A week or so ago, I pulled down a large morning glory vine near our garage. I like morning glories. They are easy to grow and have pretty blooms and heart-shaped leaves. Sometimes they are a little too easy to grow, however. This year I decided to save some seed for morning glories for next year, and at the same time save myself from seed.
Left alone, these Grandpa Otts morning glories will produce hundreds of seeds and drop them on the ground, where they often take root and produce vines next year. Pulling up morning glory sprouts is one of my top early summer jobs. To control where the vines grow next year, I decided to cut them off at the pass. I pulled off a pile of the seed pods, cracked them open, and stored the seed I expect to want next year in a safe spot in the garage. The rest of the vine, I pulled up, shaking the seed on the driveway. Some of the seed went back with the vine to the compost area, where I would be happy to have morning glories. The rest got swept up and deposited in the garbage. It’s a cruel world.
I’ve been saving seeds this fall. I have an absurdly large number of seeds from my impatiens balfourii, whose seeds are so much fun to collect. Want any?
http://flickr.com/photos/peterhoh/2809645943/
When I have some free time — or when I’m watching TV — I sort the seeds from the rest of the flower head. I put the seeds in labeled envelopes, which will go into a sealed jar in the garage for the winter.
A friend wants to make wildflower seed bombs — a few seeds packed in a round ball of mud, which is then allowed to dry. Her plan is to toss them into abandoned lots.
I’ve found the best way to save tomato seeds is to toss a few tomatoes into the compost bin. I almost always get some volunteers in the spring, and tomato seedlings are easy to spot — and easy to transfer.
I love the guerrilla gardening idea–seed grenades. The impatiens are lovely. I usually get a few volunteer tomatoes just by leaving some fruit on the ground where the tomatoes were planted. The same thing happens with parsley.