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Collecting Seeds How Many Do you Collect

20 years ago

Gosh I collected some of the marigold seeds and I have more than I could use in my intire life and could collect that again 10 times over. I just keep collecting and so I thought I would ask some of you that have done this more than a summer. How many seeds does one need to collect. Do you have a problem with throwing the seeds out like I seem to have. I would imagine a couple of deadheads a plant would be enough. But them I tell myself maybe the seeds I have will not germinate so I collect more. HELP!! Is this normal? LOL

Comments (6)

  • 20 years ago

    I guessing that I have about fifty varieties of flowers I'm collecting from. That's not much compared to alot of others here, but I collect all of them I can. I keep enough for next year and give the rest away. I will start posting SASBE offers on the seed exchange in 3 or 4 more weeks. I was collecting coneflowers today and have 170 seed heads so far and there is probably 400 more out there. So, to answer your 3 questions.....
    1. All of them
    2. Yes I do
    3. No, I don't think it is

    Jim

  • 20 years ago

    Gosh you sound like me!! Nice to know I am not alone. LOL

  • 20 years ago

    That makes me feel so much better! I have a whole bowl of tomato seeds that I saved this year. And I was wondering as I was mushing the tomatoes and setting them to ferment (I had to use two quart jars to allow enough space for them to sink to the bottom)...Just how many seeds do I really need?

    And since I couldn't come up with a rational sounding answer, I decided to save as many as my furniture surfaces would allow, LOL! My entire living room is full of saucers full of seeds and my bedroom has corn hanging on the wall drying.

    Is that obsessive or what?

    I've got enough tomato seeds to supply every person in the county. Which I will probably share a lot of tomato seeds with neighbors and such. I've been trying to talk everybody into growing gardens again. Most of them used to grow a garden and they got so busy earning a living they let it go.

    Now with prices the way they are, I think people are reconsidering the importance of growing their own food supply.

    So, I've got patty pans, white spaghetti, tomato, cukes, watermelon, hot bananas and such drying all over the house.

    Steph

  • 20 years ago

    Well I can put my hand up, too. Not so much now due to drought - not a lot growing! but in the past I have been guilty of absolute obsession over seed saving.
    Trees, native plants, whatever, not one would fall! It got so I never went out without a couple of bags or tissues to stuff things in my pockets. Then I'd put them in whatever came to hand after my ramble round the yard or round the bush, to dry or to de-husk later. My mother started wondering where half her pantry crockery dishes had gone - guilty!
    But I figure it's great to save seeds for yourself. It's even nicer to save them to share. One gardener's "glut" is another's great want. Trade them, put your surplus up for the taking for postage, donate them to a school, sow more than you need and give the plants away. I think nature is over-generous sometimes with seeds, so should we be!

  • 20 years ago

    I collect all that I can of everything I can find in my yard, neighbors, friends, where ever I find dried seed pods to collect. Then I dry them, store them and trade them away for seeds that I want. Of course I make sure that I save enough for me. I do SASBE for seeds as well.
    We never have to many seeds and many of them will germinate for several years after you collect them as long as they are stored in a dry place.

  • 20 years ago

    I collect as much off my own plants as I can get. I figure not all the seeds will germinate, so I'd rather have the extra

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