One way to get new plants without having to buy them is to collect the seeds and plant them in the following season . This is a very nice experience, which will provide us with many and varied knowledge about the cultivation of plant beings from the beginning of their lives.
If you would like to continue growing your own food, do not miss this article in which I will explain how to extract the seeds from root vegetables , that is, from carrots, radishes, turnips and other plants whose edible part is the root or tuber.
The first and most important thing you have to do is choose which specimens you are going to extract the seeds from . If they are hybrids and/or have been sick, we do not recommend that you select them, since their seeds will probably not germinate as well as they should.
Once you’ve selected them, let them (or at least the flowers) dry completely. When the petals fall, the seeds will begin to ripen, which will be very small (less than 1cm), very light and brown as soon as they have finished their development.
Next, cut the flower stems and place them upside down in a paper bag -slightly open- between one and two weeks, in a very bright and well-ventilated place. After that time, completely close the bag and shake it so that the seeds fall out.
Finally, you must screen or sift them so that only the seeds remain. At the end, you will only have to put them in a paper envelope that you can make yourself with a sheet of paper. Write down the name of the plant and the date, and store it in a dry place until it is time to plant them.
Easy, right?
