10/14/2026
Sunday Series: Seed Cleaning Pt. 2
Last week, we laid out the three main categories of seeds when it comes time to clean them:
1️⃣ Seeds that grow in wet fruit
2️⃣ Seeds that grow in pods
3️⃣ Seeds that grow in fluffy or fragile seed heads
✨️ Today is about the second and third categories: seeds that grow in pods and seed heads. ✨️
Beans, peas, and brassicas, are some examples of seeds that grow in pods; and lettuce, most herbs, grains, and almost every garden flower grow their seeds in “heads”. The pods and seed heads should always be allowed to mature to their dry, brown stage while on the plants to ensure the seeds are fed as much as possible.
🫛 For pods:
You can easily remove the seeds by breaking pods open with your fingers, and that's the best way if you're only saving a few seeds. For larger amounts, crush the pods in a large container so they shatter open and drop their seeds; then sift the empty pods off the top, and you'll find your seeds at the bottom of the container.
🥬 For heads:
The chaff is often difficult to separate from the seeds, with a lot of dust left behind. Start with the dust by sifting the seeds and chaff through a fine screen, small enough to keep the seeds but which allows the dust to float away. Then, an appropriately sized screen will allow the seeds to fall through but not the larger pieces of stem, leaves, and flower parts. Finally, a slightly smaller screen will hold the seeds but allow the chaff and underdeveloped seeds to fall through to finish it off.
