# Saving mustard seed **URL:** \ **Category:** Off Topic\ **Tags:** seed-saving, mustard\ **Created:** [April 2, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953 "2023-04-02T02:14:23Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![H.B](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/h.b/32/2076_2.png) [@H.B](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/H.B)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 2:14am UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/1 "2023-04-02T02:14:23Z")
We grew black mustard for the first time last year. Though I didn’t research the topic at all (and honestly still haven’t), I found harvesting seeds to be labor-intensive and was curious if anyone had any methods they liked. ---
**Author:** ![markwkidd](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/markwkidd/32/297_2.png) [@markwkidd](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/markwkidd)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 2:39am UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/2 "2023-04-02T02:39:43Z")
This is another topic I’m interested in, having started to grow black mustard myself recently. I can only talk about what hasn’t satisfied me 😁 My process has been to trim the stalks once the seeds are fully formed, and let them finish drying indoors (it’s quite humid here). Then I’ve put them into a pillowcase and bashed them. From there I’ve tried using gentle wind to blow off chaff, and I’ve used shaking to bring chaff to the top of a pile of harvested seed. None of my attempts have yielded seed clean enough to process into mustard, although it’s tolerable for saving for reuse even though I wish it were cleaner when I share the seed. ---
**Author:** ![RayS](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/rays/32/130_2.png) [@RayS](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/RayS)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 2:50am UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/3 "2023-04-02T02:50:42Z")
Similar to Mark above. Cut stalks when obviously drying down. I stuff them into pillow cases at this point and hang them to dry completely. Bash them around a bit, or stomp on them, whatever. We have seed cleaning sieves (you can buy sets of these) which we use to separate out most of the debris. The final stage is winnowing to remove dust and fine chaff. I haven’t been interested in making mustard so have never really looked at how clean the seeds are. Will do so when next processing. ---
**Author:** ![H.B](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/h.b/32/2076_2.png) [@H.B](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/H.B)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 12:50pm UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/5 "2023-04-02T12:50:17Z")
These are all great, and far superior to the method I used! I picked individual pods and rolled them between ungloved fingers to get the seeds out. No clear idea of what to do after that. Also splinters I’ll be updating my method 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![MarkReed](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/markreed/32/328_2.png) [@MarkReed](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/MarkReed)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 2:31pm UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/6 "2023-04-02T14:31:05Z")
I use old cotton pillowcases with a nickel sized hole in one corner of the bottom. I tie the hole closed with string and shove the stems with dry or drying pods in and hang it in the shed until it’s all good and dry. Then I beat it to death on the cement patio, open the hole and shake out the seeds. If it happens to be appropriately windy, the small dusty stuff mostly blows away all in one step, or you can use a fan. ---
**Author:** ![clweeks](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/clweeks/32/99_2.png) [@clweeks](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/clweeks)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2023, 7:53pm UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/7 "2023-04-02T19:53:01Z")
I also did it as described above, more or less, but found it quite labor intensive. I’m hoping next year to be better at it. The mustard I made was divine and I gave some as presents for Christmas, but I added too much horseradish. ---
**Author:** ![MarkReed](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/markreed/32/328_2.png) [@MarkReed](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/MarkReed)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 12:35am UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/8 "2023-04-03T00:35:01Z")
> [@clweeks](#): > > but I added too much horseradish. I didn’t know there was such a thing. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![gregg\_muller](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/gregg_muller/32/239_2.png) [@gregg\_muller](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/gregg_muller)\ **Post date:** [April 3, 2023, 1:30am UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/9 "2023-04-03T01:30:13Z")
I harvest stems - cut them, don’t pull them with the roots, = too much dirt. dry down, then into a large shallow flexible plastic bucket from the big box store, that i can stand in. Don the safety crocs, stomp and shuffle until mostly broken up, shake and rake the chaff off with fingers. sieve through coarse to get more debris out, then fine sieve to catch the big seeds and let the fine material through. or tip into a big 20 litre white plastic bucket, and gently apply the leaf blower to blow out the debris while retaining the seed. or winnow in front of a fan. or pour down an inclined piece of plain cardboard -I use a cut down beer carton (Handy Hint - you can drink the beer rather than throw it away) and retain some short sides to prevent spillage. The slight roughness of the cardboard grips the debris a bit, but the seeds roll to the bottom easily. A bit of advice offered by Dan Brisbois of Canada (great website and podcasts)- don’t try to save every individual seed. The time to extract and clean the last 5% or so usually isn’t worth the effort, unless its a really important seed crop. ---
**Author:** ![UnicornEmily](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/unicornemily/32/530_2.png) [@UnicornEmily](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/UnicornEmily)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 4:58pm UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/10 "2023-04-12T16:58:58Z")
That does sound like good advice. Thank you! ---
**Author:** ![KadenceLunemann](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/kadencelunemann/32/539_2.png) [@KadenceLunemann](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/KadenceLunemann)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 6:09pm UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/11 "2023-04-12T18:09:36Z")
I haven’t made mustard but the mustard and arugula seed I saved I did mostly like this video shows. The lighter the seed the more careful it is done. I think I even spread the seed out and lightly blew across the seed to blow off some of the finest plant crumblies. [![](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/landracegardening/original/2X/5/52a6d0cd99fee86259b4b00e4618a211881622e4.jpeg "Cleaning the Leek Seeds, Techniques of Winnowing and Basket Sifting, Bulgarian Giant") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8HjZfxsMjY) ---
**Author:** ![gregg\_muller](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/gregg_muller/32/239_2.png) [@gregg\_muller](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/gregg_muller)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2023, 11:48pm UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/12 "2023-04-12T23:48:13Z")
A neat trick for allium seed once you get it mostly clean, is to toss it into a jar of water, give it a bit of a shake to sink the seed, and most of the light chaff and rubbish will float on the surface. pour it off, repeat then quickly onto a screen or clean cotton cloth to quickly dry it off. don’t use a loop pile towel. you don’t need to rush too much, since it takes the seed a while to rehydrate, but don’t tarry either. ---
**Author:** ![UnicornEmily](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/unicornemily/32/530_2.png) [@UnicornEmily](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/UnicornEmily)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2023, 7:55pm UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/13 "2023-04-14T19:55:44Z")
Wow! You can do that without spoiling the seed? That seems like a useful trick! Do you need to rub it dry, or could you just leave it on a screen in a single layer if the air in your house is dry? ---
**Author:** ![gregg\_muller](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/gregg_muller/32/239_2.png) [@gregg\_muller](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/gregg_muller)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2023, 10:36pm UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/14 "2023-04-19T22:36:31Z")
I use small stainless steel sieves to scoop off the floating chaff, then pour the water and good seed through another sieve, then tap out onto good quality kitchen paper towel or a plain cotton dish towel (not loop pile), then pat dry, and place in front of a heater vent dehydrator, or in the sun. best to be quick and all set up for it before you begin. ---
**Author:** ![Kimzy](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/kimzy/32/14489_2.png) [@Kimzy](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/Kimzy)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2025, 2:14am UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/15 "2025-04-30T02:14:12Z")
Here is a start. ![20250414_073144](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/uploads/landracegardening/original/2X/3/315b3e8ab1bb75d19ce41efd37cb9839ef92b5a2.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![UnicornEmily](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex031/user_avatar/goingtoseed.discourse.group/unicornemily/32/530_2.png) [@UnicornEmily](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/u/UnicornEmily)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2025, 2:24am UTC](https://goingtoseed.discourse.group/t/saving-mustard-seed/953/16 "2025-04-30T02:24:41Z")
I would toss those into a sieve with small holes. All the big pods would stay on top, and the seeds and small chaff would fall to the bottom. Then you can winnow all the small chaff out by blowing gently on it. Saves a lot of time and effort picking out the big stuff that can’t winnow.