Harvesting Common Milkweed

[Wyvern]

In years past I always waited until the pods were brown and split open on their own to try to harvest seeds... but this had its problems due to the silk being dry and fluffy and trying to get seeds separated without them all flying away was a pain. Also, depending on the weather there was also a problem of a lot of mold attacking pods or milkweed bugs causing damage to the pods the longer they were allowed to remain on the stalk and such. Because of the hassle/problems I never really harvested very much. Also, the whole "shake in a bag" method of stripping seeds from the silk never really worked for me either.

This year my milkweed patch had a major bumper crop - close to 200 pods from about 2 dozen plants ! Because of the hassle I've had with stripping seeds in the past I tried something different. I waited until first 3 pods in the patch browned and split open on their own. Then I went and split open a green pod to see what the contents looked like. Inside were nicely mature brown seeds - not green still maturing seed like I expected. So I went and harvested several pods while they were still green. I set the pods out in full sun for the afternoon to let them dry slightly and allow the sap inside to stiffen up. I brought them inside and sat down for a few hours watching TV and merrily popping the pods open along their seam with minimal pressure. Because they were green, the silk inside was still damp and stiff and not all feathery and fly away. Pulling the silk/seed cores out in an intact bunch and holding the core just right I could strip the entire batch of seeds off in a few seconds and then drop the silk core into a bag before the silk could really start drying and becoming fly-away bothersome. Takes a little practice to get the holding technique down, but once you got it, things move fast.

With this method I've managed to strip in 4 nights more seed than I've ever done in the past 15 years combined! I've been averaging about 30-50 pods each night. It's also been very relaxing and the number of beautiful perfect seed is astounding (already have a 32 oz tub nearly filled to the top and not even close to being done stripping all pods). I have noticed that the longer the harvested green pods are allowed dry the more troublesome the silk becomes so stripping of seeds needs to be done within a day or two of harvesting pods from the stalks for the best benefit. Only 4 pods had mold problems. I even had 3 pods that I opened that each had a couple of seeds that were SPROUTING seedlings while still inside the green pods! Obviously those few seeds didn't know that they need to be cold stratified over the winter before growing LOL. I've got them planted in dirt to see if they continue to grow.

[Mona Miller]

Same here. We had a discussion on Milkweed Viability on Dplex-L yesterday:

"The milkweed beetles are sucking the life right out of those seeds.
http://bugguide.net/node/view/504
Oncopeltus fasciatus - Large Milkweed Bug
I've found if you wait until the pods yellow that you can give that center part just a bit of pressure and if the seeds are ready it will crack. Then I just pull the whole seed pod out using the top of the fluff. It stays together if they are not dry. Then I push the seeds off by going down towards the sharp end. The seeds come right off. You can tell that they are ready by the fact that they are brown. Mona"

"Beetles vs bugs
Milkweeds have both. Mona has given a url for one (http://bugguide.net/node/view/504
Oncopeltus fasciatus - Large Milkweed Bug) of the two seed-eating bugs that one finds on milkweed pods. The other is Lygaeus kalmii - the small milkweed bug (http://bugguide.net/node/view/460). This insect is similar in appearance to the boxelder bugs that try to enter our houses each fall (http://www.extension.umn.edu/distributi ... g0998.html). If you dig into the life histories of these insects, you will find that the large milkweed bug migrates and the small milkweed bug feeds on more than milkweed seeds.
Because both of these species pierce the seed coat with their rostrums and feed on the seeds, it is best to avoid collecting any open pods or any where you can see adults or nymphs of these species.
Milkweed beetles - there are a number of species but the most common belong to the genus Tetraopes and, of these, the species seen by most of you is Tetraopes tetrophthalmus (http://www.cirrusimage.com/beetles_red_milkweed.htm - the other species are shown at this site as well). The adults feed on foliage and the larvae feed on the taproots and rhizomes of various milkweed species.
As to seed viability - I'm not sure what Fred is asking but I assume that he is referring to the fact that some seeds lack an endosperm (Endosperm is the tissue produced under the seeds of most flowering plants around the time of fertilization. It surrounds the embryo and provides nutrition ...). Yes, many seeds are not viable due to the lack of a well developed endosperm - so, technically they can also be referred to as infertile. In milkweeds infertile seeds are most often seen in small pods and those that are malformed. A few seeds in some well formed pods may also be inviable/infertile and these can usually be recognized because they are not "filled out" or appear sunken.
Viability is sometimes used to describe the proportion of seeds that are viable in germination
tests. Chip"

[applestar]

My Common Milkweed pods are still very much green, but I've been collecting the Butterfly Weed and Silky Tropical milkweed pods (not for the project -- these will be give to local people who asked for milkweed seeds to start their own butterfly gardens. )

I like the "squeeze/push with thumb at the center seam and if they crack open they're ready" test.

I've been finding a few germinating seeds too.

When you collect seeds that are not fully dried out, be sure to dry them thoroughly before storing them in anything airtight or they can get moldy in storage and/or lose viability.

[Wyvern]

I even had 3 pods that I opened that each had a couple of seeds that were SPROUTING seedlings while still inside the green pods! Obviously those few seeds didn't know that they need to be cold stratified over the winter before growing LOL. I've got them planted in dirt to see if they continue to grow.

Finally finished harvesting all of the pods. Found several more pods that contained seeds that were sprouting inside the pods. Now I have a few dozen seedlings to plant and try to baby through the winter.

Filled a 48 oz glad ware container with all the seeds I collected. Just gotta dry them out now and then put into packets for storage.

[Mona Miller]

When you collect seeds that are not fully dried out, be sure to dry them thoroughly before storing them in anything airtight or they can get moldy in storage and/or lose viability.

I'm drying mine in a large paper bag. Tossing them now and then so they dry evenly. I think Chip at Monarch Watch wanted us to send him some. He didn't get around to sending us info on the seed collecting project. This is a very busy time for them--migration. It was supposed to be part of the Waystation project.

[drexel.n@gmail]

Mona - do you know if Chip is accepting any kind of milkweed seeds? Or is it only common? My common didn't bloom this year (this was its first year after being transplanted late last summer). But I do have purple swamp weed, white swamp weed, butterfly weed, and tropical milkweed seeds to share. I would be more than happy to send some to Monarch Watch!

Nancy

[Mona Miller]

Natives and there are supposed be at least 20 species. I know Common and Swamp are on the list, but I have no idea of the other species. Probably butterfly weed. It's a Waystation Campaign to promote the planting of native milkweeds. Just save what milkweed seeds you can from natives. I'm sure they will let us know soon. It's migration/tagging time and they are very busy.

[crazymilkweedman]

@Wyvern
I'd like to know if those seeds made it..the ones you said sprouted in the pod...who knows maybe they were mutants and had modifications to their dormancy genes! would have been cool too test.

[Wyvern]

@Wyvern
I'd like to know if those seeds made it..the ones you said sprouted in the pod...who knows maybe they were mutants and had modifications to their dormancy genes! would have been cool too test.

Hi,

The few seedlings I had in the pods didn't make it. Could not seem to get enough of the right kind of light to keep them going healthy and they fizzled within 2 weeks.

However, about half of the seeds I collected I planted outside in a new garden bed down on a friend's farm in November. I deliberately over planted seeds because I didn't know if the winter there would be chilled enough and even with proper chilling I usually cannot get good germ rates on common milkweed. It was a mild winter and I was quite surprised at seeing the number of seedlings in the new bed this spring...hundreds and hundreds - totally astounding. I'm actually grateful for the over abundance of seedlings because the monarchs migrating north came through long before the established milkweed stalks in the area had even broken ground. Monarchs were laying eggs on the inch high seedlings. Knowing how much milkweed is needed to raise a cat to adulthood, I did not expect any kind of survival under the circumstances.

Well, this week I went to visit my milkweed patch down on the farm. Despite the odds, a number of those eggs hatched and survived over the past 3 weeks. I collected 39 caterpillars... almost all of which were large 2nd instar resting prior to molting into 3rd instar stage. Looking at the garden bed, I could see clusters/clumps of 1-3 inch high seedlings in some areas and bare spots in others. Looks like the cats were mowing down the seedlings and moving on to the next and so on. With the cool weather I think the cats were somehow making 100% efficient use of the nutrition despite the fact that the actual amount of food they were consuming was minuscule.

I brought all of the cats home with me to finish rearing since my established plants finally broke ground and I can provide enough food to get them to adulthood.



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