Let's talk seed saving (okra and basil edition)

So one of my favorite parts of gardening is actually the most difficult, for me. It’s the seed saving. And to be clear, saving seeds isn’t inherently difficult, it’s that it takes a little getting used to.

If you’re like me, you haven’t actually seen how most edible plants create seeds, so that’s the first issue. Learning what they look like when they have seeds. The second is knowing when to harvest the seeds. And the final issue is protecting the seeds long enough to be actually be able to harvest them.

This year we’ve gotten much better. Okra is the easiest. They require exactly zero effort to cultivate. And harvesting is only a minimal effort.

Okra is the easiest to know how and when to harvest, and it protects its seeds (to a point). The trick about okra is harvesting when it’s still edible. If you wait even a couple days too long then it gets woody and difficult to eat. If I miss it, but accidentally harvest before the seeds are ready, I’ll use them for broth. When okra is ready it hardens and starts to look like wood. But the real way to tell is the sound. The pods will sound like a rattle. Okra that has spines will split open a bit, and spineless, generally just gets solid. After you cut the pods, you just crack them open and allow them to dry out all the way (we put them in a jar with a cloth over top to allow airflow). Then they’re ready to go for next season.

Click the images for a TikTok of how I decide when to harvest my seeds.

Basil is one of my favorite herbs. And harvesting the seeds is joy because the entire plant is so fragrant, and as you crush the plant to release the seeds, it releases the smell. Basil is a plant that you have to protect the seeds until it’s time to harvest. The flowers are very tiny and the seeds fall out easily. If you get blossom bags you can wrap the flower until the seeds are ready to harvest, allowing bees and other pollinators to continue to do their work, and make it a little easier to harvest the seeds later. When the flowers are dry you can flip the bag, shake and the seeds will fall to the bottom of the bag and then you can remove the plant parts. Another option is to crush the plants over a mesh and sift the seeds from the plant. And just an FYI, you can eat the flower and stems of the basil plant. I just crush them up and add them to the rest of the basil.

Click the images for a TikTok about basil seed harvesting.

Once you get the hang of it, it becomes easier and easier. It’s not hard to do, just requires a little finesse and patience.

But WHY should you save seeds? One, because it’s super cool to grow things from the seeds that you harvested from the things you already grew. Two, using your own seeds will ultimately save you money. Three, you can create hybrids, but this will happen naturally if you have your varieties too close together anyway. And four, because certain seed conglomerates are working hard to keep us from being able to grow our own. That’s the real reason behind so many seedless foods at the grocery store. Some folks have even found the pits removed from their stone fruits. Harvesting your own seeds gives you more control and allows you to stick it the man. And the absolute most important reason of all? Because this is how we protect endangered plants and ensure their continued cultivation for future generations. This is where ancestral foods come from and how we keep them.