1. How will I know when my seed crops are ready?
2. What are the best harvesting methods for this crop?
3. What are the most appropriate tools/methods for harvesting the seed crop?
The key is to leave the seed pods on the plants for as long as possible. Allowing them to mature naturally. However, not allowing the seed pods to dry too much as there is some risk of them shattering all of over the ground.
Beans and peas are generally finished when they turn brown and crispy, and be left to fully mature and dry on the plant. The fava bean will turn even darker and will appear blackened when close to harvest. The seed pod will also loose some of its sponginess. The ideal to cut the crop is when the upper pods are fully formed but not entirely ripe. John Navazio recommends mechanically raking the fava crop into windrows and placing the crop into shocks for the final drying before threshing; then threshing in a stationary thresher in the field. I am not entirely familiar with a windrow and I would be tempted to thresh the seed in a buckets and stand on it to break the seeds away from the flesh as I have done with brassica seeds before.
The pea crop after browning and drying in the field will be swathed and then cured in a windrow for 7-10 days or until completely dry and easily threshed. Threshing by hand and foot with my small crop size would then be acceptable.
Lettuce seed maturation is indicated by the release of a grey and fluffy pappus that is sent out by seed. Lettuce seed generally has several seed harvests as the seed matures in stage. Harvest can be accomplished by hand. Shaking the seed head into a bag is a good tactic since any seed that is not fully formed will not be dislodged and released into the bag.
Image 1: Pappus of a thistle (asteraceae family, same as lettuce)
Source: wikipedia.org
Does a windrow refer to leaving your crop in the field after swathing? Allowing it to dry and cure?
ReplyDeleteYes, that's exactly right Carla, that's what a windrow is. As long as the weather forecast is good (sunny, no rain) this can be useful. If rain is imminent it can often be better to simply get seed inside where it's dry, either by threshing in the field and bringing indoors the seed and a bit of the chaff for final cleaning, or if you don't have a large crop you can bring indoors all the plant material for further drying.
DeleteGood summary of what to do Carla. I would also add that if you put up any trellising for your peas you can bundle and hang the peas from the trellising, instead of laying in a windrow. This has the advantage of keeping plant material up in the breeze and sun, and the seeds will dry even faster. I also think you're idea of threshing seeds of beans or favas in a bucket is just fine. You can do that if you want, or you can lay them on a tarp and dance on them or beat them with a flail. All these methods work well to seperate seeds from pods. Try it both ways and see what works best for you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Patrick. I love the idea of hanging the seed pods to dry on the trellis - perfect multi-use.
DeleteFor threshing the beans, I will certainly try both to see which is the most efficient in my space and population size.
Hi Carla - I can't add anything more to what Patrick has said. Windrows work well if you have a large harvest but your method works well for a small harvest.
ReplyDeleteRegards,
Mary
Would the most extreme and perfect example of using a windrow be squash? Since when you grow them as a vegetable you are also wanting to cure them in the field for a few weeks before collecting?
DeleteHi Carla - I can't comment on doing this in your area. Where I am (southern Ontario, Zone 5B) we don't cure the squash in the field as it's usually too cold and wet by the time they're mature. We always bring them into the barn to cure.
ReplyDelete