After reading that I should allow the flower to dry on the stalk, I notice that underneath the petals there is a swelling (similar to a rose hip) and under the petals I see green curved growth...is this what will become the seed or will the seed form from the very center of the flower petals?
The seeds are the curved growth. They are sorta shaped like the letter C. If you haven't cut off all the blooms, you can let them go and they will reseed in that same spot.
Thanks for the reply. I'm planning on saving some seeds for trading and keeping some for myself for next year. I use the flowerheads for herbal remedies and need to double my crop next year. Any advice as to when I can harvest the seeds or at least finish them off in my dehydrator?
I pick mine when the flower heads are dead and browning. If you wait too long, the seeds fall out and you have a lot of volunteers next year in that spot. Maybe that would work for you and you would only need to harvest what you want to trade. LOL. I have never used a dehydrator for seeds.Probably okay if no heat is involved. I just air dry them and then bag them up when dry.
I have a really good dehydrator and as long as you keep the temp around 105F the seed should remain viable. So if the head is brown on the stalk I should be safe to finish it off in the dehydrator?
Oh, man! I want a dehydrator! Think how fast it would be to dry seeds and all these little cups and boxes I have on every flat surface could be put away!
Suzy
I have a dehydrator, (Excalibur) Illoquin...but I wouldn't dream of using it on seed drying. Makes terrific jerky, & fruit leathers, though!
There's a reason most seed pkg. instructions state to keep seed "cool and dry"; seed oils can go rancid if kept too hot, I consider 100+temps fairly warm. I know my plants consider anything above 100 deg. too hot, they end up prostrate from heat stress:) So (smile) do I, for that matter.
Calendula seed heads, and many other seeds, such as chamomile, valerian, fever-few, arnica, etc. ripen wonderfully in brown paper bags.
I separate the pretty orange and yellow petals from calendula first; I pull them off the flower and leave the head to turn from green to brown on the plant. Later I cut, brown bag, label, & dry the seed heads. I just packed two full quart jars with petals from this years plants, they did wonderfully, and looked so cheerful! Picking the petals can really leave your hands sticky, though from the plant's resins. The heat this year really made them aromatic...
I have the Excaliber as well...if you check the site you can read all about the viability studies...the raw foodists just love it and temps need to remain low enough so that seeds will sprout. So 105 is just fine for seeds and they will stay viable...actually you can go higher but that is the temperature that is my safety net. The advantage is that once they are completely dry the seeds can be stored in plastic bags with no worries of molding...
