The Simple Way To Save Seeds From Your Garden This Year

Why Save Seeds

Saving seeds is a great way to save money in the garden. You can save seeds from many plants, but this post is going to cover marigolds & nasturtium.

In addition to saving money, saving seeds is a perfect way to get seeds to swap with other gardeners. Seeds that are harvested at home will be better suited for your climate the next time you plant them. Meaning, for me here in Colorado, these seeds will grow better next year since they have already grown here.

The seeds I’m sharing in this post require no special tools. Essentially, it’s just wait until they are dry, bring them home, let them sit for a few days to ensure dryness, and then put them into storage. It really is that easy!

How To Save Seeds From Marigolds

For marigold seeds, seed collecting could not be easier. When the flowers dry, you will start to notice them looking dry and shriveled. The marigold seeds should easily pull right out of the flower head.

Dried marigold seeds are very black with a little white. If your marigold seeds are pale white or feel wet, they are not ready and should not be saved.

Here’s a video showing how easy marigold seeds are to save:

How To Save Seeds From Nasturtium

Nasturtium seeds are almost as easy as marigold seeds. Though they can be a little tricky. The seeds will start at the base of the flower and are green. As the mature and dry they turn brown and fall off the flower.

This means that you need to really watch your nasturtium plants for signs of seeds being ready. Check the base of plants daily towards the end of your growing season. You will start seeing seeds. Only collect the brown seeds.

Here is a video showing how to collect nasturtium seeds:

Will You Save Seeds?

Will you save seeds from your garden? Let me know below!

I encourage everyone to save a few seeds every year. You don't need to save many from each plant - a few seeds from each plant should do!