Blog Post #9
BLOG POST #9: Identify potential equipment for
harvesting and cleaning your seed crops
For all three of my seed crops I will be hand harvesting and cleaning the seed using simple equipment.
For harvesting: pruners, sacks/buckets, and tarps
For cleaning: screens of varying sizes, tarps, fans, bins
Most of these items I already have, or can find quite easily at a hardware store. The screens I will make using wooden frames, and wire mesh of different sizes.
For all three of my seed crops I will be hand harvesting and cleaning the seed using simple equipment.
For harvesting: pruners, sacks/buckets, and tarps
For cleaning: screens of varying sizes, tarps, fans, bins
Most of these items I already have, or can find quite easily at a hardware store. The screens I will make using wooden frames, and wire mesh of different sizes.
Hi Meghan; I see that you have addressed the issue of seed cleaning equipment here, so ignore my comment at the end of your last blog.
ReplyDeleteSince your post shows a good understanding of the basic equipment you need for cleaning and harvesting your seeds, and you already have the equipment I would suggest challenging yourself to learn one new harvest or cleaning technique this winter that you haven't been exposed to, but are employed by other seed growers. We all do things a little differently and you may find a technique or tool that helps to facilitate or speed up or improve your overall seed harvest and cleaning knowledge and practice. This is just a suggestion as we all can continously learn in the seed growing world. :)
Hi Meghan - I would have appreciated more detail in the techniques you're going to use to clean the three seed crops. They are three very different types of seeds, each with their own challenges, and really do benefit from somewhat different cleaning/winnowing techniques.
ReplyDeleteFor example, we have found that all seeds in the allium family include some seeds that look viable, but actually aren't. If you crush them between your fingers, they turn to dust. Screens don't exclude these because they're the same size as the rest of the seed. We found that a small seed winnower, hand built using a hair dryer and various pvc pipes, very effectively sorted these by weight. The "fake" seeds were blown out the top and the real seeds fell to the bottom. So I would support Patrick's comment about finding improved methods to clean your seeds, to ensure your seed crops are high quality.