How to extract seeds from berries

Choose a healthy plant, such as sorbus, holly, cotoneaster or rowan, and check the berries are ripe by squeezing them. Remove a generous bunch with secateurs.

Step 2

Squash the berries onto a sheet of kitchen towel and clean away the skin and flesh to expose the bare seeds. Alternatively, clean away the flesh by running them under the cold tap in a sieve.

Step 3

Mix loam-based compost with horticultural grit to make a gritty compost. Use this to fill a 9cm pot and sow the seeds evenly across the surface.

Step 4

Sprinkle a layer of compost over the seeds, water, then stand the pot in a cold frame or sheltered place in the garden. Keep it watered and protect it from birds.

Allow seedlings to develop a few true leaves before pricking them out into separate pots and growing on.