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| Photo: Carol Martin |
Autumn can be a challenging time for gardening with kids. The excitement of Spring planting has long faded and the start of a new school year is top of mind. However, collecting seeds from the garden is a fun, relatively easy task that can re-engage kids of almost any age.
The key to collecting seeds with kids is choosing seeds that are easily collected and saved.
Some factors to consider:
~ Seed size – Especially with small children, choosing plants with large seeds makes it easy for them to collect and handle the seeds. Two of my favorites are sun flowers and hyacinth bean. Sun flowers have large seed heads that can be removed and allowed to dry. Hyacinth bean plants have seed pods that are two to three inches long and contain three to four seeds each.
~ Hybrid/Non-hybrid – It’s best to avoid hybrid varieties of plants. Seeds from hybrid varieties produce a mixture of plant types and will yield plants that are inferior to the parent.
~ Self-pollinating – Plants that self-pollinate such as tomatoes and peppers have the best success rate for seed saving. Their flowers self-pollinate and their seeds don’t require any special handling. Seeds from self-pollinated plants will grow into plants that are true to the parent. You should avoid saving seeds from cross-pollinated plants that have separate male and female flowers. Examples are corn and vine crops such as pumpkin, zucchini and cucumber. One year we collected seeds from our zucchini and planted them the following Spring. We ended up with what we called “franken-squash.” They looked like a cross between a cucumber and a zucchini and were completely tasteless.
Collecting Seeds
For plants with seed pods such as peas or beans, allow the pods to ripen and dry. The pods will darken and you will be able to hear the seeds rattling inside. At that time the kids can pick the pods off the plant. The pods should be spread out to dry completely indoors. Once completely dry, the kids can open the pods and remove the seeds.
Plants with pulp like tomatoes can be a bit messy when extracting the seeds. That can actually make this a very fun activity for kids. It’s recommended you do this outdoors. Cut the fully ripened tomatoes in half and scoop out the seeds along with the pulp surrounding them. Put the seeds and pulp in a glass jar along with some water. Stir or swirl the mixture twice a day for a few days until the seeds sink to the bottom. Pour off the liquid, rinse the seeds and spread them out on paper towels until they are completely dry.
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| Photo: Carol Martin |
Storing Seeds
You will store each type of seed in a separate envelope. Older kids can write the name of the plant and the date the seeds were collected on each envelope. Younger kids might enjoy decorating the envelopes and/or drawing pictures of the plants. Place the envelopes containing the seeds in a tightly sealed glass container. Keep the seeds dry and cool until you are ready to plant them the following year.
Sources:
Saving Seed - CSU 7.602
Saving Seed - CSU 7.602