Seeds — Get Saving

Foxgloves (Digitalis), lupins (Lupinus), honesty (Lunaria annua), sweet rocket (Hesperis matronalis), poppies (Papaver) — all of these will be forming seed heads right now, and if you have them in your garden or plot, it's well worth saving and drying them to plant for another year. Over the next few weeks, these will be joined by sweet peas, sunflowers, Cosmos, Antirrhinum, Astrantia and countless more.

There's nothing new about seed saving, but as we pore over seed catalogues and websites lured by delightful descriptions of blooms to come, we shouldn't forget the wealth of free and easy-to-obtain seeds that are on offer in our own gardens and through community and neighbourly seed-swap arrangements.

A note on what you'll get

The plants we grow from saved seed are unlikely to be exactly the same as the parent plant. If you want that, you'll need to take cuttings. But if a bountiful display rather than a curated collection is what you have in mind, then this won't be a problem. Plus, you can always supplement your collection with bought-in seeds — and let's be honest, we all enjoy a bit of a seed-shopping treat.

Get organised

You can of course collect your seeds on an ad-hoc basis (hands up if you've ever reached over a garden wall for some seed pickings) but if you're going to take it more seriously then you need to get organised.

You'll need: - Large paper envelopes for the initial collection (you'll be cutting spires and stems to take back to your workbench) - Small paper envelopes — 'wage envelopes' are ideal, widely available from stationers - Sticky labels and biros - Sealable plastic or Tupperware containers for keeping your seeds in the fridge if you're not going to sow them immediately

When to harvest

In general, stalks and seed pods should have browned and feel crispy before you harvest. If you're able to leave them on the stalk until this stage, you'll be giving the plant the maximum chance to ready the seed for dispersal as it would naturally.

Seeds vary wildly in size and quantity. Many, such as Antirrhinum and Digitalis, will contain thousands — if not millions — of seeds on one flower spike. So unless you're planning on planting a forest, you should only need one stalk of each of these.

Store properly

Keep dried, labelled seeds in a cool, dry, dark place. The bottom shelf of the fridge in an airtight container is ideal for extending viability. Most seeds stored properly remain viable for 2–3 years, some much longer.

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🎧 Listen to my podcast episode on seed saving for a deeper dive. Or for the full growing year, join the Seed to Vase course.