[Arid_gardener] RE: When are Basil Seeds Ready to Harvest

[Carolyn Hills]

Hi Doodle/Ella --

Basil seeds are ready to harvest when the flower stalks start to brown and
dry out. You can leave them on the plant until the flower stalks completely
dry out (my experience has been that not many of the seeds fall off and the
birds do not eat them). Or, you can nip off the flower stalks and store in a
dry place until they are completely dried out. An easy way to do this is to
rubber band the stalks together with a paper lunch bag around them and hang
with a paper clip somewhere in your house. Other gardeners I know just toss
the stalks into a paper grocery bag until they dry out. The climate is so
dry here that you should not have a problem with them mildewing as long as
you pack them loosely. 

Once the stalks are dried, run two fingers down each stalk to remove the
seeds. If they're just for your personal use, no need to sort out the other
plant debris... It's good organic matter to add to your soil when you plant
your seeds next spring!

Basils will cross pollinate, so don't expect to get the exact same plant
from your seeds if you (or any of your neighbors) have a different kind of
basil plant nearby.

I've never had a pomegranate tree, so maybe someone else can answer that
question. When I used to swipe (er... borrow) them from the guy next door,
I'd just pop one off when it was nice and red and break it open. If the
seeds didn't taste good, I'd wait another week or two and try another one.
There's probably a much more scientific approach!

Hope this helps!

Carolyn Hills
Maricopa County Master Gardener Volunteer

-----Original Message-----
From: arid_gardener-bounces at CALS.arizona.edu
[mailto:arid_gardener-bounces at CALS.arizona.edu] On Behalf Of Doodle/Ella
Sent: Thursday, August 23, 2007 5:09 PM
To: Arid_gardener at CALS.arizona.edu
Subject: [Arid_gardener] basil seeds

I live in Chandler AZ
1. How do I know when my basil plant's seeds are mature and ready for 
harvest?
2. How do I know when my pomegranate fruit is ready for harvest.
Thanks for the help. 


_______________________________________________
Arid_gardener mailing list
Arid_gardener at CALS.arizona.edu
http://CALS.arizona.edu/mailman2/listinfo/arid_gardener