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Butterfly Pea Seed harvesting

I went outside and fed the critters, and when I walked back, I noticed that some Butterfly Pea Pods (Scientific name: Clitoria ternate - appropriate when you see what the flower looks like!) were nicely dried and ripe for picking. This is the first year I am able to save my own seeds for these. I grow them for the flowers since they create beautiful wispy flowers that I then harvest and enjoy in tea (Bonus: It turns your Tea purple or Green depending on if you mix it with Lemon.) It also has a lot of health benefits, which I will leave you to Google for yourself. But I digress...


Butterfly Pea Bush
Butterfly Pea Bush with Flowers

Butterfly Pea Flowers
Butterfly Pea Flowers - fresh and dried


So this is the first time I harvested the pods to get the seeds, but what I didn't know is that upon touching them too tightly or putting them down with any enthusiasm, they open up and spread their seeds everywhere. Envision a spring load pea pod LOL



Multiple Butterfly Pea Seed pods
Butterfly Pea Pods

A single Butterfly Pea seed pod
Butterfly Pea Seed Pod


With all of the finesse of a Bomb Explosion expert, I am over here taking these pods apart so they don't fly all over my kitchen, and I finally succeeded... mostly! I have an old wine fridge that's set to 40F (the optimal temp to store seeds long-term) simply because I may not want to grow that specific thing this year, so I store them. The longevity of seeds at 40°F can vary depending on the type of seed of course, but generally, seeds stored at this temperature can remain viable for several years. Here are some general guidelines though...



Wine Fridge for Seed Storage
Seed Storage in Wine Fridge set to 40F

Butterfly Pea seeds and pods

  • Vegetable seeds: Most vegetable seeds can last 2-5 years when stored at 40°F.

  • Flower seeds: Flower seeds typically last 1-3 years at this temperature.

  • Herb seeds: Herb seeds usually remain viable for 2-3 years




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