Spinach seed cleaning?

[Crealcritter]

Any tips for separation of bloomsdale long standing spinach seeds from leaves and stems and other trash?

I just pulled the entire spinach plants turned it upside down and pinched the stems between my finger and ran my finger down the stem and caught everything into a coffee can.

This is what I got, thousands of seeds mixed in with trash.

Some of the seeds are still in clusters.

I guess I need to understand what to do from here.

Thanks

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[Eleanor]

Any tips for separation of bloomsdale long standing spinach seeds from leaves and stems and other trash?

I just pulled the entire spinach plants turned it upside down and pinched the stems between my finger and ran my finger down the stem and caught everything into a coffee can.

This is what I got, thousands of seeds mixed in with trash.
View attachment 58323

Some of the seeds are still in clusters.
View attachment 58325

I guess I need to understand what to do from here.

Thanks

Jesus is Lord and Christ

As the seeds dry down more the clusters are easier to separate with gentle rubbing. To remove the seeds from the "trash", the easiest is to run them through seed screens but if you don't have those, you can winnow them in front of a fan - the seeds will fall while the chaff is carried with the breeze into a pile away from the seeds.

 

[Zeedman]

For a start, look for a sieve/strainer with holes just large enough to allow the seeds to pass through. I'm guessing a spaghetti strainer basket, or steamer basket, might be close. Running it all through there should separate most of the leaves & larger debris... but unless you have broken up the seed clusters as suggested by @Eleanor , set that debris aside to inspect later.

Then run the seeds through a sieve/strainer with holes just smaller than the seeds. This will allow soil, dust, and small debris to pass through. Ideally it will allow the smaller, undeveloped seeds to pass through as well.

I've found that if you visit a thrift store, you can usually find a selection of strainers & wire ladles/baskets in helpful sizes.

If winnowing, I recommend doing so over a wide tarp. That way no seeds will be lost, in the event that the wind/fan speed is high enough to blow away the seeds. Winnowing can take some practice.

 

[Crealcritter]

Thanks for the quick replies

Jesus is Lord and Christ

 

[flowerbug]

unless you are doing a lot of very precise planting it may not be worth worrying about too much IMO. just crunch them all up with your hands and then scatter the results where you want them to come up when planting time comes along.

yes, it is nice to have only seeds and no chaff but i've found that some things aren't as important as others (no chaff in the beans or peas for me for sure if i can help it , some chaff allowed in cosmos and onion seeds... squash seeds might have a bit of pulp still around, etc.