Velvet funny you should ask, as I just got finished collecting quite a few of them today. The flowers on the stems will turn brown as they mature. When it's time to harvest them, all the flowers on the stem are brown....and are now the seed pods. Be sure to do this before the pods get a visible opening in them. * I break the stem of brown pods off, and lay it on a paper plate. * Do the breaking very carefully so as not to shake the seeds out on the ground. * Most seed pods do well to dry inside overnight to further dry them so the seeds will fall out easily. * I gather my supplies which are 3 strainers of different size mesh, 3 thin paper plates, and a baggie for the clean seeds. * Over a paper plate, pull the pods off the stem, and squeeze them between your fingers to loosen seed. Several stems can be processed & cleaned at once. You now can see seeds and chaff mixed. * Choose a strainer that will allow only the seeds to pass through and pour the mixture into it. Sift and work the pods until you see no more seeds falling. Discard chaff on newspaper. * Continue to clean seeds by using this system of sifting out the chaff over a clean plate or sheet of paper. * When all or most of the chaff has been removed, place seeds in small ziplok bag, and label them, including the year harvested. * They are now ready to trade or plant in your own garden. The cleaning process is very important if you plan to offer the seeds for trade. **As I was breaking off stems, I took some around the garden and shook the seeds out in areas where I wanted to have Salvia next year.

Good luck!

maw