It was sticker shock that had me talking my six-year-old into helping me gather sunflower and calendula seeds from our yard a few weeks ago. A few dozen sunflower seeds had been nearly $3; same with the calendula, seeds so impossibly lightweight that the paper packet must have weighed four or five times its contents.

And there we were, gathering the dried curly seeds from the spent flowers, filling the little jar I'd brought outside to overflowing, requiring me to get a half-pint jar to house the wildly abundant cosmos seeds.

"We'll give them as Christmas gifts!" I said exuberantly, and since then, my son has been industrious, helping me gather seeds from bachelor buttons, onions, and calendula. When I do laundry, I find sunflower seeds in his pockets. They're the good ones -- infrared, a startling and gorgeous almost black-red flower -- so I save them.

Calendula and cosmos grow like weeds here in Portland, so it's easy this month to gather them and sort by color (if any of the flowers are still growing on the plants from which you harvest seeds) and store them in airtight containers. You'll want a relatively cool place; if you keep them in the fridge, be sure to find a moisture absorber to include in the container. Buy small envelopes or, even better, recycle spice jars and old manila envelopes into homemade wildflower seed packets. Have your kids help you decorate the envelopes. Flower seeds are not just a welcome gift (at least in my house) that will grow into beautiful flowers, but these species are all beneficial to other plants, mostly edible, and attract honeybees. What's more, you can sneak a little science into your holiday preparation. It's way better than going to the mall!

Is your family crazy for pumpkins? Walking around my neighborhood, it seems this year that everyone decided to bring the pumpkin patch to their own front yard; I'm wondering the intelligence of trekking 25 miles to the traditional pumpkin farm, complete with hay ride, when I could just grab the wagon and walk two blocks to the huge patch at the new neighborhood eco-village. Next year: I want to plant a patch of my own.

That's why I'm taking champion pumpkin farmer Brian Christiansen -- "the surgeon that grows giant pumpkins" -- up on his offer of free seeds. He's generously offering to dry seeds from his enormous, prize-winning pumpkins and send them to you. All you have to do is mail him a self-addressed, stamped bubble pack (a SASBP). He doesn't expect anything in return, though you're welcome to trade him for seeds you have kept. But please include a note. Tell him WalletPop sent you, and that you want to bring the pumpkin patch to your neighborhood.

Every day, WalletPop will be bringing you information about a fantastic freebie. Like what you see? Check back tomorrow for more!

The Daily Deal for January 12, 2008

Dreaming of spring? You could spend any amount of money grasping at the season-to-come. You could take a long weekend trip to the southern hemisphere. You could buy tulips and peonies shipped from Chile. You could get your fill of out-of-season asparagus.

Or you could get an heirloom seed catalog, and fill your long dark afternoons of winter planning a garden that would help preserve biological diversity, combat global warming, and fill your summer tummy full of delicious, fresh, healthful things. Sweet Chocolate Bell Peppers. Cimmaron Red Romaine. Grandpa's Cock's Plume Tomato. (Or Silvery Fir Tree, Zaryanka Sunrise, Whippersnapper Cherry.)

You can shop online, but seed catalogs are full of plenty and far more authentic. Seeds Trust will send you their 2008 catalog for $4.00; Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds will send you a catalog faster for $3.00 (it's slow, for free); Victory Seed Company will send a catalog for $2.00; Territorial Seed Company offers a free catalog.