Seed Saving - HELP NEEDED!!!

[southeast-isher]

My rocket has flowered in the pots and there seems to be what looks like seed pods growing in places - can i save the seeds from these? And how do i do it? Do i have to wait until they drop off or do i pick them while alive and healthy? The same applies to some other (non-edible) plants in the garden which are also growing seed pods. Sorry for my stupidity! And thanks.

[Brij]

I am no expert in these things, but since the natural lifespan of the plant would be for them to drop off and spread the seeds, maybe wait until they are nearly about to drop off, open up the pods, take out the seeds and dry them to keep?

Probably best to wait for someone who knows!

[Cheezy]

I have wild rocket growing bloody every where in my garden. I bought some Italian wild rocket (seeds of Italy) about 6 years ago and have never had to grow more!. It comes up in the most unexpected places. So back to the question, Let the pods dry out for as long as possible on the plant. They will start to split and eventually if you let them they will fall out, before this point put them in a paper bag or envelope. You could save the seed until next Spring then sow.

Not all plants will come true from seed, if they are culitivars then they might be sterile or come out slightly different. Also some seeds need a set of conditions (eg cold or warm stratification is the tech term or planting fresh, dry or steeped in water) before they will germinate, it basically reproduces what would happen to the seed in nature, eg fruit seeds usually have hard coats to allow then to be eaten and passed through an animal, so you might need to sow after soaking in water. You can research the plant you are thinking collecting seed to see what you need to do. The RHS website is usually good.

[southeast-isher]

Thanks both of you - very kind of you to reply and very helpful to me. Looks like i will have some more rocket next year! Best wishes.

[Peggy Sue]

Amusingly this happened to me this Orach. The packet said it crosses with chards so I didn't try to seed save but being a busy bee I didn't have time to pull it before it went to seed, and then I pulled it and left it on the path for a while. Originally when you sew it from seed the packet says it's VERY tender and wait until at least mid may before sewing. HOWEVER in March I discovered it ahd seeded itself everywhere on my allotment and despite it being a very hard Feb indeed up it came! So I got to eat Orach really early