I thought I could not save any seeds this month but saw some dried flower around the garden. Flower seeds collected this month, Marigold Crackerjack and Zinnia Lilliput Mix. I don't know why but our zinnia like to self-sow during autumn and some bloom through winter last year using broccoli and cauliflower as blanket (maybe those big brassica leaves help create a micro-climate?).
My cousin is more efficient in collecting and cleaning up the seeds for storing as I listen to her grumble beside me complaining as some seeds are not easy to harvest. Grumble, grumble, grumble yet she finished cleaning up those dried seeds faster than I who sat quietly in front of her pretending to listen but only managed to do less than what she managed to did. One of her not favourite seeds to harvest is the allium family. Although she complain out loud, she smiles after she finished harvesting the seeds. Our first attempt at collecting leek musselburgh seeds, not a very successful attempt. Only got a small amount of seeds from 2 stalks.
Another one which make my cousin grumble is lettuce seeds.
She is very good at harvesting lemon basil seeds. Always enjoy this session as the room is fill with lemon frangrance. Lemon Basil seed capsules look like small flower shape brooch.
Parsley (Curly-Afro) seeds takes a long time to wait for it to dry on the plants. She starts to grumble again.
I still have not finished harvesting the leek seeds yet she finished harvesting the rest and had to help me harvest leek seeds afterward. I am that slow, no wonder she grumble eh ;-). What do I do without her?
bagusnya dapat kumpul biji benih yang agak banyak.Cm hanya ada benih basil je itu pun sedikit sangat.
ReplyDeleteIt is a very time consuming process, I know. I am very impressed with you and your cousin who have been saving so much to grow and share. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteGood job with the seeds! I'm trying to save at least one new variety of seed every year and plant more heirlooms. I had a bunch of marigold seeds that I gave to people and later found out that they had a very poor germination rate, so I'll be careful what I give away in the future!
ReplyDeleteYou're so good at seed saving and i always come back to your previous posts as reference... did i hear windchime???
ReplyDeleteSaving seeds is hard work! When I saved the seeds for the Sawtooth Coriander and the Dill, I was thinking about how you managed with so many varieties of plants. My leher also 'lenguh' from bending and picking up the tiny seeds! And mine is nothing compared to yours. I'm so malu-lah!
ReplyDeleteYour cousin is really helpful, looks like admist all the grumblings, she does really enjoy it!
Both of you are really good!
You are going to have quite the fine collection of garden seeds and I love that you are so dedicated to saving them.:) Speaking of seeds, the tender crisp celery you sent me is coming along nicely...can't wait to see it all grown up.
ReplyDeleteMust admit that we rarely save seed but do transplant seedlings that sow themselves
ReplyDeleteKeep her! A good (even if grumbling) seed saver and a good cook (her kueh was soooo nice!) is hard to find. *LOL*
ReplyDeleteI have made more efforts to harvest seeds myself last summer and am looking forward to planting them in spring. I would love to try a glass of that Bitter gourd and apple juice. It looks very fresh and thirst quenching.
ReplyDeleteI love your beautiful photos of the seeds and collecting.
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to have a cousin like yours. The house is never quiet then hehe... Congrats in saving these seeds. I admire your passion in growing edibles and the beautiful flowers you like. Have a wonderful weekend!
ReplyDeleteDiane
ReplyDeleteJust read your comments. Now, about the wetting bed part I was not aware.. Wish I knew that when my kid was a toddler haha.
How is little Rayyan by the way? take care
Hullo! My lettuce seeds are the WORST to harvest I think! The parsley I just shake out...but admittedly it's not a task I relish. Something sad about the end of your crop! How's Rayyan doing?
ReplyDeleteYou are so patient to collect those seeds. I only did celery so far because it was easy to shake into a bag ha ha! I cut some lemon balm seed capsules today, got to do the shakey thing tomorrow :) Hpe you have a good week.
ReplyDeleteCikmanggis~Sikit-sikit lama-lama jadi bukit.
ReplyDeleteKwee Peng~ It does take a long process. But after drying them if there are in seed pods it is no rush to harvest them. Sometime I left them for months before I find the time to properly clean and store them.
JGH~ I had the same problem as well, some of my give-away seeds have low germination. Most probably the seeds adaptation to other garden with different environment can be one of the factor as well. Good luck with your seed-saving.
Milka~ Ada windchime. I don't have one so have to adopt it from the internet.
Kitchen Flavour~ It does take some time before we learn some trick and get used to collect seeds from the same plant. You will be a pro with collecting sawtooth coriander and dill seed soon. Then you don't have to worry for the rest of your life to buy seed or this herb plant again. Also you don't even need to grow them as they self-sowed readily in your garden.
Mr. H~ I just sowed some celery seeds. I think they will envy their siblings at your place which is listening to clasical song.
Sue~ Self-sowed seedling are a hardy chap don't they. I love volunteers, they don't require much TLC.
Veggie Gnome~ She is trying to persuade me to buy some chooks now.
Jennifer~ I hope you have many seeds sprouting from your last summer home-saved seeds. I am excited to see our home-saved spring flower seeds sprouting at the moment. It certainly boost my confidance on my own home-saving seeds skill.
Wendy~ Thank you and welcome back.
Stephanie~Hope you have a wonderful weekend too. The house never quiet so sometime I escape to the garden for some calm and peaceful momment;-).
Cina.fong~I remember my mother received some plant from FRIM that it is said to halau hantu (or hantu takut) and help with wetting bed problem. So I was thinking whether this is the same plant or not.
Ewa~ Welcome back and congratulation!
Mrs. Bok~One plant do give us a lot of seeds to remember them. It takes months just to wait for parsley seed from the flowering stage. Glad to hear someone share the same experience.
Shaz~I have never grown lemon balm before wonder how it look like.
Diana: I thought i hear something wrong again, haha. I usually blog in the office with no speakers on ma.. It sounds very soothing, like it!
ReplyDeleteYou and your cousin are really good in collecting seeds! I have started collecting seeds after going through your blog! ;)
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