Seed shortages could imperil home gardens
 

here's why gardeners should keep good seeds stockpiled.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35184731...-consumer_news

Re: Seed shortages could imperil home gardens
 

Thanks a ton for the link. I've passed it along.

Re: Seed shortages could imperil home gardens
 

hah, ironically the "straight 8 cucumber" mentioned on page 2 is probably one of the seeds I saved most last year. sweet, maybe ill have some valuable seeds to barter...

Re: Seed shortages could imperil home gardens
 

yellow corn
brussel sprouts
wheat
Indian corn
tomatoes

... off the top of my head, these are the plants i've used home-made seeds for last year's garden & this year's garden.

the yellow corn was from 3 ears of corn that a neighbor left on the ground in his plot when he harvested.

the brussel sprouts was from a plant that started in 2008. it got flowers and made its own seed. it provided loads of (edible) leaves, but not much in the way of brussel sprouts.

for the wheat, i grew a small crop using seeds i bought at a garden supply (1/4 pound for $3). then made seeds from that, which i planted in 2009. someone stole that crop, but at least i learned how to make seeds.

the health food store has sproutable wheat for $1.09.

the Indian corn does make seeds which do grow new plants BUT i don't have a mill to make flour and they are very hard kernels, they don't soften when you boil them. i.e. they're basically in-edible without a mill.

the tomatoes were from 3 or 4 tomatoes i was given from another friend's garden. i squished all the insides out & let it dry (from the 2008 crop), those were my seeds in 2008 and i just planted some more for 2010.

the one thing i'm doing different this year - planting Feb. 1 - as in yesterday. spring seems to come 3 weeks early = March 1.

so if i want plants ready to go into the ground by March 1 - March 15 ...

for potatoes i picked about 75 seed potatoes out of last year's potatoes and also from the potato bag in the kitchen. i throw them in the fridge and they grow really slowly.

anyway, i guess to some degree food seeds is sort of a "learn by doing" thing. it's not that difficult (unless you store your seed stash in a garage with a hungry highly motivated squirrel running around :banghead: )

Re: Seed shortages could imperil home gardens
 

Our local walmart had plenty of seeds last weekend.
We got carrots and a few kinds of lettuce and garlic so far.

But maybe we should stock up on the other stuff just in case.:ok:

Re: Seed shortages could imperil home gardens
 

But are those heirloom seeds? I have a hard time wrapping my brain around the idea that Walmart would sell heirloom seeds, since after the first generation of plants you wouldn't need to buy more seeds from Walmart.

Re: Seed shortages could imperil home gardens
 

Stay away from GMO seeds. Gravitate towards heirloom, but keep in mind that if and when tstf having the reliable expected output from hybrid strains for the first couple of crops can not be overlooked.

Re: Seed shortages could imperil home gardens
 

Normally this far North we don't plant until the May long weekend. I planted early June and had three attempts at growing squash, each time they froze. Nothing came up for me but peas and dill. I was given a blue squash which I saved all the seed from, but I'm not holding my breath the frost will hold off long enough to produce anything. AGW my a$$.

http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:T...2520Squash.jpg

Re: Seed shortages could imperil home gardens
 

Yes some are. Walmart does sell heirloom seeds.