It’s still summer for a little longer, but some things are already going to seed.
Besides the Damsel herself, that is.
It’s been soooo hot, which often means a short life span in the Plant Kingdom. Take for example, this marigold, that usually would be going strong for at least another month:
The blossoms are already drooping and drying. Time to gather seeds.
Marigolds are practically the easiest plant to gather seeds from. When the blossoms die, they become crispy. Pull the dried flower parts gently from the blossom end, and there’s the seeds.
Make sure they are dry. If not, they may not be mature, plus they can mold during storage for next year, and you don’t want that.
Same thing goes for the other plant the Damsel gathered seeds from today–cilantro.
The little round thingies are seeds (did you know the seeds of the cilantro plant are called coriander?) and in this picture you can kinda see some of them are dry, and some are green. You want the dry ones. Leave the green ones be. They’ll get there.
Rub them from the stems with your thumb. When they’re dry they come right off, ready to be stored or planted immediately. Because there can never be too much cilantro in the world.
You can store seeds in little jars, ziplock baggies, or even *cough* plastic poptop drink mix thingies. Keep them dry and cool and it’s a good idea to label and date them.
Got a favorite plant you like to collect seeds from? Speak right up. No need to raise your hand in Old School.
Old School 
I had no idea about marigold seeds. Though now that I think about it, it seems rather obvious where the seeds would be and how to gather them. Oh well. We have marigolds that are also dying. I should get out there and harvest some seeds! Marigolds always look so happy and sunny. I love them.
I love marigolds, even their funny smell. And just one blossom gives you a ton of seeds…enough for maybe twenty plants. Yay!
Aah!! Since marrying an American I have always wondered why it was called coriander in Australia and cilantro in America. Looks like the Australians have it wrong this time when they call the whole plant coriander!
You are a fount of knowledge.
Maybe the Americans are the wrong ones!
Just last night I was getting ready to post this, and my husband said, It’s midnight…no one is going to read that now. And I proudly replied, I have a reader in Australia. **beams**
Thanks for the info! My cilantro plant is full of those dry seeds…. never thought of harvesting them. What do you think about storing them in the freezer?
Many people store seeds in the freezer, so you could do that if you wanted. But it isn’t necessary if you think you’d use them within a year or two.
I recently learned that carrots don’t go to seed till the second year! No wonder people don’t know where the seed is in the carrot!
Asparagas, too…
This was a great post. I recently moved to Africa and am growing my first garden (been a city girl my entire life, until now). I have cilantro growing out there and was wondering this very thing about the seeds. Any tips on gathering seeds from other herbs like chive, basil, rosemary, thyme and mint? Are they similar to cilantro?