Saving Safflower Seed

This post is part of my series on saving cut flower seeds.

Please see the Save Your Own Cut Flowers post about methods for selecting, harvesting, processing, and storing your seeds!

Safflower

Carthamus tinctorius

Safflower seed is used to make oil, so it is fairly simple to collect, though of course if you were growing for oil you’d probably use a combine to harvest the seed heads and separate the chaff. I mainly grow safflower for the big stiff foliage – it’s amazing – but the flowers are pretty cool too. Allow the flowers to mature, go brown, and start to look real ugly in the field. Then go and rub your thumb across the top of the seed head and see if any seeds are visible or start to fall out. When they are mature, the top ones are easy to rub out of the seed head. The seeds should be hard-shelled and bright white, not the least bit green. Collect seed heads in a labeled bucket. The next part is tough. You have to separate the seeds from the seed head, and they can be clingy even when mature (I know some people who are like that too). The best method I’ve found is to use a breathable sack like a good-quality sandbag or a tightly woven grain bag, and then to dance all over the seed heads inside the sack. I’ve also resorted to hitting it with a stick, a rolling pin, or a tool handle. You’ll know you’re close to done when you start hearing the seeds tinkling around in the bag. Then use a screen to separate the debris, and winnow with a fan to remove the cottony fluff that surrounds the seeds.

You should get a good amount of seed that will be much less expensive than buying it in and will germinate like a dream. Store in a freezer if you have space, or in a cool dark place that has a stable temperature.

Learn more about seed saving and other gardening topics in my on-farm workshops!

Safflower - a most luscious foliage.

I love any seed that’s larger than dust.