In today's economic climate, it really pays to be frugal. So, why not save seeds from your favorite plants to use for the next season? There are even people who save seeds of plants that they fear may become hard to acquire in the future.

In order to save seeds you should allow the plant to grow on. The lupin, for example, will grow its own seed pod when allowed to mature fully.

You should make sure that all seeds are dry before you store them. To dry them, you should spread them out in a single layer and leave them somewhere warm. Once they are dry you can put them in paper envelopes labelled with the variety and the date.

Make sure that you store them somewhere completely dry or they could rot or go mouldy. Glass jars with tight fitting lids are also good for storing your dried seeds. If you want to store your seeds for longer than just one season, you could use the freezer for storage.

To save seeds from a herb plant you should leave the seeds on the plant until they are dry. Remove the seeds just before they fall off. Cut a piece of the stem with the seed heads still attached and put them upside down into a paper bag to dry. The seeds will fall into the paper bag as they dry.

Whilst most herbs are grown for cooking purposes, a lot of herbs can also be used in the preparation of herbal medicines. Herbs are also aesthetically pleasing and most have a strong aroma that enhances the gardening experience. In fact, some gardeners grow herbs for their looks and their aroma and never intend to use them in the kitchen.

However, if your primary intention is to grow herbs for cooking, you need to be aware of the fact that most herbs will only survive through the summer months. So, in order to use your herbs all year round, you will need to think about drying them so you can store them for later use.

Drying your herbs is quick and easy to do. You simply pick the healthy herbs and wash them. They should then be tied and hung up to dry. Placing them in a paper bag before hanging can help the process. After a couple of weeks, crumble the dried leaves and place them on a baking tray in a very cool oven to complete the drying process. Then put them in a jar with an airtight lid and you will have all the herbs that you will need until the growing season begins again.

Some popular herbs are:

 Chives, which are part of the onion family, are used to flavor or garnish salads and oils. Chives are delicate looking plants and, if left to flourish will grow pretty lilac colored flowers.

 Mint, there are lots of different types of mint, such as peppermint and spearmint. The roots of the mint plants are prolific and, if not contained, will pop up all over.

 Fennel, this herb smells of aniseed and, in herbal medicine, is said to help increase the flow of milk in nursing mothers.

 Thyme - this is a very common culinary herb and used to flavor meat dishes and soups etc. and very easy to grow.

 Sage - again commonly used to flavor stews and very well used to flavor poultry stuffing.

 Lavender – although this is an herb, it is more commonly grown for its aroma and its looks. Many gardeners will grow beds of lavender; dry the flowers which can then be used to perfume an array of different things - most commonly candles, soaps and linen fresheners.

 Rosemary - most commonly used to flavor lamb dishes.


The herb seeds that you save will only be viable for a certain length of time - check out how long your seeds will remain usable by finding a Seed Viability Chart.

If you save some seeds each year, you may never have to buy another packet of seeds again!