If you are patient, you can germinate a wide variety of plant species from seed. Everything from exotic tropical plants, trees, shrubs, garden vegetables and fruits, many herbs and flowers of numerous varieties grow from seeds.

Seeds may be collected for free nearly everywhere when the time is right. If you go for walks in your neighborhood, chances are pretty good that in late summer or autumn, you will come across some variety of plant, maybe a tree, shrub or flower that has produced seed. Frequently many of the seeds will be right out on the sidewalk free for the taking. Some may be in the yard near the sidewalk or out in the street. Maybe some of them are hanging from a branch right out over the sidewalk. Maybe your neighbor has a shrub, vine or tree with a branch that hangs over onto your property that has produced fruit/seeds. Those seeds are yours for the taking.

Collecting seeds from such places as church or school grounds or cemetery grounds may or may not be permitted, when in doubt, get permission first. Collecting seeds from the wild is usually an inconspicuous activity unlike digging up plants which can make land owners irate and can lead to very heavy fines in public, state or federal parks. Seed collecting, although inconspicuous, may also be illegal, so find out before you take any chances. Generally the collecting of seeds is more liberally tolerated as long as plants are not dug up or damaged in any way.

You may have neighbors, friends or family members who are growing some particular variety of plant that will produce seeds. Ask them if you may have some of them. You may have seeds of something they would like to have; why not swap?

Many botanical and horticultural associations and societies have members who are in seed swap clubs. You may find out about them at your local Free Public Library and on the internet.

You may have enjoyed some particular fruit or vegetable such as some variety of tomato, pepper, watermelon, cantaloupe, pumpkin, or eggplant. They might have been some homegrown variety or they may even have come from your supermarket. Why not save the seeds from them. Dry them out and save for spring planting.

 When any species of plant produces seed, do not collect the seed prematurely. Let the seed ripen or dry on the plant before collecting. In many cases it is best to wait and collect from the ground to be sure that the seed is fully developed.

It is important to identify the plant's Genera and species that you are collecting. If you know or can find out the common name, that will help in researching the correct botanical name. You can inquire at nurseries, seed stores or at your Free Public Library. The Genus of a plant always starts with a capital letter, followed by the species name, which is always spelled in all lower case letters ­ example: Vinca minor (Periwinkle is the common name).

Be careful not to collect seeds from hybrids (some hybrids will not even produce seed). Hybrids are plants that have parents from 2 different related species. If seeds from such plants germinate at all, they will produce plants that will have the characteristics of one of the grandparents and will very likely be a disappointment to the hopeful gardener.

When collecting and storing seeds, it is very important to identify them as soon as they are gathered. Always keep some small plastic bags, such as sandwich bags when you go out to collect. Also have pen or pencil and paper to make labels. Write down the names of the plants and the location where they were gathered just in case you need to go back to verify the Genera and species later. Keep track of the date that they were collected so that you will know the age of the seeds later.

Once you have collected your seeds, you need to learn about them. Nearly all seeds need to be stored in dry, cool conditions. When it comes time to get them to germinate, you need to know if that particular species needs any kind of special treatment. Different varieties of seeds will require different temperatures, some need a lot of light, some will need darkness, some will require soaking, some require stratification, and some need to have a cool temperature while others require a very warm temperature to germinate. It will also make a difference whether seeds are being germinated indoors or out. The subject of this report is not getting seeds to germinate, but is how to get seeds for free. There are books available at nurseries, bookstores, the Free Public Library and books and reports from The GreenDealer* that go into detail about germinating seeds and about plant propagation generally.