I'm only saving seeds for a few things this year, it has gotten way out of hand in the past. While drying I use my used yogurt cups or other small tupperware type containers for drying to save space.

I also use colanders for a rough sorting out of the worst of the chaff. But there's always a lot of chaff left, I don't worry about it. Too much needless work, a waste of time IMO.

I hope everyone growing Yvonne's Salvia is saving seeds to share next year. I take a shopping bag out to the yard to harvest them, a whole stem at a time. If the top seeds aren't ripe yet, I trash that part of the stem and only keep the bottom.
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Whatever I can stuff into a couple of flats get shoved in there to dry for about a week, the rest remain in the bag. Sometimes the flowers are still red.
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Then I crumble them into a large tupperware container with a lid or 5 gallon bucket with lid and shake. Finally put thruough my biggest colander to separate seeds.

Karen

I make it easier on myself my using a larger rubbermate tub it is about a triple size shoebox. And then I have a bunch of plastic cups (these can be used year after year) with the different types of seeds that I am going to collect. And so then I fit all or most of the cups into the rubbermate tub.

Then I go outside and collect the seedhead into the right cups.

Then I go thru each and every cup and empty onto the right paper plate (I use the dessert size) that is labeled.

Then I pile them them pryamid syle and let them air out for a few days.

Then I transfer the seeds one plate at a time into labeled envies and these are stored in a photo box. The seeds will finish drying for a few weeks in these envies.

And after a few weeks I then transfer the seeds from the envies to the plastic baggies.

And then the collection process starts over. Now granted I don't collect seeds every few weeks the whole process is a bit different. I collect my seeds every other day or three.

And with my zinnias I tried the big plastic cups to collect them in but the cups were too small so I will use the brown lunch bags to collect these in.

Paula

Once you've removed the seeds from the buds place them on a plate--not a paper plate. Take the plate out to your porch and place it in full sun. Watch any little unseen beasties scurry away from the seeds and over the side of the plate. Stir the seeds on the plate a few times--it takes about an hour to make sure most critters "bug out" and leave the seeds.

Little tiny bugs, weevils, mites do hide in seed heads. They don't like light. When you place them in full sun they run off the plate to avoid it.

LOVE the tips - but no one has explained how to keep a toddler from the seeds while collecting and drying.

I was imagining what a lure it would be to have a huge pyramid of plates...my 22mo would find ANY way to get to that, and yank it down.

I often collect with her and earlier this year, she was holding a tub with 100s of lupine seeds. I thought things were going well and she poured the seeds into the grass and a planting bed. So much for preventing self sowing. Anyone trading with me for deep pink lupine may get soil and grass instead of chaff!!

I must say, I've recently began fermenting nearly 20 kinds of tomatoes and she "supervised", on a step stool very far from the counter. She hasn't touched a single fermenting jar nor drying plate. I did explain each step and I think that helped.

I collect into zip lock baggies and I think she now understands that opening the zip is BAAAD. Stupid me let her hold a baggy which of course also got dumped into a bed.

Maybe next year, or perhaps the following year, I can collect into cups.