Seed Bank

Excellent advise Aeons Thank you.

I'm not only planning on saving seeds for a sustainable garden in my "zone"
but for the zone above and below me. just in case of a serious event.

I'm also wondering if anyone in the great white north has had any luck in planting seeds in a "Wild" situation and having them flourishing unattended.
Those are the seeds that I would prize the most. Stumbling upon a patch of wild edibles can become a great source of seeds for your wild garden with very little care or watering.

Wild blueberries,apples,mushrooms,rhubarb ,parsnips etc. .. yum.

Encouraging unattended food sources on and around my property is my goal.




[edit on 19-3-2009 by The Utopian Penguin]

[edit on 19-3-2009 by The Utopian Penguin]

Originally posted by The Utopian Penguin

I'm also wondering if anyone in the great white north has had any luck in planting seeds in a "Wild" situation and having them flourishing unattended.

Being the great white north myself, I have been toying with different seeds that arent supposed to grow up here. Ive had success with tobacco last year, and this year I am going to start coffee and lemon trees. I figure enough insulation should keep them through the hard winters.

As for planting in "wild" areas, I am guessing you are referring to unworked land. Last year I grew a little wheat on unworked ground. Plan to try all sorts of grains this year. Also, tomatos are actually an annual plant, if you just plant some in the spring, in theory they should come up every year. A few more months and Ill know if thats true or not given the cold I endure.

Some plants that I have come up every year that I started from seed without building a raised bed, or worked the earth first are:

Onions
Rhubarb
Strawberries
Sunflowers
Last year had some phantom tomato plants and cucumber plants spring up in odd areas, but I attribute that to a fluke and not something dependant on.

Just because we are in the north doesnt mean we need to sharply reduce what we grow. Our season may be shorter, but 18+ hours of daylight helps, greenhouses and grow lights can extend the season as well.

Good luck.

reply to post by salchanra


LOL salchanra, Mystery tomatoes I love that.

I guess the point I'm trying to make in regards to seeds in general is that it's great having a cultivated garden close to your house, but it's also a good idea to encourage edibles that grow without too much tending .

Encouraging a few different things like rhubarb or raspberries to grow on the area's of your property that are unattended is a good idea as well. You may not harvest them now but having them makes them a emergency food source.
In my mind it's a good idea to have a few patches of wild wheat or grains on your land springing up each year that you could foster if the SHTF.

If you locate and document Wild edibles in your area and encourage their growth on your land,you basically have a living seed bank you can utilize when times get tough.






[edit on 19-3-2009 by The Utopian Penguin]

The Survival Seed Bank is a good idea. I know everyone thinks it's so over-priced, but the truth is, you get a huge variety of viable, heirloom seeds--THAT WILL GROW! You can't get this many seeds in one compact container anywhere! Everyone says that companies that sell products like this are all about making money, but they're not. They're all about selling you seeds that will grow and will help you survive and feed your family when times are bad!

I love the Idea, and If I had the money i would buy it for sure.
My idea is to look around my area and find some fruit or vegies growing in friends places and pinch some seeds off them, like pumkins, mellons, grapes, and oranges, get as many as I can and grow a few and see how they go, if they florish store the rest, if they fail bin them.
case of trial and error really.
But awsome idea, didn't eaven think of stuff like that.

Are there any good sites or threads on how to properly save the seeds for future use?

I think the important thing is to get the heirloom seeds. If you try some of the new hybrids, they don't produce viable seeds. Often seeds will be good for two seasons, but if you want to have a seed bank, you need to practice growing things now. You can laways hold out the BEST ear of corn for seed or the BEST tomato for seed. (Don't you remember the Hopi who manages to bred dwarf corn by always eating the good ones a saving the worst for next year?)
I moved from OH to FL. That's a whole new gardening experience! Start things in Feb so they are about ready to put out now! My July and into August, way to hot for lots of stuff. That's why you should grow now and reserve seed year by year. Not only that, you can decided which seeds are the hardiest and which kind of melon or tomato you like the best. You can also experience different weather problems, diseases, and pests. What grows best in your soil and how to compost for soil impovement.
I believe in companion planting. There are a lot of books on it, for example if you plant tomatoes and marigolds, you have less bug problems.
If it's ever "do or die" you don't want the later choice.

Originally posted by CaptGhost
Are there any good sites or threads on how to properly save the seeds for future use?

howtosaveseeds.com...
www.seedsave.org...
www.primalseeds.org...
www.bgci.org...

It is totally true that you should start gardening now, not when you're put in the situation where it's, "grow your own food or starve." Obviously, heirloom seeds are the way to go, but even new strands of open-pollinated seeds are fine--as long as they came about naturally.

The seed banks that you can purchase online are good to have as "back-ups." I have The Survival Seed Bank. I bought it a few years ago, and decided to try and grow some of the seeds last Spring--just to see how they would do.

I planted the cucumbers, the carrots, and the peas, and am pleased to say, all of them grew, and grew well! The peas are already back again this Spring, the carrots are starting to sprout, and I'm fully confident the cucumbers will be back too.

Buying local heirloom seeds is definitely a great idea, but in my opinion, it doesn't hurt to be prepared for the worst. Start growing now, save your seeds, and I totally think having a back-up seed bank is also a good idea.

My wife and I have started a raised garden for the first time this year. We have planted tomatoes, okra, onions, cucumbers, jalepenos, and bell peppers. Soon we will be adding squash and zuccini to that list. Its a great idea to have a bulk supply of seeds on hand...I need to do that myself. I've read that heirloom is the way to go because they are not hybrids and will produce good seed. Also, I've read that many people find success in buying heirloom produce at the grocery store, then drying and sealing the seeds in a cool dry place. Supposedly, with a high success rate. I was at a website a few minutes ago, and people were talking about using their store bought packaged seeds that they purchased before Y2K. Apparently with a 75% success rate.

Hello,

Well after lurking for a good long while I'll just make my first ATS post by adding my tuppence worth. If you're in the UK there's a really good seed company here:

www.realseeds.co.uk...

They're really keen on you saving your own seed, have lots of handy guides (sowing guides, harvesting guides, seed saving guides etc.) and have lots of heritage varieties. Having ordered quite a bit of seed from them this year it seems really good stuff as I've got plenty of young plants growing.

As an example you can also see their splendid seed saving guide here:

www.realseeds.co.uk...

After all if you're going to make a seed bank then you really do want to start off with quailty seeds !

n.b. To get round the thoroughly ludicrous EU laws (which make it illegal to sell seeds to the public that are not on an approved list... which costs lots of money for your seed to be added to the list...) the first time you order from them you're charged 1p to join their seed club. That way they can legally sell their "unapproved" seed to you as you're a club member. This was the single best penny I have ever spent !

And you can read more about this lunacy in their terms and conditions here:

www.realseeds.co.uk...

I thoroughly recommend them.

Originally posted by SurvivalSeedBnk
Everyone says that companies that sell products like this are all about making money, but they're not.

Hmm...

Well $100 for the packaging is pretty damn steep. I mean it is a cool product, but its mainly for anyone who has no intention of growing much of anything unless SHTF.

You can get roughly the same sort of set of seeds from Granny Warriors for $50:
www.grannywarriors.com...

So I'd call the SSB a sort of Plan B as far as seeds go. Fine packaging!

I started off with the Granny Warriors last year and now I have roughly 350 different kinds of seeds!


Note: Those large bags are 1 gallon zip lock bags stuft full of smaller bags. This isn't even my full set... or volume of seeds. For instance, many of the beans I have in the bean bag are just small samples from 1-2pound bags of beans that I took out for the easy to pick thru set as pictured.

Seeds are all around us. Many we throw away while preparing food, or we eat them. For example, beans: You can buy 1+ pound bags of them for about a dollar. Going by planting seed company standards you get perhaps $200 worth of seeds for a buck or so.

So the best thing is to browse any sort of small or big ethnic markets for exotic foreign seeds. I look for seeds everywhere, even in the wild. I buy packs of seeds as well, and the best place to start for those are feed & farms stores. I'm lucky enough to have one near me that sells 1 ounce bags of say (heirloom) broccoli, for $1.75 (about 50x as much as you get from Home Depot brands).

So just keep looking all around as you make your travels. You can even get some heirlooms from the large grocery stores. I've probably found 18 different kinds of heirloom tomatoes at grocery stores in the past year. You get to eat the food and keep the seeds!

Or for peppers, you can obviously keep seeds from produce stands, but even better you can buy those bags of dried peppers typically found in the latino isle or store... and you get about 100,000 seeds for about a dollar (wear rubber gloves!)!!


mmmm... Peppers!

And in my experience, most of the screaming about NEEDING heirloom seeds is hype (sort of like organic produce). Some of my best producing pepper plants came from seeds that I kept from produce or the ethnic dried peppers! I'm up to about 65 different types of peppers seeds/plants so I might have some degree of say in this.

After a while you begin to run out of choice seeds supplies. Like at first you'll walk into some exotic ethnic groceries and be overwhelmed, but eventually you'll end up where you have most of the stuff you encounter... but stuff still turns up and you can always go pick thru the big seed pack displays at Lowes. You can even get heirloom seeds at Lowe's (but not the Home Debit's near me). Both Burpee and Ferry Morse have heirloom seed lines, and if you read the organic packs some are actually heirloom.

The key is dont try to build your seed bank all up front. Stretch it out over the year and in times of plenty go back for the things you had to pass up earlier.


Seed pack rolodex!

And last but not least, trawl thru gardening forums to find seed traders. I've traded with a cool guy that has literally over 6,500 different kinds of seeds.

[edit on 7-4-2010 by IgnoranceIsntBlisss]

Seems Africa has a good idea, maybe we need this for the US?
www.cnn.com...

A "farm-in-a-bag"....interesting concept, especially for novice growers

Hey CaptGhost,

That was a cool link, thanks.

I think a lot of times people are intimidated by growing their own fruits and veggies because they don't think they have the time or space. The reality is, you don't need that much space, and if you have fruitful, heirloom seeds, it's not that hard or time consuming either.

Many people living in the city have learned to container garden on their patios/balconies or windowsills. Even if you can't grow all of your fruits and vegetables yourself, you can at least get connected with others in your local community and trade.

The important thing is to at least know how to grow your own food, so that if you're ever faced with the necessity, you're not completely helpless.