Saving the Seeds

The zinnias have outdone themselves this summer.  The colorful blossoms filled the gardens and attracted the butterflies and honeybees by the thousands.   This pleases me tremendously and I possibly could have felt a bit of pride in the garden had I actually had anything to do with it.  I did not..at least not this year.  Last spring (a year ago), I planted one small packet of mixed zinnia seeds.  They did well.  After the first freeze of this past winter, the plants died and became mulch for the garden.  This spring, I did not have any seeds to plant and was intent on creating the new plot of ground for the vegetable garden.  Time passed and no flower seeds were planted.  About the middle of April, I noticed that scads of petunias were starting to spring up in all areas of the yard.  These were "volunteer" plants as I did not seed them either.  Following the petunias, tiny zinnias started appearing everywhere!  Some were actually in the gardens and were allowed to grow where they sprouted.  As much as I hated to do it, others were mowed or hoed out of places that were not gardens.  More and more zinnias sprouted and grew to great heights!  The blooms filled the areas and were the "talk of the garden"!  Everyone that visited the Bayou complimented the loveliness of the "Zinnia Garden"..the garden that I did not plant!

This morning, I took the garden shears and headed out to deadhead some of the plants.  A number of older blossoms were dropped to the ground but not before I gathered a nice basketful.  These will be dried and saved as seeds for next spring.  If more "volunteers" grace the gardens next year, I will have plenty of seeds to share with friends and family.  Before winter, I will most likely harvest the spent blooms several more times.  Saving our own seeds..even flower seeds..assures that we do not have to purchase genetically modified or pesticide-infused seeds.  I dislike both.

That said, I have been saving crowder pea, squash, watermelon, okra, tomato and pepper seeds for a number of years.  Between those and my own flower seeds, I have a number of pure seeds that I can feel safe in using.  It is not hard and makes a lot of sense in the long run.  Save your own seeds!  You will benefit greatly!