Collecting Rocket and lettuce seed?

[antipodes]

I let some of my rocket go to seed (well OK it did it on its own but anyway...) now a tall straggly thing, the pretty white flowers have given a load of seed pods like radishes do. Does anyone know if I can harvest those seeds/ and how to go about it?
Do you think you can do the same with lettuce? I have some lettuce that has bolted and is setting seed...

[antipodes]

[Stevens706]

Hi, try this link, it seems a good site full of information on saving seed

Hope this helps

http://www.seedsave.org/issi/issi_904.html

[antipodes]

Hmmm good link, maybe it is like radishes? The pod structure is very similar. I will try it, hey what can I lose? Since it is a leaf, I don't think I would do anything strange by using the recovered seed? I have fiund rocket very easy to grow, and it is very tasty in a salad.

[Garjan]

Hi Antipodes
Rocket is like a weed: it will self seed if you let it.
If you want to take control: just collect the stems with pods. Hang them upside-down with a paper bag over the top of the stems. Let them dry until they are brittle. Shake the seeds in the bag. By blowing gently you can remove the 'shells' of the pods.

Easy as pie!
My self collected seeds have never failed me.

BTW the white flowers are nice to eat as well. Their taste is slightly more peppery than the leaves.

[antipodes]

Aha, so next year I am going to have a whole patch of rocket in a particular spot I take it??  I never thought of eating the flowers, they are quite pretty but once the pods start growing the plant gets very gangly and unwieldy, so I have taken most out and just left two big ones for the seeds.

[green sleeves]

As menyioned above , once the shoots have been hunf and dryed  put then over a  plastic sheet ans shake or rub the pods . Just finished mine tonight and I have more seeds than I can shake a big stisk at.Now waiting for radish pods to dry.

[antipodes]

Oh Oh! I have those radish pods too!!! I could save my own radish seed then!!! Errr OK I seem to be almost totally unable to grow radish 1 crop this season worth eating, but I guess that makes my experiments cheaper  ;D
I looked at the remaining rocket and there are dozens of seed pods so I guess I should get loads of seed. It has bowed under its own weight and is lying down, poor sausage...

[saddad]

As brassicas radish will tend to cross pollinate... so you might get something odd Rocket is also a brassica but as it is nearer to the wild plant less likely to change very much..
:-\

[green sleeves]

Sorry for the spelling lastnight must start to use this new fangled electric light to see what I'm typing. Also going to collect the last peapods for drying and if you have grown any corn  remember to keep a few set a side to dry for next year

[antipodes]

pppfffff fat chance getting any peas, they were a miserable failure.
Didn't grow corn this year but next year I will.
oh maybe I will try the radish anyway, even if I get something strange, might be edible :D
This afternoon's task, if it doesn't rain, is to sort out teh strawbs...yesterday I weeded them (long overdue) and found that loads of runners had escaped my attention and have rooted themselves!!!!! so today I will dig and black-plastic a new bed and get myself about 10 new strawberry plants (freebies, a rare thing I have found in your first year!!!)