The following post is about processing seed crops on a small-scale. Hopefully, it will inspire you to begin saving some of your own seeds and sharing them locally.
Though we're writing this in the heart of winter, if you're interested in saving seeds in the coming growing season, now is the time to be thinking about the varieties you wish to grow (they must be non-hybrid/Heirloom/open-pollinated varieties or they won't produce 'true' seeds).
It is becoming increasingly clear that growing our own seeds is essential for locally-based food resilience. Rapid climate change (whether from man-made or other causes), the break down of supply chains, the increasing cost of purchasing seeds, all point to this need.
Fortunately, for many plants, it is not that difficult to grow and save your own seeds. Over time, these will become increasingly adapted to your local climate and soil conditions.
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| Image credit: Llyn Peabody |
The process of saving seeds begins with procuring high-quality, open-pollinated (non-hybrid) seed and growing out the plants in excellent soil with appropriate levels of water and sunlight and protection from pests. These topics are beyond the scope of this post.
This post simply highlights some of the methods and innovations we've come up
with over the years for small-scale seed saving. At the bottom of this post you'll find many links posts we've written that go into much more detail about growing and saving seeds from particular crops.
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| Humans eat the seeds of many plants. Here, Olivia is harvesting Hopi Red Dye amaranth. Some grain-seeds we save for future planting, some we share with other growers, and most we grind for use in our very own hot breakfast cereal mix. (LINK: 'Nooks and Crannies' hot breakfast cereal RECIPE) |
Once you've grown plants to maturity, it's important to harvest them at
peak ripeness but not to wait too long or, for seeds that mature in
flower heads or seed pods, you risk losing them as they pop-free and
fall to the ground. In general, you're looking for pods or flower heads
to dry and the seeds themselves to swell and darken. To determine
ripeness for individual plant varieties, do your own research.
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After harvesting grains, DRYING: Beans, grains, and many other types of seeds, all require a bit of drying before they can be processed. This makes them easier to break out of their pods. To dry, they need warm, dry conditions, protected from mice and birds. In summer and early fall months, we do this in our greenhouses. Use tarps or lay them in flat boxes or plastic totes to catch any seeds that fall from the plants. Be systematic in laying out the seed-heads, spreading them out so they dry evenly.
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| Be systematic as you lay out grains, beans or other seed crops to dry. If they are laid out too thick, the bottom layers may not dry properly. (Chris and Suzanne laying out Kassaby sorghum-heads on sheets.) |
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Smaller seed-heads like these two kinds of amaranth need to be put on tarps to catch falling seeds as the plants dry. (Hopi Red Dye and Golden amaranth) |
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| We lay corn out to dry on tarps before shucking it off the cob. Pull husks back to facilitate drying and only put the cobs one layer deep. (Hooker's Blue and Golden Bantam varieties. Both make excellent dried corn for grinding). |
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| If you have trouble with birds eating your grains or seeds while drying, use a light-colored cotton sheet or cloth to cover them. |
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| We often use cardboard boxes to dry some grains and seeds. The trick is to find boxes that have no holes at the corners (or to tape them closed). (Nantes carrot seeds drying) |
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| Kassaby sorghum drying in a cardboard box. |
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| We dry down some kinds of seeds in plastic totes. (Radish seeds pictured) |
Different plants require different methods for removing seeds from their husks. Most seeds (grains and beans) also require sifting to remove the bulk of the chaff from the seeds. These steps are then followed by winnowing (see below). Here are some methods we use:
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| Amaranth seed can also be removed by rubbing the seed heads vigorously between one's hands (gloves definitely required). Seeds fall to the tarp. Sifting and winnowing to follow (Image: Darlene and Suzanne with Golden Amaranth - a sweet, mild grain. One of our favorites for breakfast cereal). |
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| Golden amaranth seed being run through a sieve. Seeds shake out below. |
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| Rolling pin method: Some seeds are more conducive to a rolling-pin method (radish seeds pictured). Using a rolling pin, or wide, wooden dowel, the seeds are popped out of their pods. They are then sifted to remove big pieces of chaff, and winnowed. |
Sorghum: Here are some specific techniques we've developed to process sorghum seed.
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| Sorghum processing tools: Sifter on left and a tool Chris invented by affixing a metal pet-comb to a 2"x4" piece of wood. These tools work great for medium-sized seed-heads such as sorghum. |
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| Chris' pet-comb tool in use. The seed-heads are gently drawn upwards to dislodge them from the plant-stalk and captured in the tote below. (Image: Kassaby sorghum) |
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| Sorghum being passed through a 1/4" metal screen to further break up the seed-head clusters. |
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| Sorghum (BaYe Ki variety) being passed through a final screening (a nursery-flat with smaller holes than 1/4" screen). Winnowing will follow. |
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| Note that, while corn is drying on the cob, we've peeled the husks back but left them attached. This facilitates them drying faster as the husks wick away moisture. (Golden Bantam corn, with a bit of crossing with Hooker's blue in previous years of seed-saving. Corn is a very 'frisky' plant; eager to cross-pollinate). |
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| Chris invented this tool to remove dried corn kernels from the cob. Long screws are drilled in from the outside with reinforcements of wood on the sides to prevent the tool from splitting under pressure. A handle makes it easier to use. |
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| Corn-shucking tool, in use. As you rub the cob against the screws, the kernels fall into the bin below. Corn definitely requires further drying before storage or it is at risk of molding. Beans: We use different methods to process seeds from pole beans (like Scarlet Runner beans) than bush beans (Kidney beans). Pole beans we process by hand; letting the beans dry on the vine and popping them from their pods by hand. Bush beans are more conducive to flailing (see below).
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| Kidney beans (which are a bush-variety of beans) are processed most quickly through a flailing method. It helps if the pods are fairly dry. We lay them on a tarp and whack them with pieces of plastic piping. This knocks the seeds from their shells. |
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| After flailing, to further dislodge the beans from their pods, we sift them through a 1/2" wire mesh which removes the longer pieces of stems and chaff. |
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| Kidney beans after sifting. The next step is winnowing. |
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| Chris, winnowing beet seed in the wind. |
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| Chris, winnowing Kidney beans in front of a fan. |
Further Drying: All beans, grains and seeds will require further drying after they've been processed otherwise they are in danger of molding when in storage. We have found that bringing them indoors and finishing the drying process with a heat source works best for us. For small amounts, a food dehydrator on a very low setting can work as well.
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| If we're harvesting our seeds in late fall, some will require more drying than is possible outdoors as the sun becomes weaker and the air becomes more humid. When this is the case, we bring them inside and put them on shelves above our wood stove to dry. These are Kassaby sorghum heads before processing arranged in a basket for best air-flow. |
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| After winnowing, we put grains and beans and other seeds in baskets with a paper lining and continue to dry them inside. |
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| We've hung shelves all around our living room above the wood stove to dry plant material, including seeds. If you don't have a wood stove, you can use a small space-heater or put seeds some place where warm, dry air circulates in your home. |
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| Our seed supply is mostly kept in our freezer with everything stored in air-tight containers. Though the cold temps will slow down the aging of the seeds, conditions can be too dry if seeds don't have air-tight protection. Sometimes we even use freezer-bags inside of plastic jars just to be sure. |
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| Our food supply of grains and beans are also stored in air-tight containers in our pantry, out of direct sunlight. |
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| Nantes carrot seeds almost ready for harvest. These seed-heads all came from just three carrots re-planted after a period of dormancy in our fridge (Re-planting Carrots or Beets for Seed) . So, three seeds produced this many seeds for the future! (Note: lettuce plant going-to-seed at the left of the picture.) |
Seeds are about community: Lastly, once you begin saving seeds, you'll soon find that your plants are able to produce far more seeds than you will be able to use. We have shared seeds with the Agrarian Sharing Network and their Seed Increase Initiative to help us distribute our seeds to a wider regional community and hope to participate in the Cascadia Seed Guild as they develop. This group, stewarded by Mike Brunt (the featured artist in this post) has developed this comprehensive guide outlining the need for bio-regional seed sovereignty and a road-map for getting there. Good stuff.
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| Seed swap at an Agrarian Sharing Network Propagation Fair, 2025. |
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| Seeds help grow community connections. Here is a seed swap in someone's living room. Most of these women are connected to a small-scale, non-profit garden project so these shared seeds will continue to multiply and spread to an ever greater community. |
Family Heirlooms - Saving Your Own Seed: A general guide to saving seeds.
In addition, we have written posts on the specifics of saving seeds from the following plants:
