Seed Saving

A big part of our vegie growing venture involves saving our seed from year to year. Well - in theory anyway. I have a lot of leek and carrot seeds - most of which are cooling their heels along the side of the house where I plucked them from the earth and then dumped them until I had more time on my hands to process them. There they patiently wait, sighing as they watch the rest of the garden grow. The oats reseeded themselves from the pile I pulled up and left to dry. Luckily my silverbeet, marigolds and borage self seed themselves at will all over the place (sometimes I have fantasies about neighbours eating our self sown silverbeet).

Recently though I collected pak choi seed. For some strange reason I adore collecting brassica seed. The pods, when dry, split so easily and the seed slips right out - quite often overshooting the collection bowl. I always smile in following months when I find little plants popping up from where I last collected seed. This time I sat at the front step and listened to the little wrens flit through the fernery. In a few months time no doubt I will be collecting pak choi without even having to step foot onto bare earth.

This morning I collected great big heads of wheat. We have grand plans of growing enough wheat to make our own flour. But right now the wheat is propped up against the cherry tree, drying. Somehow I think this wheat may be sending its roots down there rather than getting ground into flour - I may be wrong...but then again, I know myself too well...