Collecting Seeds

Perhaps I should have posted this in the beginners' section but I'm not sure it gets any traffic. Anyway, here it is.

I planted some Cheap-O wildflower seeds which came up nicely. There's a Cosmos plant (I think) that's still blooming strong, but some of its older flowers are going to seed. I'm collecting the seeds and putting them into an envelope.

Will the seeds keep over the winter or should I plant them now? I'd rather wait for next spring just because I haven't decided where I want them but if there's a looming deadline I'll figure something out.

Cosmos self-seed readily so you can let the seeds drop naturally or scatter them through other areas of the garden where you might like to have them. You can also wait til spring and plant them where you want them or even start them indoors several weeks before your last frost date (if you are in an area that gets frost). Make sure the seeds are completely dry before you store them and they'll keep fine over winter. Seeds are best stored out of direct sunlight and in a cool, dry place.

After reading your post I went and collect seeds from my Cosmos plants which are done for this year. I have never done this before so it will be interesting to see if they grow next year. Thanks for the hint.

I also like to collect seeds and find some really do well while others get mushy and rot right away. I have a food dehydrator that has a seeds setting. Any ideas if this would be too hot for drying the seeds completely or if this setting is for drying pumpkins seeds or sunflower seeds for eating. I would hate to cook the seeds I want to save to plant.
Any good ideas? Thanks.

I'm not sure about this, but i wouldn't try the seed setting on the dehydrator if I were you. I think it would be too hot.