I don't think our customers should be paying for "chaff" so all our home-grown seeds are cleaned before we send them out to you 😊
Large companies have machines that do this for them, we don't, so ours are cleaned the old-fashioned, "slow" way.
Firstly, we take ripe seeds from the plant, return any interloping insects and dry the seeds.
Once dry, seeds are then shaken from their pods, or for example, in the case of these Marsh-mallow seeds, separated from each other.
This gives you a "porridge" which is a mix of seeds in casings, chaff and miscellaneous bits of plant that need to be removed.
With some varieties a lot of this can be removed by winnowing so it's into a big metal bowl and outside for a winnow. If there's a bit of a breeze, you quickly get rid of the chaff although if the breeze is too strong, you risk getting rid of the seeds as well.
After a final clean using a variety of methods including sieves, small brushes and lots of patience, we end up with lovely clean seeds:
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