Have you ever thought, "I wonder if I could save these seeds and plant them next year"? Asking that question is what got me into seed saving. Saving seeds for planting next year is how our ancestors grew their gardens. One of the easiest plants to start saving seeds from is the marigold plant. Read on to learn how to save marigold seeds from your marigold plants.
Hybrid or Heirloom: it matters
Before we start doing any seed saving we first need to now what type of plants we are growing. If you bought seeds you will need to read the seed packet.
If the seeds are either heirloom or open pollinated then you are okay to save the seeds. If the seed packet says they are F1 hybrids then you cannot save seeds from your marigold plants.
F1 hybrids are a cross between two plants and they do not breed true to type. If you save seeds from a hybrid plant they are usually sterile (will not germinate). If you want to learn more about heirloom plants you should read this post.
Isolation distances
If you have ever saved seeds then you know how important isolation distances are to keeping varieties from cross pollinating. If you want a free guide that lays out isolation distances for all garden plants you can find that here.
For marigold plants it is recommended to grow them at least ½ to 1 mile apart to reduce the chance of cross pollination.
Unless you have a large piece of property finding that much space to isolate them can be very hard. For that reason I only plant one marigold variety in my garden.
If you want to grow multiple types of marigolds you could use mesh bags to keep insects from pollinating the flowers.
A perfect flower
Marigolds are called perfect flowers because each flower has both male and female parts. This means that they do not require insects for pollination.
If you want to grow and save seeds from different varieties in a close area simple cover a flower before it opens with a mesh bag. The mesh bag cannot let any insects reach the flower.
After the flower has gone to seed remove the bag and harvest the seeds. The bag keeps all insects from cross pollinating the flowers.
Don't dead head
Normally you will dead head flower plants so they continue to flower, but you should not do this if you want to harvest seeds.
Make sure to leave some flower heads on the plant so that they go to seed. This whole process usually only takes a few weeks.
Harvesting seeds
Seeds (just like fruit) have a time when they are ripe for the picking. If you harvest the seeds before they are ripe they are immature and will not sprout when you plant them.
The seeds are ready to harvest when the seed head has turned brown and the seeds easily fall out. The trick is to get them before they fall off by themselves.
Cleaning the seeds
Before we dry the seeds we need to separate the seeds from the flower head itself. Simply pull the seeds from the flower head and compost the other parts of the flower.
Don't worry if some of the other parts get into the seeds winnowing will take care of that.
Drying marigold seeds
Before we put our harvested seeds in storage we need to dry them out. Drying seeds is so important for seed saving. If the seeds have too much moisture they will rot in the container or simply spoil which will leave you with seeds that are useless.
To dry my seeds I use an old window screen that sits on top of a few boards. This offers great airflow for the seeds to dry. I then set the fan on low and turn it to blow onto the seeds.
This whole set up is in my basement because it is cool and dry down their. Do not let the seeds get above 90oF because they will die if they get this hot.
If your basement is not humid I would recommend drying them down there. If you do not have a basement find a place that is cool, dry, and dark to dry your seeds.
The seeds are dry enough for storage when they snap in-two instead of just bending. This usually takes around 2 to 3 weeks of drying.
Winnowing and sorting
Once the seeds are dry we need to separate the seeds from the chaff. There are two methods to accomplish this.
One method uses a fan to blow the lighter weight chaff and let the heavier seeds fall into a container. I have used this method before but it is messy and takes a lot of time.
The other method is screening. This is my go to for cleaning seeds. Put the seeds on a screen and shake it which allows the smaller pieces of chaff to fall out.
If you have a very small batch of seeds just picking out the chaff by hand may work for you.
Storing marigold seeds
I store my seeds in an airtight mason jar in my basement to keep them from sunlight, moisture, and heat. If you want to know the best ways to store you marigold seeds and all other vegetable seeds read this article.
Population requirements
When saving seeds professionally one thing that they take into account is population sizes. To keep genetic diversity and ensure the plants continued health sometimes a large amount of plants must be grown.
In the home garden you will not have to keep as big of a population, but you must grow multiple plants so that you do not have inbreeding depression. (Inbreeding depression can lead to plants that are susceptible to disease, pests, and less vigorous)
I grow at least 10 plants for my population size. If you notice that after a few years of growing and saving your marigold seeds that they are not as vigorous simple obtain new seeds from a fellow seed saver or a commercial grower.
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