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| Castor Bean Plant |
But here in Minnesota, they make beautiful and unique tropical plants that die back every fall (funny how that works).
I especially love this red leaf variety that I have been growing in my tropical garden for a few years now.
I first received seeds for this plant in a trade, and have been collecting them every year since.
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| Castor Bean Seed Pods |
It's easy to collect the seeds once they are ready.
The seed pods will start to fade and eventually turn brown.
Allow the seed pods dry on the plant.
After a while they will start to split open, which is a sure sign the seeds are ready to be collected.
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| Dried Castor Bean Seed Pods |
Remove the pods from the plant and break them open to remove the seeds, there are three seeds per seed pod.
Sometimes not all the seeds in the pod are large enough to keep.
Discard any pods or seeds that are small, they won't be mature enough to germinate.
It's best to wait to collect the seeds until the pods break open, but with our short summers, most of the pods I collect aren't open.
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| Castor Bean Seeds |
Don't worry about collecting the castor bean seeds before frost, I usually don't get around to it until after a hard freeze, and I haven't had problems. Allow the seeds to dry completely before storing them for the winter.
Ideally, castor bean seeds should be stored in a dark, dry place until spring. (Read more about general seed storage tips.) It's important to note that all parts of the castor bean plant are poisonous, so be sure to keep the seeds and seed pods out of reach of children and pets at all times.
OMG - just what I needed to see is another MN castor bean grower! My son grew them this year, and I was thinking the hard freezes we've had would hurt them, so last night I gathered the pods from the front of the house - got a couple of grocery bags full - still need to get the back yard ones. You state it is best to shell the pods - does this need to be done right away? I put some of them on an old window screen to dry. I live in Savage, MN, saw your description about your gardens, am planning some improvements next year so will keep checking your blog for inspiration. KB
ReplyDeleteHi KB - That's hilarious... I live in Savage too!! It's been pretty dry this fall so you don't need to remove the seeds from the pods right away. You would definitely want to remove them if the pods were wet, otherwise they might mold. My castor bean seeds stayed in their pods in the unheated garage all winter last year. I forgot about them and found them in Feb. I thought for sure they were gonners, but they sprouted just fine. (I wouldn't recommend storing them this way however) Glad to meet you!
ReplyDeleteAmy
I JUST posted about how much I'm looking forward to collecting my seeds for next year, as this was my first year growing castor bean and I LOVE IT. I'm growing the gigantic variety and this one (which for me hasn't flowered yet). I can't wait!
ReplyDeleteGreat post, thanks for the help!
Hi Anna, thanks for your comment. Awesome! One of my neighbors has the gigantic variety and it's so cool looking! You are welcome, glad I could help. I also wrote a post about how to germinate castor bean seeds, in case you're interested in reading that one too. Good luck with your seeds!
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