Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat

Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: shedmeister on July 13, 2014, 12:31

Title: Seed Saving ?
Post by: shedmeister on July 13, 2014, 12:31
My Bunyard broad beans are now past their best >:( for picking and as they were such a good crop I would like to save the remainder for seed. Do I need to wait for them to die off on the plants or can I cut the plants down and dry them in my shed.
Title: Re: Seed Saving ?
Post by: LilacSandy on July 13, 2014, 12:59
Leave them on the plant to mature but if the pods are turning brown then you can cut them down and dry in the shed.
Title: Re: Seed Saving ?
Post by: Totty on July 13, 2014, 13:15
If you don't need the ground for anything, the longer you can leave them on the plant in the ground the better.

Totty
Title: Re: Seed Saving ?
Post by: rowan57 on July 13, 2014, 16:52
Tend to be better dried on the plant. The pods will go black & crispy, once they get to this stage you want to get them off pretty quickly to avoid them getting too wet again.
Title: Re: Seed Saving ?
Post by: mumofstig on July 13, 2014, 19:24
My pea pods were drying nicely - until this week's wet weather!

They had started to go mouldy looking, so picked them and podded them - fingers crossed they will dry ok  ???
Title: Re: Seed Saving ?
Post by: Laurentius on July 15, 2014, 20:54
Most of my broad beans this year have been grown from last years seeds, I dried them on my windowsill in a propagator. You have to keep them spread out well though otherwise you may get mould.