One of the best feelings in the world is the satisfaction and awe that comes with winnowing seeds.
You take a bucket of seeds dirty with so much chaff and dust that you can barely see the seeds.
You pour that mixture into the wind.
The wind blows away all the light dusty bits and leaves you with clean (or nearly clean seed.)
It is magic.
You can winnow outdoors in the wind but if you want to really control your variables, set up fans indoors to create your own constant wind.
This is our winnowing setup. It is inspired by many seed farms I’ve visited over the years.
We set up 2 bins on a tarp in front of 2 box fans placed one in front of the other.
We pour seed in front of the box fans.
There are 3 speeds on each dial.
This gives multiple combinations from the gentlest wind (0 in front and 1 in back) to the strongest wind (3 on both dials).
We try to use a square container to pour seeds into the wind rather than a round container.
It is easier to maintain a similar flow of material over the flat edge than a curved edge. Ideally you just have to tilt the container to let the seeds pour out rather than lightly shaking the container to get the seeds to move.
The heaviest stuff falls in the bin closest to the fans and lighter stuff falls into the bin farther from the fan.
The lightest stuff actually gets blown away in the wind. Your seeds will generally be the heaviest stuff and fall in that first bin.
Not quite visible in the photos is that the bins are placed on a tarp that lets you collect spilled seed. It also makes it easier to clean up between seed lots.
You don’t need 2 box fans to do this. You can pour some dirty dry seed in front of any old fan and clean up your seed.
If you’ve never winnowed and have jars of dirty seed you saved. Go and try it out.
My next free online workshop will be later in October ..
More details coming soon!