Harvesting castor bean seeds from your garden is easy. In this post, I’ll give you step-by-step instructions for how to collect castor bean seeds from your plants, and I’ll also show you how to store castor seeds.
In some areas of the world, castor bean plants are invasive. But here in Minnesota, they make beautiful and unique tropical plants that die back every fall (funny how that works).
I love growing castor bean plants in my tropical garden, and I always get tons of compliments on them!
I especially love this red castor bean variety that I have been growing in my tropical garden for a few years now.
Castor Bean Seeds Harvesting
I first received my red castor bean seeds in a trade, and have been collecting the seeds from my garden every year since. It’s very easy to collect castor plant seeds and save them for planting next year.
Castor bean flowers are insignificant, but they form gorgeous seed pods that look like flower puffs at first.
Red castor bean seed pods start out as bright red puff balls, which really add to the beauty of this plant.
The seeds will form inside of these red puff balls, so be sure to leave them on the plant if you want to collect castor bean seeds.
When To Harvest Castor Bean Seeds
The seed pods will start to fade and eventually turn brown. Allow castor bean pods to dry on the plant so that the seeds have plenty of time to mature.
Eventually, the seed pods will split open, which is a sure sign that it’s time to start collecting castor seeds.
Don’t worry about collecting castor bean seeds before frost, I usually don’t get around to it until after a hard freeze, and I haven’t had problems with seed viability.
What Does A Castor Bean Seed Look Like
Castor bean seeds are oval shaped and have a nub on one end of the seed. They are pretty large, and hard to miss – larger and rounder than edible bean seeds.
Truth be told, castor seeds actually kinda remind me of an engorged wood tick (disgusting, I know!).
How To Collect Castor Bean Seeds
To collect castor bean seeds, first clip the dried seed pods from the plant. Castor seed pods are very prickly, I recommend using gloves to handle them.
You can store the seeds right in the pod, or remove the seeds from the pods before storing them.
To collect castor plant seeds, break open the seed pods. There are three castor seeds per seed pod. Sometimes not all the seeds in the pod are large enough to keep.
Discard any castor bean pods or seeds that are small, they won’t be mature enough to germinate.
How To Store Castor Bean Seeds
Allow your castor seeds to dry completely before storing the seeds. Ideally, the seeds should be stored in a dark, dry place until spring.
Once they’re dry, you can store your seeds in a paper bag or small plastic containers (like these film canisters).
If you wan to share them with friends, then these small envelopes are perfect, or you can get customized seed envelopes, or make your own DIY seed envelopes.
I store my seed collection in a plastic shoe box, but if you like to organize yours, then a Seed Keeper would be perfect!
It’s important to note that all parts of the castor bean plant are poisonous, so be sure to keep castor bean seeds and seed pods out of reach of children and pets at all times.
How Long Does It Take To Harvest Castor Beans?
You may need to wait as long as 170 days for your castor plants to become fully mature before you can harvest the seeds.
They need a long, hot growing season. So if you live in a cold climate like I do, make sure you give them plenty of sun.
Collecting castor bean seeds from the garden is fun and easy! It’s a great way to grow your favorite plant year after year, and share the seeds with friends (just be sure to let them know that both the seeds and plants are poisonous).
Now that you know how to collect castor bean seeds, learn how to grow castor seeds next!
If you’re tired of struggling, and want to learn how to grow any plant you want from seed, then enroll in my online Seed Starting Course. It’s a wonderful, fun, self-paced course that will teach you everything you need to know to easily grow your own seedlings. Enroll and get started today!
Or, if you just need a refresher, then my Starting Seeds Indoors eBook is for you! It’s a quick-start guide that will get you planting seeds in no time.
More Posts About Saving Seeds
- Collecting & Sowing Spider Plant Seeds
- How To Harvest & Collect Seeds From Your Garden
- How To Collect Lavender Seeds From Your Garden
- How To Harvest Butterfly Weed Seeds
Share your tips for how to collect castor bean seeds in the comments section below.
Judith says
Hi, I’m growing castor beans in northern Australia . They grow very well here but I’m confused about a few things. When the pods start drying can I pick the whole stem even though they are not all brown? It would be very tedious if I could only harvest the brown ones because I’d have to tend to them everyday.
Another question. Which part of the plant is poisonous ? How poisonous and how is this so if castor oil is taken internally and through the skin?
Keen to learn more, thanks
Amy Andrychowicz says
Sure you could pick the whole stem at once, just keep in mind that the seeds in the pods that haven’t turned brown are probably not going to be viable. To answer you second question – ALL parts of the plant are highly toxic, especially the seeds. I can’t answer your question about how castor oil is processed commercially though, as I’m no expert there.
Tomay says
My question is, do they come back every year from the original plant or from seed?
If from seed I would have to let some seeds fall around the original plant i guess.
Thanks
Tomay
Amy Andrychowicz says
Castor bean plants are perennial in zones 9-11 (depending on the variety). If you live somewhere colder than that, you’ll have to collect the seeds and replant them every year. Here’s my full castor bean plant care guide for more details about how to grow them. And here are the instructions for how to plant and grow your castor bean seeds.
Plant Lady says
I just sowed a 10 year old castor bean seed 5 days ago and it’s germinating today! I kept the seeds in my fridge and they stayed viable for a decade! I live in Canada and it’s very cold here right now, but I’m planning to grow my castor bean plant in the house because I have an extremely sunny home. I grew one indoors years ago and it did great,…flowered and everything. Produced seeds too. The variety I’m growing is called “New Zealand Purple”. I enjoyed reading your blog.
Amy Andrychowicz says
Awesome, I’m so happy to hear that you found this so helpful! 🙂 It’s so cool that you saved your castor bean seed 10 years, and that it germinated for you. Amazing! I hope it will grow well for you.
Heather Fields says
Thank you for this blog post!! I took some castor pods from my friend’s plant last summer (they were still bright pink) and dried them out over the winter. I planted them in May and now have a beautiful castor plant that has produced MANY seed pods!!! I live in Ohio and we have cold weather comings only 3 pods are ready right now and I’m tempted to just pull the rest. I want to make castor oil and plant a few more. Thank you for the tips!!!!
Amy Andrychowicz says
You’re welcome, so glad to hear this helped you!
Jamie says
I have caster growing and we want to harvest seeds but ours are not forming seed heads yet and it’s almost September. We live over in Wisconsin.
Any idea
Amy Andrychowicz says
Unfortunately there’s nothing you can do to force castor bean plants to set seed. If they don’t form any seed pods, then they may be getting too much shade. Next year make sure you give them full sun all day.
Clayton Ross says
Castor Bean, Ricinus communis, Ricin is Latin for tick
Michelle says
That explains it! Yes, very tick-like! 😉
Cindy mitchell says
I grew my first castor bean tree this year. I was told to harvest seeds right after the first frost – which I did. But i think it was too early. The seed pods are still green. I laid them on cardboard in my dry basement but now somehave mold on them. Is it too late to save any?
Amy Andrychowicz says
Oh bummer. Yes, castor bean seed pods should be brown and dried out before harvesting them. It sounds like yours may not be mature enough. I would take them out of the pods and let them dry out that way. You never know, maybe you’ll get lucky and a few will germinate. Good luck!
Carol says
How long do you dry the seeds before storing. How do you know when they are dry enough?
Amy Andrychowicz says
I let my castor seeds dry for at least month or more before storing them. If you keep them in a paper bag, then you don’t have to worry about them being dry enough before storing them.