Update:
I’m having success in finding and harvesting a good number of milkweed seeds. Today I found the perfect patch: large seeds with a deep, rich coffee color that had nearly weed-free access. And I only saw one bug (a tiny spider)!
Today I ‘picked’ some of the seeds, which is fun for a while (especially if there is a breeze and you get to let the floss fly), but tedious. Today I tried the bag method, and it was all that and a bag of milkweed floss! I used a paper sack from the grocery intended for frozen foods – i.e. a lunch sack as sturdy as a paper grocery bag. Throw the seed pods in, roll the top, and shake , shake, shake. Then cut a hole in one corner about the size of the end of your pinky. Hold the hole over a large bowl or bucket and shake. May not a lot happen at first, but soon seeds will fall. When the seeds get slow, shake (hole up) the bag vigorously and repeat. When I started getting a good part of the seed from the bag, I found it helped to stop and pull whatever floss and stuff that I could out of the hole. Separate any seeds you pull out. Finally, I opened the bag, stuck my hand in, and rolled the remaining floss around in my hand. A final shake over the bowl and I tossed the contents of the bag into the part of my roadside ditch that’s unmowed. I’m giving seeds to some friends, and even mailing them in-country/zone to a Fluther friend or 2.
Today I scouted an areas with 100’s of plants, likely 1,000’s of pods! We need to campaign for less mowing of interstate access ramps and road ditches.
If anyone has any questions about my personal milkweed plant project, feel free to PM. I’m starting to get a feel for where they live and how to harvest them.