Gardening on the cheap: Save those seeds!

At the end of the growing season last year, we let a number of plants, including radishes, snap peas, dill and cilantro, grow like crazy without harvesting them. We wanted them to go to seed so we could collect them to grow this year. I had only done this once before — with a mallow plant from my mom — and it worked out really well. We also saved the seeds from our jalapenos. Now, a year later, it's time to plant the harvested seeds. I'm really interested to see how they do compared to the store-bought seeds. We had some left over from those we bought last year, so I've planted those, too and plan to take notes and compare their progress!

I had read online that radish seeds were really hard to gather — not so. They put out huge stalks if you let them keep growing and then pods form on the ends. We just pulled out the stalks, plopped them in the vase you see above and admired them all winter. They sat on a bookcase next to a vase filled with corn tassels the boy saved, too. Two nights ago I cracked open the pods, picked out the perfectly preserved seeds and planted them. They are already sprouting — yay!

Are you growing anything this year? Why not save some of the seeds for next year or to share with a friend?

P.S. Thanks to everyone who commented over at Bloesem Kids yesterday — I'm so happy to have been awarded second place for my design. Yippee!