Several years ago, I saw Breadseed Poppies advertised in a seed catalog and just had to give it a try. They've been part of my garden every year since. They're beautiful and tasty. A gardener needs a big patch to get any sizeable harvest, but a small harvest is worthwhile and makes those holiday poppy seed cookies take on an every deeper meaning. The flowers are beautiful too and that is reason enough to have some growing in your garden. If you want to include them in your garden plans for next year, here's how to grow, harvest, and use breadseed poppies.
How to Grow Breadseed Poppies
These poppies do best with a cold start. Plant the seeds as early in the spring as the soil can be worked. The seeds are small so plant them in a row or broadcast in a bed. As the plants sprout, thin them to 6 to 8 inches apart. The plants like full sun and moist, rich soil.
How to Harvest Breadseed Poppies
After the flowers bloom and the petals fall off, the seedpods form. Allow these to dry on the stalks. The seeds will shake inside when the pods are dry enough to harvest. If you wait too long, the pods will crack and seeds will spill on the ground, this will allow for self-seeding for next year but robs you of seeds for baking.
Cut the pods from the stalks and bring them inside. Cut the tops off and shake the seeds out into a bowl.
To be extra safe, spread the seeds out on a baking tray for a week just to make sure they're completely dry. Store in an airtight jar until ready to use.
How to Use Breadseed Poppies
Traditionally poppy seeds were used in place of nuts when they were more expensive or difficult to find. Feel free to use poppy seeds in cookies, breads, muffins, and more.
Here are a few ideas to get started:
What's your favorite poppy seed recipe?
Angie Rose says
February 10, 2016 at 9:17 amI am going to try to grow poppies from seed this year. So happy I came across your helpful article on Pinterest! I am bookmarking it for spring :) Thank you for all the great info!
Homespun Seasonal Living says
February 10, 2016 at 9:34 amOh enjoy those beautiful, productive flowers!
Kelly Davison says
June 28, 2016 at 9:22 pmI love poppies, one of my favorite flowers! Looking forward to harvesting the seeds and starting more plants! Thanks for the advice!
Joanne says
July 23, 2016 at 11:05 amI bought a pkg of seeds for growing bread seed poppies. Most of the flowers are the same color as in your photos. There are a few other colors, but still with the darker cross shape in the middle ,and I’m not sure if poppies I’ve grown in previous years in other locations have self seeded in this patch. Is it harmful to harvest from those plants?
Homespun Seasonal Living says
July 24, 2016 at 6:42 amSome poppies are toxic and without knowing specifically the type of poppy, I wouldn’t harvest from ones I was unsure of…
Jennifer says
April 20, 2017 at 9:45 pmI love this idea! I am looking for more flowers to incorporate into my vegetable garden and this is perfect! Thank you for sharing!
Markus says
November 2, 2017 at 1:49 amHi,
Do you know the best poppies for poppy seed bread? And also I’ve been afraid to plant the ones I do, because of articles that I read online, that it’s illegal to grow poppy seeds for bread, because they are opium poppies. Do you know the legality of growing poppy plants to make poppy seed bread? Thank you for your time
Kathie Lapcevic says
November 2, 2017 at 6:29 amBreadseed poppies and opium poppies are not the same thing. This is a common misconception. Seed companies legally sell breadseed poppies, you can buy them from a number of sources. Hungarian Breadseed Poppies are the variety I grow.
Kelly says
May 25, 2018 at 2:18 pmGreat article! I am wondering how big a bed is needed to have a decent harvest? These look wonderful!
Kathie Lapcevic says
May 26, 2018 at 8:22 amAdmittedly to get a large harvest, you’re going to need a big bed. I plant two 30 foot rows and harvested about a pint of seed for baking.
Cynthia Trader says
January 23, 2019 at 2:16 pmYour article was so helpful. I am a home gardener and love growing all types of flowers from seeds. I don’t have much of a yard so 99 of what I plant are in pots. I’m going to plant my Breadseed Poppies in pots and hope they bloom beautifully.
Thank you so much for the great information. Oh and I didn’t know that the seeds could be used in baking – a double treat!!!!
Kathie Lapcevic says
January 27, 2019 at 5:52 amI’m so glad this was helpful to you. Happy gardening!
Connie HAmblin says
February 11, 2019 at 6:45 pmHow well do they grow in pots.containers?
Kathie Lapcevic says
February 14, 2019 at 9:38 amI haven’t tried it but I imagine they would just fine but they need room so don’t crowd the pot.