Saving Seed

These are kale seed pods which we have cut from a bed of kale that has already flowered and gone to seed. They are now drying in the prop house, the pods will eventually open, popping all the tiny black seeds out for collection


Growing for seed is a whole other area of farming which is very interesting. Here are some things I have learned:


-If you the bed you are growing is leafy greens, you should mostly leave it alone so the plants can do their thing and go to flower which will then make seeds. If they are fruit then you then you can eat them but keep the seeds! 


-Make sure that there are no other plants in your field that are in the same family as the plants you are growing for seed. If they cross pollinate the fruit or produce will most likely not be edible or taste funny, I think it is kind of like in-breeding. This is a hard one for me personally, and you have to know your botanical family names or consult a smart plant/farm person


-When selecting the plant you will be harvesting seed from, make sure it has strong attributes and do not collect from plants that have unattractive qualities i.e. lettuce plants that bolt early


-My favorite, you don't really need to fuss over your seed saving bed too too much i.e. fertilize, weed and each plant produces thousands of seeds!