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    The Beginner Lessons form the foundation with a sound overview of the core concepts of food production.

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Doing it Right

Doing it Right

Seed Harvesting and Processing Techniques
Lesson: 7.4
Level:
Beginner
Station: Seed Saving Library
Format: Class Project
Rating:
7.4-Doing-it-Right

Lesson Overview

Saving seeds is a multi-step process. In this lesson, students will learn the various techniques required to harvest and save different varieties of seed effectively.

Goals

  • Collect seeds from a variety of plants in the Lab
  • Process seeds for storage in the Lab’s Seed Library

Outcomes

Students will harvest seeds from plants in the Lab and process them in order to save them in the Seed Library.

Teaching Primer

harvesting peppercorn seedsDid you think that saving seeds was as simple as pulling them from the plant, tossing them in a container, and shelving them until next season? Well, that’s not quite how it works but the process isn’t much more difficult than that.

Most seeds are dried on the plant initially, then harvested, separated from the unwanted bits, and then stored until needed. The process involves flailing, threshing, winnowing, and screening. It sounds far more violent than it actually is!

But with viable seeds in hand, you hold the key to next year’s harvest, one that promises to be more vigorous and fruitful than the last. And what could be more empowering than that!

Teach the Teacher

  • Seed Harvesting and Processing Techniques
  • DIY Seed Screens

Tools & Materials

  • Seed storage - paper bags, envelopes, reseal-able plastic bags, or mason jars
  • Labels
  • Sharpie
  • Seed screens (optional)

Vocabulary

  • Dehiscent
  • Flail
  • Winnow
  • Screen

Method

Introduction (10 minutes)

Begin the lesson with a brief review of the seed harvesting process for each variety that is ready. Describe how the seeds will be processed. It might be necessary to demonstrate the actions to the Students before asking them to try it.

Activity (10 minutes)

Have the Students harvest seeds from the selected plants. If necessary, store them in a paper bag for a month to finish drying. Then have the Students complete the processing phase and transfer the clean seeds to the containers you intend to store them in.

Discussion (10 minutes)

Where should we store our seeds? Where can we control the temperature, keep them out of direct sunlight, and ensure that they will not experience high humidity? What do you think might happen if our seeds get too hot? Sit in direct sunlight for too long?

Assessment (5 minutes)

Use the following questions to assess the Students before and after the lesson. Tally the responses of the group in the Assessment Tracking Log for comparison:

  • By a show of hands, how many of you know how to harvest and process seeds?
  • Now that you’ve learned the process for harvesting and processing seed, how many of you think you could do this at home by yourself?

Related Lessons

Give the Intermediate or Advanced lessons a try now that you’ve completed the Beginner Lesson!

This lesson, and all other lessons on this website, are intended for use by teachers in the classroom. These lessons are protected by US and International copyright laws. Reproduction or distribution of lesson content, supporting materials, or digital creative is prohibited with written permission from Modern Steader LLC.

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