I’m not a farmer, but I have a large garden and experience with saving seeds. What comes to mind for me in winnowing is how difficult the process can be. When I first started saving seeds, it wasn’t always clear which parts were the chaff intended to be discarded. I think it might be zinnias that have a seed so fragile I didn’t realize it was the seed -- I had been blowing them out of my hand and couldn’t figure out why I was left with nothing. And tomato seeds have a thick gel encasing them that you have to gently remove without damaging the seed. My point is: the work of winnowing is never easy. We have to work at noticing what pieces have value and at times put in effort. I always want things to be easier.
I’m not a farmer, but I have a large garden and experience with saving seeds. What comes to mind for me in winnowing is how difficult the process can be. When I first started saving seeds, it wasn’t always clear which parts were the chaff intended to be discarded. I think it might be zinnias that have a seed so fragile I didn’t realize it was the seed -- I had been blowing them out of my hand and couldn’t figure out why I was left with nothing. And tomato seeds have a thick gel encasing them that you have to gently remove without damaging the seed. My point is: the work of winnowing is never easy. We have to work at noticing what pieces have value and at times put in effort. I always want things to be easier.
Thanks for the prompt.
Yes, noticing what has value takes time and attention —more than I often allow. I appreciate the zinnia and tomato seed images.