Saving Seeds, Part IV Snapdragons

Alright, so I know that it has been such a long time since I have posted. What is new! So I figured that I would continue the seed saving series that I started ALONG TIME AGO! I think I left off with the peppers...So that means I am doing a series on....Snapdragons! Hey, who doesn't like snapdragons. Snapdragons have been around since the Roman times, they used to use them around the ancient temples. The first cultivated variety of snapdragons was first recorded by Carl von Linne in 1753. So yeah, they have been around for a long while.
I can remember when I was really young (each time I say this, all the old people just look at me!) My mom used to grow snapdragons in all different colors; form yellow, red, orange, white, and pink. I use to always go up to them and start to pinch them at their joints to make them talk. Being so small, I could never get the silly things to open their mouths! I would get so frustrated, I would eventually bruise the poor plants and the flower would usually fall off from the shear torment of the thing! To this day I still find it a challenge to make the snapdragons open their mouths! So if you have any secret to doing this, let me know.
Obviously you will need to have some simple supplies; your fingers (duh,) plastic bags, and bowl to place seeds in.
I like to wait until my seed pods are completely dry before I harvest them, as this way I can be absolutely sure they are dry. Once I find that the seeds are dried, You will want to harvest them into a bowl. When all of the seed pods are in the bowl, you will want to crush the exterior shell, this will release all of the seeds and allow you to have easy access to them. When all of the seeds have been taken out of the seed pods, remove the remaining shells out the seeds, so that you are left with pure black seeds. The snapdragon seeds should look about the same size as poppy seeds or small and black. With the snapdragon plant, if the seed pods were dry when harvested, you will not need to worry about drying the seeds as that they are very dry already.
Once all of your seeds have been collected, all you need to do is label and date your seeds! This will probably be the easiest thing you have ever done in your whole life!
If you have any comment or question, just let me know on the blog site! By the way Happy fall everyone! I hope this fall is one of the bests!

~Zach

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In My Mind

Alright, I know I haven't posted in a while... I have been so busy! I know think this post I am going to break away from the Saving Seeds Series, and just do something different! So hold onto your pant, it is going to be a bumpy ride!
I don't know about where you live, but for me, this is the time of year where all of the local nurseries are having their fall plant sale! Yeah, I am so plant happy. I know it may seem like now the whole world is at peace with itself, but this is not true. You see I told my self that this year would be different, that this year I would not go on a shopping spree and buy every little thing that is out there. Let us enter my head, no matter how scary this will be, as I travel my local nursery!
"Look at all of these beautiful plants, I could just buy each and every one of them! But remember Zach, you just came to look. I wonder if I should grab a shopping cart? I guess I would look pretty odd if I was walking around the nursery without one; yeah, I guess I will grab one, I just won't buy anything! Oh, what a unique purple grass looking plant, it is just so nice looking...I think it needs a home. So in the shopping cart goes that purple grass looking thingy! But of course I will stop here and just go onto the check out place...Wow look at those red Cardinal Flowers, they are so gorgeous, just what I could use for that spot near the side of the house; you know give it a little color, (Justification!) I think I will pick one or two up for safe keeping, and I'll just put it back before I will check out!
As I look off in the distance to see if anyone had seen my spur of the moment shopping, there in the corner was the most beautiful looking lavender I had ever seen! I think I will just go over there and look at it. After all, I don't have to buy it! Look at those deep purple flowers, it would go perfect right next to my coreopsis, and the lavender I have now is not nearly as colorful as these! I think I might have to pick up a couple of these!
As I turned around to put the lavender plants into my cart... my jaw hit the ground! Someone must have come up behind me, while I was looking at lavender plants, and put a ton of plants in my cart! Oh well, there is no way I will be able to put them all back were they belong, so I will just have to buy them. Besides, I am not buying allot!"

~THE END~

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