Yet another week has passed, and we have been fortunate enough to have some nice warm, yet windy weather here in Buffalo the last few days. I have been concentrating on a couple of projects in regards to my gardens this week, and one of them is the one I will be talking about in this post– harvesting the seeds from plants that I have in my garden. I am still waiting for my sunflowers to mature and dry out, but that will be a whole other post coming up soon. I have also been working on a fall decoration project that has something to do with one of my favorite plants to work with this time of year– the cattail. Since I love doing things outdoors, you will notice that I like to blend my love of outdoor adventure with my gardening endeavors (my toddler daughter will make her cameo as well)! Stay tuned for some pretty interesting stories!

Yes, that’s my little kitty’s paw on the far right. He’s very nosy!

Now, time to get back on the subject of seeds. And bulbs. And everything that makes this time of year very important for the beginner/frugal gardener. I am harvesting my seeds because I would like to give them out to friends and family as Christmas gifts this year. But also, I am harvesting some of my annual seeds so I don’t have to purchase them next year! This past week, after I got home from work, I spent some time in my backyard pulling the dried out seeds from some of my favorite plants in my yard. It’s very important that when you do harvest seeds, make sure that they are COMPLETELY dried out. That ensures that your seeds are healthy, and won’t be prone to mold if they are not all the way dried out. I noticed I pulled off what I thought were dried coneflower seeds to find out that when I put them in the plastic baggy I was storing them in, there was a bit of moisture in the bag. So, I disposed of them and I am now waiting for the other seeds to be completely dried out.

The flower that I have that was the best example of actually demonstrating harvesting seeds is the Cosmos flower. It’s a big, bushy flower that can be perennial or annual, and I am still trying to do my research to find out what exactly my cosmos really is.

Now, here’s the Cosmos flower with just its dried seeds left:

I simply plucked off the seeds and put them in a small bag. I have mine in a plastic bag for now, but will put them in paper bags once I am done harvesting because paper bags allow the seeds to breathe and not get moldy.

I also made my way over the my local nursery and purchased bulbs of some of my favorite spring flowers, the Allium. I didn’t plant nearly enough last year, so my fall project this year was to plant many of these spectacular looking flowers that look like puff balls.

So, much to my delight, I purchased 35 bulbs of two different kinds of Alliums, and I can’t wait to start expanding my garden to add these beauties to it!

If you can get 25 bulbs for $5.99, that’s a pretty good deal, and in the long run, it’s much cheaper than buying a plant. Seeds are an even better way of saving money. If you keep harvesting them year after year, you won’t ever have to buy anything again, unless you want something different, of course. With just a little time and money, you will watch your investment “grow” in no time!