Endless productivity is every gardener’s dream; saving seeds will help you turn your garden into perfect circle, from seed to plant to harvest to more seeds to plant next year.

Have you ever wondered what people did before seed packets?

We take for granted that we can visit the seed racks at nurseries and big box stores and/or scan seed catalogs, both paper and virtual. It’s so easy to fill up a shopping basket with seed packets! Guess what? Saving seeds is not only NOT hard at all – it’s fun!

Let’s start with a spring garden walk-thru, from a seed saving and food preserving perspective. Come on, let’s go!

The garden has been planted for a mere 3 weeks, a perfect time to take a peek. The plants are small in size, but BIG in potential.

In the video I talk about the what and why of seed saving in my homestead garden – in hopes that you will adopt some of these principles and practices.

{ But mostly I hope you fall in love with the romance of seed saving. }

Grandma’s seeds

When I was a young teen, my Norwegian grandma gave me some seeds from her garden: lettuce, hollyhocks, and money plant. She had been growing these seeds since she and Grandpa farmed in North Dakota.

{ I didn’t know anything about saving seeds, so I didn’t do a good job stewarding them. }

But it got me curious and I made it my business to learn.

The Seed Saver’s Exchange

At age 16 I discovered the Seed Saver’s Exchange. It was just a small mention in a Sunset magazine at a doctor’s office and I was immediately excited!

{ I’ve been saving seeds ever since. }

Techniques to learn

• Distancing crops for pure seed – most plants need space between them and others of their kind to prevent cross-pollination
• Doable vs ideal or perfect – don’t worry if you can’t provide ideal conditions for perfectly pure seeds; save seeds anyway
• Growing varieties with preserving in mind – fermenting, canning, dehydrating, storing, and specific recipes
• Hand pollination of certain crops – special techniques needed to keep some crops pure, such as squash, melons, and cucumbers
• Growing open pollinated varieties – these will produce offspring like themselves in your next garden
• Playing with hybrids – hybrids are crosses, you never know what you will get when you save seeds, but with patience you can stabilize a hybrid and turn it into an open pollinated variety
• Saving seeds from the produce aisle – try saving seeds from grocery store peppers and melons you especially enjoy
• Storing and organizing your seeds – keep them cool, dry, and dark

Seed saving is a skill worth learning. It anchors your family food supply. Over time, seeds to adapt to your gardening conditions. This equates to stronger plants, better resistance to pests and disease, and bigger harvests.

Saving seeds from your own garden is also fun and intensely satisfying.

Noah’s ark

Be a plant rescuer: save heirloom vegetable, fruit, nut, berry, herb, and grain varieties for future generations of gardeners.

Thank you for joining me on this walk-thru our homestead garden as I explained what we grow, how we use and preserve it, and our reasons for saving our own seeds instead of buying packets of “new and improved” varieties every year.

Preserving

Be sure to choose veggies your family likes to eat! Plan how you will preserve them and how you will cook with them fresh. Gather recipes and preserving tools ahead of harvest time.

For example, you could can your bean harvest or turn them into Dilly Beans.

Tomatoes lend themselves to many recipes: sauces, crush pack with herbs, and more!

See more a gallery of pictures in Full Circle Tomatoes.

Resources

Seed Saver’s Exchange

Seed to Seed, Seed Saving and Growing Techniques for Vegetable Gardeners by Suzanne Ashworth

The Seed Garden, The Art and Practice of Seed Saving, edited by Lee Buttala and Shanyn Siegel

Metal tin or plastic container to store seeds

Photo box card file for seed records

Make a Garden Tool Basket

Potted Lemon Grove, Grow Meyer Lemon Trees from Seeds

Start a cardfile

Gather these supplies:

• 4×6-inch (10×15 cm) photo box or index card file
• Alphabetical tabs
• Pack of 4×6-inch (10×15 cm) index cards

Use one card per type of seeds you save. Record the name of the variety, the scientific name, where and when you obtained seeds, and any other info you deem useful. File cards by vegetable type behind (or in front of) the corresponding tab in your cardfile.

Being able to refer to this info the next season is a gift you give your future self.

Happy gardening,
Michele

Chocolate Box Cottage Diary, Volume 2
Week 50: December 17, 2022

The vast majority of coffee drinkers use a drip coffeemaker, but perhaps there is a sweet spot in your heart for a percolator due to memories of grandparents using one. Watching coffee bubble up through the glass knob is a cheerful way to start the day.

Let me start by saying I am a tea drinker. My husband Samuel is the coffee drinker. I do like to make coffee for him occasionally, so I am interested in making *good* coffee.

When our last programmable coffeemaker went downhill, to my surprise Samuel chose a percolator to replace it. The Beautiful coffee maker (yes, that is its name) is indeed attractive and simple to set up. By the time the 90-day warranty had expired, it was taking well over half an hour to brew a pot of coffee.

Samuel researched percolators online for various features and flaws and eventually chose the 12-cup Farberware stainless steel model.

Key features:

easy to use

makes very good coffee

all stainless steel, no aluminum parts

easy to clean

keeps coffee warm for a while

fill directly from the faucet

shatter-resistant plastic knob rather than glass

Drawbacks:

not programable

slightly more fiddly to set up

missing the view of perking coffee afforded by a glass knob

He chose stainless steel specifically to avoid adding traces of aluminum to his coffee, which I think is wise. Most percolators used to be aluminum and aluminum has been shown to be present in Alzheimer’s patients’ brains.

The lack of a programmable timer is an obvious setback, easily remedied by purchasing an appliance timer, which we still need to do.

The shatter-resistant knob on the lid should hold up much better than the traditional glass knob, but it isn’t see-through. A big share of the fun of a percolator is being able to watch the coffee bubble and perk through the knob.

I’m interested in all of your coffee wisdom. Tell us about your coffeemaker and why you like it (or don’t). Have you considered a percolator?

All parts that come in contact with coffee are made of stainless steel. Parts appear to be well-made. Using a paper filter in the filter basket may not be needed; Samuel is using up fine coffee grounds left from the drip coffee maker.

Samuel likes being able to fill the pot directly from the faucet instead of filling a carafe and pouring into a reservoir.

Samuel has used the new Farberware percolator for three weeks and likes it. It takes one minute per cup brewing time and he says the flavor is very good.

Saturday Date Day

Fun fact: Samuel and I met at a Grange Co-Op store! Mutual friends TJ and Charity Weber played matchmaker and we met at my place of employment. A brand new Grand Co-Op just opened in a nearby (50 minute drive for us is nearby) town and we made a date to go check it out.

Who is that be-spectacled woman with the cartload of boxes? Me – Michele! Samuel and I decided to give each other practical gifts this year and my “pick” was a pantry makeover!

What is in the boxes? You’ll soon see!

If weather cooperates, we will begin reorganizing the pantry between Christmas and New Year’s. I will bring you along and can hardly wait to show you!

Exciting presents don’t always come in little jewlery boxes. Sometimes they look like tools, supplies, and work.

In the kitchen

WHY WAIT TO EAT HEALTHY?

Here’s a thought. Instead of waiting until after the holidays to eat healthy, consider starting now.

Typically I indulge in too many treats during the Christmas season and end up not feeling my best on the holiday itself. I always tell myself it’s okay – that I’ll get back to healthy eating in January.

This year I am doing it differently. I’m starting now.

The plate you see in the picture was a recent lunch plate. It was as delicious as any charcuterie board I might encounter at a party and it was all mine.

I do plan to allow myself occasional treats, occasional being the operative word.

I’m not here to tell you how to eat, though I am a nutritionist; instead I am encouraging you to eat in a way that makes you feel your best. What does that look like for you? Do that.

In case you’re curious what’s on my plate,

(Clockwise from the top): sliced 1/2 apple with cinnamon, celery and sharp Cheddar, golden sauerkraut, purple carrot coins, slice of peeled kohlrabi. Enjoyed with a big mug of bone broth.

I am on a mission to declutter the house, so one-pot meals like this one that feed us for a few days are especially welcome as they free up time. This scrumptious Chicken Pot Pie with einkorn crumble crust lasted for 3 dinners and 2 lunches.

TIP FOR FRESHER HARD COOKED EGGS

Have you ever found a bowl of hard cooked eggs in the fridge and wondered how old they were and if they were still safe to eat?

Here are a few helpful tips to ensure your hard cooked eggs are fresh and delicious:

Date the eggs – that’s right, write the date they were cooked right on the shell with a pencil.

Refrigerate the cooked eggs within 2 hours and make sure your fridge is set to 40F / 5 C.

Store in a sealable container.

Wait to peel them until you are ready to eat them or use them in a recipe.

Freezing cooked eggs is not recommended.

Samuel’s projects

In addition to putting in overtime as a County grader operator plowing snow this week, Samuel kept the “woodbox” full, and kept the front porch, patio, sidewalk, and steps free of leaves after work. Here he oils his boots and my work gloves to keep them flexible and waterproof.

LEARN TO BLEND YOUR OWN HERBAL TEAS

Winter is a wonderful time to study. The busyness of the garden and harvest season are behind us and our attention naturally turns indoors.

I you are interested in herbal medicine and have ever contemplated making your own tea blends with herbs, I have an idea for you:

Give yourself the gift of a special online course in medicinal tea blending!

I have taken and personally recommend this course. It is FANTASTIC!!!

My very smart, capable, talented, and hard-working friend CeAnne Kosel created this class and included everything you need to be successful at making your own medicinal herbal teas. She walks you through step-by-step via video!

Students receive a sheaf of tea recipes for specific health ailments AND learn to create their own custom tea blends too.

A mini-class in dehydrating herbs is included. If you grow or forage your own herbs, this will be especially helpful to you!

Class materials are neatly organized for printing. Simply place them in a 3-ring binder with the printable cover sheet and you’re set!

I’m such a big believer in this course I am sharing my affiliate link to her class. Using my link will earn me a commission and doesn’t change your price. Thank you! If you have questions, feel free to ask. I am happy to help.

Seed saving

These are so fun to grow and eat, have you tried them?

Lacy vines with that quintessential cottage garden look are easy to grow on a tomato cage or piece of wooden lattice.

Tiny fruit grow about an inch long, resemble miniature watermelons, and taste like cucumber with a touch of spritely lemon – so unique!

Wonderful added to salads (fruit or green), pickled or fermented like old-fashioned sour dills, also fun to eat out-of-hand.

I saved enough viable seed to equal 3 commercial seed packets worth $10.50. That’s money saved.

Bookshelf

1. CHRISTMAS IN MY HEART by Joe Wheeler

Author Joe Wheeler brings together the best old favorite stories and fresh new ones from master storytellers like Temple Bailey, Madeleine L’Engle, Pearl S. Buck, and O. Henry alongside special writings from literary unknowns.

Each story contains a spark. They come from the heart, reminding us of the generous love that Christmas embodies. It is the gift anyone can give and these stories beautifully demonstrate that.

A few of my favorites include: The Candle in the Forest, The Gold and Ivory Tablecloth, A Father For Christmas, The Gift of the Magi, The Last Straw, and A Full House. (I love them all!)

2. THE PIONEER LADY’S COUNTRY CHRISTMAS by Jane Watson Hopping is brimming with old fashioned recipes and charm. Anticipation abounds in this book! Memories of family feasts, complete with relatives from far away, and a country cook’s best tried-and-true dishes. Enjoy poetry, line drawings, and really good recipes that work in today’s kitchens.

Both are perfect books to take to bed – or the bathtub – or read aloud to the family.

Christmas in My Heart and The Pioneer Lady’s Country Christmas are available inexpensively from used booksellers.

Best wishes to you this Christmas season!
Michele and Samuel

Note: This post contains links to products and vendors I use and appreciate for their quality and usefulness. Some are affiliate, some are not. I may earn a commission from qualifying purchases when you use the links I provide; this does not change your price.

Chocolate Box Cottage Diary, Volume 2
Week 48: December 3, 2022

A good week for tying up loose ends, I circled back around to the hutch-turned-seed-saving-station and processed the last of this year’s seeds for next season and started in on my fall cleaning. It feels good to have seeds tucked in hand labeled packets and the hutch free for its next purpose: prepping cereal bowl planters for growing salad greens.

Packing seeds

Follow along with me in the photos as I extract seeds from peppers, sunflowers, and tiny cucumbers.

A dozen+ peppers were saved from healthy, true-to-type plants and allowed to air-dry on a plate. Three developed mold – you can see blackening of the fruit – these were discarded.

I cracked open the crispy dried hot peppers and – wearing kitchen gloves – extracted seeds with a spoon. Tweezers were used to pick pepper shards out of the seed pile. Then into the packet they go! And the pepper shards were added to a jar in the pantry; I will use them for cooking and perhaps make a spicy seasoning salt.

Blushing Beauty is my very favorite bell pepper. An AAS 2020 Edible – Vegetable winner, the peppers change from ivory to pink to lipstick red. They are so beautiful I sometimes have a hard time picking them! I just enjoy admiring them on the plants! Blushing Beauty bells are, to me, as beautiful as roses.

Blushing Beauty started out as a hybrid, an F1 hybrid. I have been saving seeds and selecting from healthy plants and fruit for many years. In time, I created a stable open pollinated variety.

And it’s a good thing I did, as the original Blushing Beauty is no longer available commercially. These seeds are so important to me!

I am completely smitten with Chocolate Cherry Sunflower! This is the first year we grew it and I already regard it a keeper. Naturally this means saving seeds.

I was late harvesting the heads. You know what this means: the birds had first pick of my sunflowers. It was a difficult garden year and the birds are hungry, so I don’t begrudge them. I managed to save enough seeds for my needs, so I am content.

The seeds are small and didn’t fall naturally from the seed heads, so I used a spoon to coax them out and in the process ended up with a lot of chaff.

The simplest way to winnow seeds is to blow gently over them. The lighter weight chaff floated away and I was left with a platterful of seeds.

At $4 per 35 seeds, my packet of Chocolate Cherry sunflower seeds is worth $16! I also filled out a seed monograph and added it to my seed monograph card file.

Next up: Mexican Sour Gherkin seeds. I used a quarter teaspoon to scoop the seeds from the tiny cucumbers, added the seeds and clinging flesh to a half pint jar, added a few tablespoons of water, covered with muslin secured with a rubber band, and will let them ferment 2-3 days until the gel capsule that surrounds each seed is gone.

After that, I will rinse the seeds in a small mesh strainer, allow them to air dry fully, then pack them in a packet. This amount of seeds is worth about $7 commercially, so I just saved another $7. That feels good.

An assortment of homegrown seeds, some in sandwich bags and some in manilla seed envelopes.

Our new batch of laying hens are finally producing eggs and we lost both crops of figs to freezes this year.

Fall cleaning

Beginning at the top, I cleaned the peeled log ceiling beams with a damp cloth and worked my way down to walls, windows, trim, furniture and floors. All this in preparation for the Christmas tree. (I don’t like to decorate on top of dust and clutter, do you?) Apron sewed by Lena Moore.

Samuel’s projects

We have an outdoor Christmas tree and an indoor Christmas tree.

Garden bed frames were installed by the previous owner who admitted they were awkward to work with. Beds were from 4-6 feet (1.2 -1.5 meters) wide; impossible to reach across to plant/weed/harvest. The wood was decaying; Sam shored them up the last few years, but it was clear they needed to be replaced or removed.

Sam surprised me and prepared this section of garden for amendments. It will be layered in brown paper, then leaves, then mixed wood chips to squelch grass and buttercups.

In the kitchen

This is a type of sourdough starter – the one my mom remembers from her childhood. It “eats” a combination of boiled potatoes and flour.

Another batch of Goldenkraut is underway. Colorful root vegetables join cabbage and aromatics in this special golden sauerkraut.

Samuel saved me some trimmings from our Christmas tree, a white fir, to use to make a favorite tea mix: Enchanted Forest Chai. I might also make up another batch of Christmas Tree Potpourri.

Indoor winter picnic

Leftover ham bone with bits of meat was added to a pot of cannellini beans and allowed to simmer all day on the wood stove, permeating the air with its delightful aroma. Mugs were stuffed half-full with shredded Swiss chard from the garden and stew was ladled over. Texas olive oil, lemon-infused white balsamic vinegar, and freshly cracked black pepper made excellent toppings. Garden carrots on the side.

Bookshelf

Advent by Anja Dunk is steeped in tradition. The reader is initiated into the realm of German winter culture, beginning with a Bunter Teller, a colorful plate of Advent biscuits (cookies), followed by children busily polishing their shoes and cleaning their bedrooms in preparation for Nikolaus – St. Nicholas Day, and Christmas Eve, the pinnacle celebration of Christmas for German households. Learn to make Zimststerne (Cinnamon Stars), Schoko-Pfefferminztaler (Chocolate Peppermint Biscuits), meringue mice, oat waffles, Apfelringe (chewy dried apple rings) to decorate the tree or your home.

Bavarian Cooking by Olli Leeb is a gem of a cookbook that opens with a stunning folk art fold-out map and calendar of holidays. Pictures of old world cooking utensils and a typical American-Bavarian kitchen stove decorated with tiny blue flowers are included. Appealing font and line art adds to the charm of the old world recipes. Many of the dishes I grew up eating are in here, or variations of them. Makes me homesick for my Grandma. The meat chapter includes all part of the animal – nothing wasted. Pages and pages of noodles and dumplings and plenty of recipes featuring seasonal vegetables and desserts both special and everyday.

Bavarian Cooking is also out of print, so I invite you to check my favorite online used bookseller. Click the link and then type the name of the book in the search bar on the website when you arrive. If it is in stock, great! If not, you can create a wish list and add this title to it. They will email you when it is back in stock.

Good bye for now, friend, thank you for visiting!
Michele and Samuel

Note: From time to time I recommend products and business that I use and/or patronize. Some are affiliate links, some are not. All are ones that I use and have confidence in. Qualifying purchases may earn me a small commission at no cost to you, so thank you for using my links!