dry, cool place until planting season comes again for that particular plant.

Edamame seeds are an example of a dry seed.

 Come back next week for Seed Saving Part Three:  Wet Seeds.

 Shared on Hearth and Soul Blog Hop at Penniless Parenting.  Check it out!