Chia Plant - Gathering the Seeds
Chia Plant - Salvia columbariae I grew up in the Antelope Valley where these plants probably bloomed every spring but I didn't pay much attention and didn't even know their value, until recently. My brother, Michael, sent me some emails that inspired me to do some research into the Salvia columbariae variety of chia. Excerpt from Michael's E-mail"Weird thing happened. Had some weeds pop up in the yard last year and then more again this year. Now, this was interesting enough to me to get me thinking about doing another chia page, so I indicated that to Michael and... Excerpt from Michael's Second E-mail"I've attached a couple of pictures of the chia that is growing in my yard. You may remember plants like these in Palmdale - I sure do. This is Salvia Columbariae. I'm hoping to find a large field of them close by so I can harvest some seed later on this summer."
And this one has beautiful little flowers in the spring. But now you and I know it has something else - chia seeds! Now, I go a little crazy with pictures. I love them. So I got really excited and started planning my next chia page. In fact, the emails from Michael were filled with alot more about chia and how he uses it so I've got a few more pages to create on chia. And something new I learned from Michael about Amaranth... coming up soon as well.
Are You In for an Adventure?If so, you may even want to go on an outing to gather the seeds. When Michael mentioned he wanted to find a large field and harvest the chia seeds later on this summer, I couldn't quite feature how that could be done. They are so tiny. Well, I found out how...Gathering Chia Seeds for Fun or FoodThe California Indians gathered seeds from the wild chia usually at the end of spring just before the seeds fell to the ground following their natural course of growth.By cutting the chia plant close to the ground, you can gather and bundle the plants making it easy to carry back to your camp (or spot) to do the next step. Once there, you'll be "beating the bushes" for the tiny chia seeds with a "paddle" of sorts. The Indians created their own containers and paddles by weaving them from plant materials. They would hold the flower part over their baskets and beat them with their paddles, allowing the seeds to fall free. That sounds pretty simple now doesn't it? I found a website with a video that shows a small group of people on such an outing. But they do it a little different. They took large buckets and a fly swatter. One person did have a woven paddle so you can get an idea of what they look like. Take a look if you are interested. Just scroll down to the video once you arrive at their site.
Locations for Gathering Chia SeedsIf you are really interested in this adventure, you are likely to find them growing in the following states during the months of March through June:
Just start looking for the chia plant where you expect to find other desert plants like sagebrush and chaparral (thorny bushes and dense stunted evergreen shrubs). You'll probably want to plan your trip in June at the end of their bloom just before the seeds naturally fall to the ground. If You Can't Wait for an Outing, Try This...It's not quite time to go chia gathering in the desert so you might want to learn more about where to find the best chia seeds right now. I've spent a few years looking for the best chia and continue to do so. Here's what I've found so far.The Best Chia Seeds - Why My Choice References
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