#Online Kids Collection

[w3bkinz-t0yb0x]

lps vip surprise wave plushies from 2009!

[aroaessidhe]

bookmark collection 7/?

thistle & rabbit bookmark by amandajtoner with the spirit bares its teeth, the scapegracers, & euphoria kids

[anipgarden]

Collecting Milkweed Seeds - All Facts, All Seeds, No Fluff

(OK but please also consider I'm not an ~expert~ I'm not a ~scholar~ I'm just a nerd on Tumblr who really likes milkweed and wanted to make a fun lil post about it)

[Image ID: a green, leafy common milkweed plant (Asclepias syriaca) with five large, ovalish and bumpy green seed pods. The seed pods are currently unopened.]

It’s fall, which means if you haven’t seen them already, now’s the time that milkweed plants will start producing seed pods! (Well, technically, they’re called follicles, but fuck it they’re seed pods).  Each pod has dozens of seeds inside, some species can even have up to 200 seeds, so even collecting just a few can be a good way to boost your pollinator gardening efforts big time! What you do with them then is up to you--adding life to your backyard garden, sharing with friends, making seed bombs--but first you’ve gotta collect them.

The first thing you want to do is identify your milkweed plants--in an ideal world, you’d be able to tell precisely what kind of milkweed you’re collecting from (so you can know precisely what growing conditions that species prefers.) But when they’re dying back, forming pods, and releasing their seeds, it can be hard to tell. It helps to visit sites early, to know what milkweeds are there, and while you’re there you might even find some forming pods. 

It can be helpful to band off the pods early! This will keep the seeds from escaping, so you can come back later and collect them! I would only do this for a couple of pods--each pod has a lot of seed in it, so only taking one or two from each plant should still net you plenty of rewards! When I’m doing this in my backyard, I tend to use rubber bands--the size of rubber band you’ll need varies depending on the species. I’ve also seen people use the lacy-looking jewelry bags to a similar effect--if the pod splits open, all the seeds get trapped in the bag!

[Image ID: the first image is of appears to be swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) with about fifteen long, green, smooth and pointed seed pods. Most of the pods have small black rubber bands wrapped around the midsections. The second image is of what appears to be common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) with two large, ovalish and bumpy green seed pods. A white fine mesh bag has been tied over the pods.]

For people who want to get seeds from unopened pods, you have to be very careful not to force open a pod that isn’t ready--otherwise, the seeds inside won’t fully develop. How do you tell if a pod is ripe? There’s a seam in each pod, and it should open fairly easily with minimal pressure if it’s basically ready. If you’re basically prying it open, you’re too early. The seeds inside should be a nice dark color, and be plump in the middle--if they’re creamy colored or light orange, you’re too early. There may be some undeveloped seeds in each pod (I am talking maybe 1 to 3 here), but if the majority of them are ready, you’re good to go!

[Image ID: a tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica) seed pod that has been opened at the seam, revealing dark brown seeds and lots of creamy white floss. Four seeds are floating away from the pod on fluffy white comas. The pod is being held between a white person's fingers.]

I’ve also seen people who go late late late into the season, after most of the pods have already fully split off and released their seeds. Some of the seeds occasionally stay in the pod, so they’ll take the leftovers that didn’t get scattered after winter passes. That’s a fair strategy! I prefer to get mine way early on, so I can get a clear ID of what kind of milkweed it is (some will flower and produce pods at the same time), but if you already got an ID early in the season and then come back later this can also work! But…

[Image ID: several dried brown seed pods have opened fully, releasing a cloud of milkweed floss with seeds attached. Some seeds are still in the pods, but many are primed to float away.]

There is, however, one thing that tends to be a bit annoying about collecting milkweed seeds--and that’s the fluff. These fluffy white bits attached to the seed--called comas--function similarly to the iconic fluffy dandelion seed. A milkweed seed’s coma allows it to float through the air and on the water until it (hypothetically) reaches bare soil or an otherwise suitable start to settle down and germinate. If you’re collecting the seeds for later use, though, that same coma can mean your milkweed seeds are traveling through the air and away from where you’re collecting them, or all over your apartment once you get them home. Removing the comas by hand is an option, but tedious, and still leads to a nice pile of fluffy that will get airborne at the first gust of wind. At the end of the day, for many people trying to collect milkweed seeds, the coma is just an annoying part they dread.

Fortunately, there are plenty of ways to collect milkweed seeds without having to deal with the comas long-term!

[Image ID: A single brown milkweed seed floating on a comparatively huge mess of white fibers.]

Method 1

So this is my favorite method because it's honestly one of the simplest and easiest once you get used to it. You open the pod, grip the top part of the middle ‘pith’ section tight, and gently scrape off the seeds into a bowl or bag. This leaves you with almost no fluff in your collection bin, and you can then toss the middle fluffy part--or I’ve heard of people collecting milkweed fluff for spinning! Most of the videos I’ve seen on it use common milkweed or other large milkweed pods as an example--however, I’ve successfully done this with smaller milkweed pods like A. curassavica as well. 

Method 2

This method is one I’ve used in the past. Take the seeds and fluff and put them into a bag (paper or plastic) and add a coin or two. Shake the bag around--a lot. The coin will dislodge the comas from the seeds. The seeds will then drop to the bottom of the container, and the fluff will float around on the top. I’ve also seen this with buckets and blocks, like in the video below!

Method 3

I’ve seen a handful of people discuss burning the floss of the seeds! Apparently the seeds themselves aren’t damaged badly by the fire, though honestly this is a method that I am simply too anxious to try myself.

Method 4

This was a method I found while I was looking for other methods people have done. Apparently, you can just roll the pod between your hands and it’ll work to dislodge the seeds? I may have to try it next time!

Hopefully this advice is helpful for you all! I know collecting seeds was a hassle for me before I learned my favorite method. If I had a nickel for every time I got yelled at for releasing milkweed fluff into the house...

If you've got a method that I haven't heard about yet, let me know!! I'm always down to learn more about milkweed, and it can also help someone else down the line!

[preciadosbass]

WEEKLY RECAP/HIGHLIGHTS [key and pictures of everything [if you’d rather not read] at end] 12/8/24 - 18/8/24

🐗# monday — watched my sister play five nights at freddy’s security breach, saw my mums friends, was told stories about my late cat by my dad, found the picture of the concert i went to and found my dad and i in the crowd

🐊# tuesday — gerard way funko pop arrived, made all i could of a can tab bracelet, put together two collages, made a kandi gecko, listened to my green day cd, made a beaded star

🦕# wednesday — recorded the cutest video of boris ever, made two upcycled bottlecap charms, made a shell windcharm-inspired charm, put photos + charms up on the side of my desk, drew the ‘templates’ for patches im going to paint, designed + drew my first ever killjoy oc

🦴# thursday — went to see my grandad + go charity shopping [thrifting], bought an avril lavigne and evanescence cd, drew killjoy oc again [nuclear nighthawk], finished can tab bracelet, made a kellin quinn necklace, put together a new outfit, put band/interest related pins on my jacket,

👾# friday — listened to falling in reverse’s new album, made a miniature beaded gecko that’s the roughly the size of a can tab, put together that outfit i ‘made’ yesterday [i love it], made a crab out of an apple, painted rocks to look like eyeballs and filled a jar with them, made a hanging can room deco thingy

🦇# saturday — made a bracelet, painted more rocks and put a great white shark/fish skeleton on them, went to my neighbours wife’s birthday party — MADE TWO ALT FRIENDS!!!, also had vodka teehee -_<

🛩️# sunday — went to bootsale - got 2x good charlotte cds, the used cd, blink 182 cd [cds all 50p each], a scene looking plushie [£2], a whole skateboard [£2], and a purple + black skull and crossbones beanie [50p] // went to a family barbecue

have a good day/night O_o

🗝️ — boris/my cat

[crossf1recreat1ons]

So I’ve been seeing meme redraws of Shining Armor and Princess Cadence as of late and I was like “Fuck it, why not draw ponies again.” I had fun drawing them (especially the crystal effects I gave their horns and Cadence’s wings)

I also experimented with my artstyle a bit (trying to go for more of an anglar style and having more simplistic shading). I know it’s subdle, but I like how it turned out (I’m definitely going to experiment more with that)

Haha ugly ass groom go brrrrrrrrrrrrr

[tomcat-reusables]

It’s 2024 for YOU.

Im listening to Belle & Seb on my discman thank you very much.

[mustekalan]

Hey did you guys know I'm a little unhinged about Digimon

[w3bkinz-t0yb0x]

lps vips friends wave from 2008!

[centralanim3]

Almighty Shenron and The Dragon Ballz figurines

Follow for more figurines and top-notch anime clothing only at Central Anime

[a-dash-in-the-middle]

extra tired, feet hurt, would do it again 10/10

[parab0mb]

I'm not as die-hard about 100%ing games as I used to be, but I feel like attempting to do it for aHiT since I'm only missing a couple of Steam achievements anyway (that and bragging rights).

Unfortunately that would mean I have to be not awful enough at this game to get all the stamps on Cruisin' for a Bruisin'...

[ms-hells-bells]

anyone remember the child bride episode of tokyo mew mew?

[slightlypoisonedtea]

When I say "goodnight", it is for your benefit.

I'm going to be awake for at least another 3 hours, but you should be healthy and go to sleep.

[ruinpowder]

man as much as i would never ever want to live through the early 2000s again i’m relieved i was a kid then and not now. my parents are pretty technology illiterate outside of what they do for work but the idea of 10 year old helen’s life being broadcast to millions of strangers online gives me chills. no kid deserves that

[jaredthebc]

Random poll idea I had cause I realized I've seen so many people say they never learned how to play the Pokemon TCG as a kid as if it was a universal experience, which is something I never related to.

Feel free to reblog this poll and say what you voted for in the tags! I kinda wanna see how far this can spread cause I wanna know everyone's experience