a gardening question

Can anyone please tell me how to harvest seeds? I have a sweet pea plant that I've let go to seed and there's tons of pods that I want to harvest so I can plant them next year. Some of the pods are brown and really dry, are they still going to be useable?

Originally Posted by pushylady

Can anyone please tell me how to harvest seeds? I have a sweet pea plant that I've let go to seed and there's tons of pods that I want to harvest so I can plant them next year. Some of the pods are brown and really dry, are they still going to be useable?

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Yes they will be fine, you might not get the same colours as this year but they will grow and be pretty. Just put them in a paper bag or envelope and keep them somewhere dry until next spring.
I harvest lots of seeds to grow the next year.
Anne

OK, do I pop the pods? Or put them whole into storage, then pop the seeds out next spring?

I usually just keep the whole pod some will fall out anyway. You could do half of each and see which grow best

Thanks! I'll try that experiment.

Peas remain 50% viable for three years when stores in cool, dry, dark conditions.
I keep those liitle silica packets that come when you buy shoes and keep harvested seeds in old prescription medication containers with one of those silica pkts.
Come spring you can do a viablility check by dampening a couple of papers towels, place 10 seeds on the slightly damp towels and store in a openedplastic bag. The amt of seeds that germinate will tell you you success rate when you plant them back outside.

That's great to know there's a use for those little silica bags I always keep "just in case"! I'll try that.
I'm already looking forward to next spring to see what comes up in my little garden!