“Nature Is So Giving”: Pretoria Homesteader Shows How He Saves and Harvests Lettuce Seeds

• Pretoria homesteader Ntokozo shared a step-by-step video on how he harvests and packages seeds from his farm
• Ntokozo and his wife Cate run a homestead where they grow lettuce, broccoli, cabbage, onion, and cauliflower
• His warning about seedless fruits and corporate seed control sparked a heated conversation among South Africans

A Pretoria couple who farm their own food sparked a powerful conversation about food independence. Ntokozo, one half of the homesteading duo Cate & Ntokozo, shared a video on 5 October 2026 showing exactly how he harvests, extracts, and stores seeds from plants on their Gauteng farm.

In the clip, Ntokozo walks through his garden toward a lettuce plant that has already begun to flower and seed. He picks apart individual flowers to show just how many seeds a single bloom can produce, pointing out that one flower alone yields around six seeds and that a single lettuce plant can carry more than 100 flowers.

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"If you do the math you'll see that nature is so giving," he said.

From garden to kitchen counter

Once he had gathered enough material, Ntokozo moved the process indoors. Working on a granite kitchen counter, he shook the cut branches gently over the surface to release the seeds, then used a folded paper towel tucked inside small zip-lock bags to absorb any moisture and stop the seeds from germinating prematurely. By the time he was done, one lettuce plant had filled five separate seed packets. He then repeated the process with broccoli seeds, with cabbage, onion and cauliflower still to come.

The warning about seedless fruit

What gave the video extra weight was a point Ntokozo raised mid-clip. He noted the rise of seedless oranges, melons, grapes and other fruits now common in supermarkets, and what that means for the everyday person's ability to grow their own food.

"It feels like power has been taken away from our hands," he said, adding that seeds engineered to be planted only once are already a reality. Using organic, open-pollinated seeds, he implied, is one way to push back.

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Watch Ntokozo's full seed-harvesting video here.

South Africans react to the seed-saving video

The video on the Instagram page resonated deeply, with followers weighing in on everything from food sovereignty to corporate control:

@zamahngunezi added:

"Those are a lot of seeds. We must all strive to be self-sufficient."

@stanleymacksonson shared:

"I went to PNP one day and asked why they sell seedless fruits; they say the customers asked for them because they don't like seeds; how convenient."

@dudley_thehand said:

"Seed saving is a radical act - don't let anyone take that away from you."

@kamenthea asked:

"Controlling seeds is a scary thought. Why do you think there are huge seed banks in Europe? Conservation or control?"

@bro_woodlera offered:

"Sho, bro, let's exchange seeds; I have baby spinach and dell seeds. Going back to how our ancestors were doing."

More on farming in South Africa

• Briefly News recently reported on a well-known Oudtshoorn farmer who vanished after floodwaters swept his bakkie off a low-water bridge.
• A South African woman spent a day as a Swiss farmer's wife, and one chore on her list had viewers begging for her to get her own Netflix show.
• The FF Plus has called on Ramaphosa to act after a North West farmer was found dead at her own farm gate, and the party made one more demand that is already stirring debate.

Source: Briefly News