Here is an update to my previous post about saving radish seeds.
Dried radish seed pods
I let the radish growth die naturally and dry outside to a nice tan color. I picked off the stems with the seed pods and had what you see above.
Green pod has turned light brown
Just like a pea or a bean, each dry pod contains a few radish seeds. Let’s open one up, shall we?
Hooray, seeds!
I expect the nice round ones are probably more viable than the flat wrinkled ones, since the ones I originally planted were all nice and round.
The verdict is that, yes, I can save radish seeds. And until I absolutely need to, I won’t. It’s a lot of extra work to get these seeds from a plant that would otherwise be picked in 25 or 30 days. I’ll consider it knowledge tucked away for a rainy day.
Posted by Randomability on June 24, 2009 at 7:55 am
That seems to be a whole lotta work….
Posted by jaredsalzano on June 24, 2009 at 3:54 pm
im doing it this year
Posted by Red Icculus on June 24, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Radish seeds are easy. Just get a pile of dried pods, smush them with a book, and scrape away the chaff. You get a pile of viable radish seeds.
Posted by Jimmy Cracked-Corn on June 30, 2009 at 11:22 am
Thanks for the comments everybody! It’s not hard work, but it does use up a good chunk of valuable space-time in a limited size garden. I think that if I were going to NEED to save radish seeds I might just grow them as a weed along the back side of a fence somewhere and forget about them until they were 5 feet tall and turning brown.
Posted by Randomability on July 1, 2009 at 9:09 am
Would that help with the flooding issue?
Posted by Marcia on September 14, 2009 at 3:34 pm
hi
I love gardening.
I have a question about the seed pods from a radish plants. Would i be able to plant these seeds next spring. I did not do too well with this years crop. I will not give up.
Posted by Jimmy Cracked-Corn on September 14, 2009 at 5:01 pm
Yes, yes! That’s exactly how it’s done by the folks who filled the seed envelope you bought this spring. Their process is surely a bit more mechanized, but otherwise, it’s the same thing. If your seed pods were mature when you picked and dried them (or if they dried outdoors) most likely the seeds will grow. Test this by germinating a few in a wet paper towel.