Flowers for the Seeds!
One of the benefits of the Michigan Forest Association’s new office is our close proximity with the Michigan Audubon Society and Michigan Nature Association! I was lucky enough to be in the office when Andy Bacon of the Michigan Nature Association was tasked with removing the seeds of Black Eyed Susan flowers for a client. Now, being a city girl, I had never put much thought into the collection of seeds and may have believed that, perhaps, someone diligently picked up the seeds off the ground and delicately placed them into the cute little packets we get at the store. Of course, the process was actually simpler than and more interesting than I had imagined.
Step one was to take the dried Black Eyed Susans, stems and all, and put them through a machine that breaks the plant into smaller bits.
The machine chews up the flowers and deposits them into bags to prepare them for the next, and more time-consuming step, sorting.
The sorting process involves a number of different screens with varying sized holes in each one.
These screens are set on top of each other with the smallest openings at the bottom. The flower mulch is then sifted over the various screens to remove the stems and all other larger debris. The final product, the actual flower seed, is retained in the smallest screen and ready to be passed on to the customer.
Special thanks to Andy Bacon (Michigan Nature Association), for teaching me the ropes on this one. Happy summer everyone!