STEEMIT SEED SAVERS - MUSTARD GREENS
Saving seeds, a rewarding chore.
Part of the work on the homestead, or for any serious gardener, is the task of saving seeds. Many people grow some of their own food because it is more cost effective than shopping, and saving your own seeds makes it even more financially beneficial. In this video, I share about the basic process that we use to save seeds for our Mustard Greens.
STEEMIT SEED SAVERS - MUSTARD GREENS
THE PHOTO HOW TO
Deep in our jungle of a garden, there are actually some plants that produce food. Early on this year @papa-pepper was gone working way too much to be able to successfully plant and weed the garden like I should have. However, we had plenty of volunteer plants sprouting up on their own, and Mustard Greens were among those who reseeded themselves from last year.
Once Mustard Greens go to seed, they produce a tall, slender shoot with many elongated seed pods growing off of it. It is green at first, but then dries to a light brown. Inside these elongated seed pods is where the seeds form. Once the stalk is dry, it can be broken off and removed.
By crumbling and twisting the dried stalks, the seeds can be removed. Here the @little-peppers are hard at work removing the seeds from the pods. We like to use a large plastic cover of some sort to let the seeds fall on, but a fabric sheet would also work well.
It can be a bit of a chore to twist, turn, and bend the stalks enough to get the majority of the seeds out, but you can literally hear your success when the seeds are falling onto a hard surface.
Tons of tiny little brown and tan round seeds drop onto the cover, and a lot of dried husks of the seed pods do too.
A variety of methods exist from separating "the wheat from the chaff." We usually just spread them all out and then tilt the cover. The heavy seeds are more likely to roll down to the lower end of the cover, and the fact that they are round helps a lot too.
It is such a blessing to have round seeds at a time like this! If we were doing this job on a sheet, we would all hold a corner and gently toss them into the air. The breeze would take the lighter and larger dried husks away while the denser seeds would fall back to the sheet.
Here you can see that a good amount of tiny seeds rolled to the edge in front of Monster Truck the Pepper. Not only is this job so easy that even children can do it, it is a good life skill for them to learn. Though they could purchase a packet of seeds for Mustard Greens at the store for only a dollar or two, it is nice to know that you never have buy seeds for them again if you don't want to. Plus, every dollar saved is two dollars that you don't have to earn, since you don't pay taxes on money you don't make.
This small pile here contains way more seeds than we would plant in a year. This gives us the opportunity to share some seeds, sell some seeds, or save the unplanted seeds for the following year. Additionally, these are Mustard seeds, so we could experiment with making our own spicy brown mustard or use them as a spice in cooking and canning.
Photos like this make me very glad as a parent. These @little-peppers just spent some good time working on a real job to help our family, and at the end of the job, they are all smiles. Sure, they could have spent that same amount of time in front of a television or playing a video game, but we prefer to invest our time. It is limited, so we like to utilize it wisely.
Every tiny bit that little ones can pitch in on projects like this is a blessing to our family. Some say that "many hands make light work," and we certainly have many hands.
To store them for the winter, we usually let them dry out for a few more days. Any moisture in the seeds could cause mold or rot, and spoil the whole batch. After a few extra days of drying, we either put them in a jar or a sealed bag, and store them in a cool, dry, dark place. This helps make sure that the seeds will be as good as possible when we want to plant them in the spring.
As always, I'm @papa-pepper and here's the proof:
proof-of-saved-mustard-greens-seeds
Until next time…
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The most important thing is that the family is united and that you are very proud of your children. Time spent with children is priceless.
Thank you, it is the life that we choose to live, and we love it!
There is always an adventure and learning @papa-pepper blogs!
Thank you, Glad to hear that you think so!
Very helpful post. Collecting your own organic seeds is so important. Especially with Monsanto and all the GMO going on out there. Thanks!
FULLY AGREED!
Hey, @papa-pepper! Many hands make light work.
Idle hands are the devil’s workshop; idle lips are his mouthpiece.
An evil man sows strife; gossip separates the best of friends.
Wickedness loves company—and leads others into sin.
Proverbs 16:27-29
Gathering seeds for next year is so important on the homestead. And having the kids participate is an extra bonus on so many levels. We love spicy brown mustard and it fairly simple to make. Once you make it the first time, you'll never want to go back to plain old yellow mustard.
I love this! I tried to explain the "Many hands make for light work" to my step-daughter this summer...she didn't get it. But I'll keep trying!
Well, yr situation is probably a little more difficult since you have step children. I went through this with two step sons. It took the older one a little more time to adjust but with patience and perseverance, he eventually came around. Making chores a game and fun helps a lot. Best of luck.
It is hard - her school is year-round, so her summer breaks are only 30 days - which means we get her for 1 month out of 12. We try to influence her as much as we can, but it's hard to make a real impact over skype or in a month. We try to live the way we want her to be (hard working, responsible spending, caring, etc.) because I think showing how to do something is better than telling.
Fantastic guide @papa-pepper. I haven't saved mustard seeds yet, simply beacuse I never let it bolt!
There's a lot of good seed saving info on Steemit right now...@project-diaries just did one on strawberries which was very clever. Thanks for the info - I may try my hand at a seed saving for cauliflower post soon!
Even just letting one plant bolt can provide a lot of seed for years to come!
You and your wife are awesome parents! As a child I used to think my parents were teaching me things that would be useless but boy was I wrong! I tip my hat to you, my parents and any parents that teach their children real life skills!
Thank you very much for that! It is encouraging to hear!
You are most welcome :)
Lol... I like the pepper, pepper, pepper sound on the post. Hahahaha.
Man! You know your stuff! I've tried my hand and gardening a couple of times but I haven't ever had the discipline or know-how to be successful. I do really appreciate your tips though and getting to know you a bit. Thanks!
Cool. Now is the time to learn. Once you get the hang of it, you'll be set for life!
I hear you. I live mostly in a place called Volcan, in Panama, which is the central location for all the veggies that go throughout the country. It's farmland all around so you would think I would know more. Maybe I'll try my hand at it again one of these days. In the meantime it looks like you are having a blast, I look forward to learning more from you.
nice post upvoted your vote is important for me @deshwal
Saving seeds is a lot of work, but totally worth it!