Edible Seeds

• Common foods such as corn, grains and sunflowers are cultivated to encourages seed growth and size. Wild sunflowers, for instance, have numerous flowers that grow in a rambling pattern, as compared with cultivated sunflowers, which have a single upright head. Cultivated sunflowers yield large seeds that are used for food and oil. Cultivated sunflowers also have higher seed yields than uncultivated varieties.
  
  

Germination

• Because wild seeds have adapted to harsh, inconsistent growing conditions, their seed casings are often harder and their germination rates lower than those of cultivated seeds. Wild seeds must be cleaned, and some species require stratification -- a length of time in heat and another length of time in cold. Others need scarification -- seed coats must be nicked -- or must be bathed in an acid wash to promote germination. Cultivated seeds require less planting and germination preparation than wild seeds.
  
  

Harvesting

• Cultivated seeds can be harvested from cultivated plants. Seed heads are cut from mother flowers and pods and capsules are collected. Wildflower seeds are picked by hand. Once seeds are harvested they are threshed, cleaned and stored in dry cool areas until the gardener wishes to germinate them.