How to Collect & Save Bachelor's Button Seeds

Since my interest in gardening lead to me collecting and saving seeds that I can distribute through my seed library I've been focusing more and more on old fashioned flowers. The "old lady" garden flowers I would have turned my nose up at a few years ago are now my obsession. Seeds for these flowers are easy to buy, trade, and most importantly: they're easy to save and share with new gardeners. One such flower is Bachelor's Button. Collecting and saving Bachelor's Button seeds is really easy.

Seed Starting Tips for Beginner Gardeners

Over the past few years, I have amassed a number of posts here about growing from seed that should be helpful to beginner seed starters. While these seed starting tips are aimed at beginners hopefully, they will be of use and interest to more experienced gardeners who may not have done much seed starting in the past. These tips on seed starting cover what items you can repurpose in your home to make seed starting pots, seed germination, and the types of seed staring mixes you can use. If you find that there’s a seed starting question that has not been answered you can leave a comment below or try my seed snatcher search engine which is exclusively devoted to information on seed starting and seed saving.

Organize Your Seeds Before Seed Starting

Grow Lights for Indoor Seed Starting

One of the most popular seed starting questions I get from people interesting in growing from seed is whether they need grow lights when starting seeds indoors. The answer to that question depends on several factors. How many seeds are you trying to start? How much money can you invest in buying grow lights? Do you have any south-facing windows? Is your season long enough for direct seed sowing in the garden? The way I see it, buying grow lights for indoor seed starting is a luxury, not a necessity.

What Does "P.V.P" on Seed Packets Mean?

I love seed packets almost as much as I love the seeds inside. Sometimes I purchase a seed packet just because I like the photo or seed packet design and I have no intention of ever growing the seeds. My seed keeping bin is stuffed with old seed packs of some seeds I've sown and packs that are there just as curios. Take, for example, this seed packet for ‘Lumina’ pumpkin. In the upper-right corner of the seed pack you’ll note that “P.V.P” is printed on the seed packet next to the name.

The Seed Sharer

I'm always looking for ways to store seeds I saved from my garden and creative ways to share seeds with other people. When I see a product my mind automatically finds a way that I can put it to use saving and storing seeds. The seed organizer made from a plastic shoe box is one example. Another would be the pocket seed banks made from candy tins. When I saw this container of candy sprinkles for baking I thought it would be a great way to make a gift of some seeds from my garden. After removing all the sprinkles The Seed Sharer was born.

Testing Older Seed Germination

Before tossing away old seed or ordering new seeds from your favorite seed catalog you should test the older seeds you have to save you a bit of time and money. Testing older seed germination rates can save you from wasting time, seed starting soil and supplies on seeds that may not sprout. A seed germination test is really simple and can be done by any home gardener with items you already have around the home. Do this seed viability test at home before planting your older seeds.

How to Organize a Seed Swap

Organizing a seed swap is a great way to engage the gardening community where you live and give gardeners, new and old alike, a chance to mingle and get to know each other, exchange garden information, seed history and experiences. Gardeners who participate in seed swaps have the chance to try small amounts of new to them seeds, unload personal seed stashes or seeds from personal seed banks, garden groups and seed savers can use the opportunity of a seed swap to distribute seeds from their seed library. Below are some tips on how to organize a seed swap that I have picked up attending and organizing in-person seed swaps.

How to Start a Seed Library in Your Community

A seed library operates just like your local library, but instead of stocking books it carries vegetable, annual and perennial seeds. The idea behind them is to encourage seed saving, the exchange of seed history, nurture new gardeners, exchange gardening information and build communities through seeds. Seed libraries are also great ways to acquire heirloom and open pollinated seeds. The biggest benefit though of a seed library, in my opinion, is how it can help foster a feeling of community among people who may have little else in common.

How to Collect Viola Seeds

While violas will readily reseed in the garden I wanted to collect seeds from my Viola 'BlackJack' blooms as a backup because I was growing them in a small terracotta pot on my porch garden. Before I could collect seeds I had to make sure the blooms were pollinated. The tiny blooms on these plants made finding the right tool difficult, artist brushes were too large so I ended up using a hair from my beard. Yes, you read that right. It seems like a lot of trouble to go through for a garden annual but the seeds for these violas were kind of expensive.

How To Collect Black-Eyed Susan Vine Seeds

In the previous post about growing Black-Eyed Susan Vine I posted a picture of a developing seed pod on my Black-Eyed Susan Vine. If you're growing Black-Eyed Susan Vine then chances are good that soon you'll have Thunbergia alata seeds-if you know where to find them on the vine and how to collect them. Knowing how to collect Black-Eyed Susan Vine seeds is more important than knowing when to collect the seeds. 

Black-Eyed Susan Vine flowers are tubular-shaped and pollinated by pollinators with long tongues. After the bloom fades you'll be able to tell whether it was pollinated or not within a day or two.

"Home Farming" Basil Seeds

I recently had the opportunity to talk to Paul James "The Gardener Guy" about National Public Gardens Day, more about that later at my Chicago Garden blog. Before the phone interview I was doing some research on Paul James and came across his Facebook page and learned he was working with Triscuit to promote "Home Farming."

How To Collect Hollyhock Seeds

The first hollyhocks I grew in my garden were black hollyhocks in memory of an old neighbor who grew them when I was a kid. These hollyhocks were biennial, from seed they take two years to complete a life cycle, and I didn't save any seeds and so lost both of them.

Why didn't I save seeds from my hollyhocks? Not really sure why I didn't since hollyhock seeds are easy to collect. If you have a hollyhock in your garden that you really like, you should save some seeds from it every year and sow them.

Collecting and saving hollyhock seeds is very simple.

How to collect and save hollyhock seeds

How To Collect Hosta Seeds

Gardeners who grow hostas usually grow them for the foliage and because they lighten up shady gardens, but these perennial garden plants have just as impressive star-shaped flowers. The first hosta was introduced in my garden by way of seeds I swapped with another gardener online. In the fall I dug a small hole in the soil and placed the seeds, covering them with an inch or two of soil...the next spring I had hosta leafs!

I now have a couple of different hostas, all grown from seeds I collected once I learned how easy it was to gather and sow the seeds.

Hosta flower stalk: How to Collect Hosta Seeds.

How To Collect Calendula Seeds

Calendula is sometimes called pot marigold but shouldn't be confused with Marigolds from the genus Tagets. Since they are in the Asteraceae family they also don't develop a single seed pod that makes collecting seeds extremely easy for the beginner gardener/seed saver among us, but the seeds are just as relatively easy to locate as the Marigold seeds.

How to Collect Marigold Flower Seeds

Marigolds are common and inexpensive garden annuals, but that doesn't mean you can't, or shouldn't, collect seeds from your Marigold flowers for next year. This year was the first year in a really long time that I grew Marigolds in my garden. I grew them alongside a few vegetables and herbs as companion plantings. Over the weekend I found myself doing some cleaning in the garden and a took a few minutes to save a few seeds from my potted Marigolds for next year. Marigolds don't produce large or round seeds- which can make figuring out where the Marigold seeds are confusing for the beginner gardener or first time seed saver.

How To Collect Morning Glory Seeds

Morning glories are popular annual garden vines because they grow in a variety of soil conditions and in container gardens. The flowers usually last for a single morning and die in the afternoon, although on cloudy days, the flowers may last well into the early evening or night.Collecting and saving morning glory seeds from a vine in your garden, or one you may admire in another garden, is just as easy as growing them in your garden. Morning glories require very little attention in the garden and collecting seeds from a morning glory doesn't take any special knowledge.

How To Collect Four O' Clock Flower Seeds

Not far from my garden there is an empty lot with a hedge of Four O' Clocks that grow an flower like mad. I try not to pass the abandoned property very often because these plants just remind me just how much I stink at trying to get these seeds to germinate. I've tried for years to grow Four O' Clocks from seeds with little luck. On this abandoned property they grow in almost full sun, watered only by rain and they thrive.

Edible Gardening In 2009

I've been reading a lot about how growing your own fruits and vegetables is going to be huge this year. The bad economic news apparently has people turning to gardening to in an effort to feel like they have some control in their lives or they're turning to vegetable gardening in order to feed their families.

Whatever the reason people are turning to gardening it is welcomed news not only to the seed companies, who are reporting increases in sales, but to those of us who garden. All of a sudden family members who once made fun of my dabbling with plants and seeds are now calling and emailing me asking for advice. This year tiny urban garden in Chicago will be a lot more edible than it has in the past. I feel a bit like I'm jumping on the edible gardening bandwagon but in reality it is more out of necessity. Last year I was too busy to tend to my garden and this resulted in a lot of plant deaths-instead of replacing them with more perennials I'm going to fill the space with vegetables.

Burpee Seeds At Home Depot 2009

A few years ago I requested a catalog from Burpee but I never got it. My zip code is probably not seen as very desirable to people in the gardening business so I pretty much stick to buying retail. That's the case with Burpee, I couldn't tell you what is in their catalog but I can tick off what I like that they're offering in retail settings. I really enjoying growing my own plants from seeds and I buy from whoever is selling them. This year though the Burpee seeds at Home Depot seem to be uninspired and there isn't much for an ornamentalist like myself to choose from.



I wanted to buy the Burpee 'Cypress Vine' seed pack I saw at Home Depot but didn't because it looked to be mislabeled to me. The name of the seed pack says 'Cypress Vine' but if you look at the photo of the plant is isn't what is commonly called 'Cypress Vine'-it is 'Cardinal Climber.' I already grow a mix of pink, red and white Cypress Vine and posted pictures of it in the post "When I collected Cypress Vine Seeds". You can look at the photos in that entry and compare them to the photos of the packet at Home Depot. I also have pictures of a pink and white Cypress Vine flower.They're in the same family and very similar looking except 'Cypress Vine' has the prettier shaped flowers (they look like 5 point stars) and nicer foliage than 'Cardinal Climber'. If I'm not mistaken I believe Burpee is also selling the mix of 'Cypress Vine' I already grow but I didn't bother to check the labeling and didn't notice this "mistake" until I was uploading the photo to this entry.

Pink And White Cypress Vine

There isn't much blooming in my garden right now but my 'Cypress Vine' is still going strong. In the garden this year I planted this flowering vine in two spots where it could climb and flower and provide a little bit of privacy. If you've been here before you may already have seen the red  'Cypress Vine' flower on this gardening blog, but the pink and white flowers have just started to put on their display. Ipomoea quamoclit is the botanical name for 'Cypress Vine.' The more common name is often also assigned, incorrectly, to 'Cardinal Climber.'