Collecting Sweet Pea Seeds

The sweet peas have been fantastic this year. The flowers seems to have gone on and on.

Sweet Pea

Some of the flowers are coming toward an end now, but they have produced huge number of seeds pods. So now is the time to think about gathering a few seeds for next years flowers.

I tend to wait for the pods to turn brown on the plant and dry off before collecting them.

A few seed pods have already opened and spread their seeds, hopefully for another marvelous show next year.

Sweet Pea Seed Pod Open

Do be careful when you pull or cut the pods from the plant as they often spring open and throw their seeds everywhere – just as nature intended.

Once I have gathered a good handful of dried pods I take them to a workbench or better still, a potting tray. I push a fingernail or the tip of a small knife into the seem running down the length of the seed pod. Again, being careful to keep hold of the pod to stop the seeds springing out everywhere.

Opening Sweet Pea Seed Pod

Then just collect the seeds up and slip them into a brown envelope, label and pop them away in a dark, dry place ready for sowing.

Sweet Pea Seeds

For sowing, please see my post on sowing sweet pea seeds.

6 comments

  1. I don’t have any sweet peas but I am hoping to use the same principle to collect French bean seeds. I took off the last “dinner’s-worth” of beans yesterday and have left about 6 beans to mature and dry out to harvest the seeds. I bought the plants when they were tiny and they were unlabelled from the local hardware shop so I wouldn’t know what they were to buy seeds from a seed catalogue. This will be my first attempt at saving seed so I’ll have to see what happens!!

    1. Good luck with the french bean seeds. I did the same with my last few pea pods of the season a few weeks ago and planted some Mange Tout in their place. I wonder if you were to put a picture up of your bean on ukveggardeners.

  2. Mine have just about finished as well sadly. Like you I’ll be collecting seed for next year. I also always buy one packet for something different, and just in case!

    I’ve arrived here from UK Veg Growers by the way.

    1. It’s always good to have a fall back! I do love UK Veg Growers. A great website.

  3. I have used this method for many years with sweet peas, french and runner beans – but also with tomatoes, squash etc. Economy is everything!

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