Harvesting Brussle Sprout Seeds For Future Use

I planted these last year and since they are more of a cold weather veggie, I left them growing all winter. They actually kept growing sprouts during the warmer parts of winter. I thought that they may continue growing this year. However, I forget that most veggies will go to seed in the next spring. Carrots do this as well. 


They bloomed and started shooting out their pods and you could probably harvest about 2,000 seeds off the four plants I kept growing. When I got the other plants to plant our garden this weekend, I bought a few new plants and I thought that I would show you what the new plants look like and then what they will look like the next season when they flower and pod.


They will get yellow and dry and then you crumble the pod or break it open and then collect the seeds for planting the next year. 



This is what the plant gone to see will look like. Yellow flowers that are kinda like a buttercup. They will also have the spiky pods growing out all over.

My favorite part is that the leaves of Brussle Sprout plants taste similar to Kale and I used them several times throughout the winter. I just went out and pick some leaves off and cut them up and put them in soup. The family didn't know it wasn't kale. They are hearty like Kale but I found them even a bit more hearty as they grew late into fall and early winter. 

Reading up on them to make sure about the seeds, they say that once the pods and seeds are dry, if you put them in an airtight package, they will last up to five years or more. 
 
I am thinking that if I seal a meal them, they may last longer but they may need some air. Maybe I'll try an experiment when I harvest the seeds. I will seal some and then just put some in a baggie and see what happens when I try and plant them next year.