Gathering Tree Seed
As autumn begins to surround us and the growing season is coming to an end, work in our allotments, gardens and yards begins to slow down. Once you’ve harvested your last vegetables and fruit, cleared and fed the soil, the temptation may be to stay indoors more and hibernate, but there are still jobs to be done in the great outdoors!
Photo courtesy of Simone Folwell from the top of Penshaw monument
This year, the winter ahead may seem longer than usual, we will have less access to the activities which normally see us through and it may be harder to come together with friends and family. Getting outdoors in nature may be more important than ever. This year, as the nights draw in, let’s try and make the most of every remaining bright chilly day…enjoy the blue skies, before the true grey of winter sets in!
Why not join in with one of Big Local Gateshead’s winter projects to help get you out and about?
Collecting Tree Seeds
Harvesting your own tree seeds is fun and gives you a great excuse to get out into nature for a walk!
At Big Local Gateshead, we are launching a new project collecting and planting wild tree seeds. We want to establish a stock of trees and shrubs which can be planted throughout our community over the coming years.
When collecting tree seeds, always remember:
The plants you collect your seed from must be healthy and vigorous. This will help ensure good quality seedlings and plants
Place dry seeds in labelled paper packets or envelopes
Label your seed packets with the following information:
Type of tree.
Where the tree was located.
The date you collected.
Give as much information on the label as possible
I’ve put together a summary to get you started and have added some links at the bottom with more information and tips on identifying trees and collecting your seeds
Types of seed-heads:
Tree seed comes in many different natural packaging. The most common forms include:
Berries (e.g. holly) Catkins (e.g. birch) Cones (e.g. pine) Nuts (e.g. hazel) Winged seed (e.g. Acer, sycamore)
The Woodland Trust have made some excellent guides to identifying trees in the autumn and winter months you can download and use:
Autumn leaf spotter sheet
Fruit and seed spotter sheet
Twig spotter sheet
Collecting seed:
Collect ripe seed on a dry day, as soon as the seed-heads ripen. This is often indicated by a colour change from green to brown, black or red, but must be before they open and shed their contents
Pick the seed-heads, either singly or on stalks, and lay them out to dry on a greenhouse bench, warm windowsill or in an airing cupboard. This enables seed to be more easily extracted
If they don’t open when dry, gently crush pods and capsules to release the seed
Collect seed from fleshy fruits and berries by mashing them in a fine sieve and then rinsing away the pulp in cold water. Leave the seed to dry for a few days on paper towels
Nuts should be collected around the time they would naturally fall either by hand-picking, or by placing a sheet at the base of the tree and shaking the branches until they fall
After extracting the seed, clean off any surrounding material (chaff) attached to them, as this material could rot and lead to the seed becoming waterlogged. Chaff can also harbour moulds, pests and diseases
Good luck out there! Once you’ve gathered up some seed you can pop them in a bag and hang them on the fence next to the Big Local Bungalow for us to collect and distribute to the schools we’re working with in the area. Remember, mighty oaks from little acorns grow - together we can make Teams a greener and more beautiful place to live!
Adapted from RHS article - Seed: collecting and storing https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=675
Other great websites with tips and information:
https://treegrowing.tcv.org.uk/grow/collecting
https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/british-trees/how-to-identify-trees/ (includes a link to a free tree ID app)