by Susan Klatz Beal

Created on: April 06, 2010

If you are a gardener and are feeling the pinch of the economic crisis, there is a way by which you can frugally expand your garden, be able to continue to grow the things you love and save a considerable amount of money in the process. Many people don't realize that by and large, most of the things that they grow produce seeds after the flowers have bloomed or after the plant has produced foods. An attentive gardener who is willing to allow some of their plants, flowers, vegetables and herbs to go to seed can harvest those seeds and use them during the next growing season.

You can also use the seeds to trade with other gardeners. If you don't know of relatives or neighbors who would be interested in trading, there are a multitude of gardening forums and sites on the Internet that do just that. They are gathering places for gardeners who want to trade seeds (or plants,) with other gardeners.

Here are some tips to help you be more efficient and productive at saving your seeds.

*Wait until the flower head has dried completely -

In order to get the seeds from your flowers or plants, you will have to wait until the spent flower dries out completely. You will wind up with some unattractive looking things that you might otherwise be tempted to deadhead, but by not deadheading them, you will allow the plant to put energy into producing seeds. This also means that the plant won't flower or produce as much of whatever it is that it produces, but this isn't so bad if you wait to do this until the end of the season.

*Harvest one type of seed at a time -

If you try to harvest too many types of seeds, everything will get mixed up and you won't have a clue as to what is what. Whenever possible, harvest the seed head as fully intact as possible. The reason for this is  because the sight of the seed head should allow you to identify for certain, what the seed actually is.

*Allow the seeds to dry out fully -

Before you put your seeds in any type of plastic baggie or envelope, be sure that they are completely dry. You will want to do this for several days. If it is humid outside, it will take longer for them to dry. If you don't allow them to dry out fully, there will be a chance that they will get moldy in a container - even if it can get air.

*Never harvest the seeds of diseased plants -

If you have a diseased plant, don't harvest the seeds. You have no way of knowing whether the seeds are infected with the same disease. It's always best not to take chances like that.

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