28 July 2010

basil seed

Time to start harvesting Basil seed! The plants make flowers stalks, and once the bottom of them start to turn brown, I begin picking them.
The seeds are held in the underside of these little "pockets". When they're dry the seeds turn black, then they start springing out onto the ground, so I pick the stalks when just the bottom portion is ready.
If I wait until the whole thing has gone brown, the lower half of it will have already scattered seed all over my garden.
I pull the drier end off the stems
then pick them apart to get the seeds out.
Next year's Basil, all right here!

2 comments:

Debi said...

It is utterly mind-boggling how much I learn here! :D

Jeane said...

Nobody taught me how to save the basil seed. I just watched what the plants did, and after those stalks turned funny-looking behind the flowers, looked closer until I saw where the seeds were hidden!