organic seeds

[OctopusPrime]

Thanks jansman.

I intend to start learning ASAP. I'm moving house in a few weeks, first house I've ever lived in with a garden... But I have been reading lots on gardening. I know it's a skill, and I will F it up at first but I feel I need to learn this.

And no I don't think a few seeds will save me and my family when the food runs out, but many seeds and some aquired knowledge will help. Right?

[OctopusPrime]

Just found a site that sells heirloom seeds very cheep.
Realseeds.co.uk

[jansman]

It is a great hobby. Start small, and keep it simple and you will succeed. Depending on the size of your garden, you could go for a 'wigwam' of runner beans, new spuds in pots, courgettes. These three items can be prolific, and so will encourage you. Good luck, and enjoy!

[redskies]

Real Seeds are fabulous - and they have a FB page too, as well as a lot of info on seed storage on their main site.

Good luck, persevere, and don't try to walk before you can run

[OctopusPrime]

Thanks guys

My daughter is looking forward to growing a garden too. Going to spend the winter getting it ready for planting

[grenfell]

Seeds have to grow. You cannot just store them.

My biblical knowledge is a bit sketchy but I seem to recall the story of a father that divided his grain between his two sons and asked them to look after it. One son stored it in a cellar and the other planted it. When the father returned the grain in the cellar had rotted but the grain that had been planted had grown and harvested into a much larger amount than the father had originally.

Getting back to the here and now, some seeds store better or worse than others and generally germination rates fall as time goes by. Parsnip seeds tend to suffer if they are old and this year I tried some runner beans that were probably over five years old and not a single one grew.

[preppingsu]

How long can seeds live

http://www.kew.org/science-conservation ... /index.htm

Ok, it's wiki but still interesting


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seedbank

[jansman]

Nothing wrong with storing seed at all. Some seeds have to grow every year, like parsnips which degenerate quickly. However Brassicas, stored properly can be 50% viable after ten years. Growing seed every year will ensure more fresh seed to store, the plants also adapt and evlove to your local conditions too. You also (if you are a new gardener) learn about gardening. Win-win!

[oldschool67]

most seeds store well rapped in brown papper bags kept in the bottom of the refrigerator, but your soil is the important one dig it over now leave it in clumps and sprinkle some lime on it to sweeten it, then just leave it till spring,always use crop rotation as this will help with pests. i like to grow some comfrey as this has many uses also natural plant food .bloodfish an bone is a very good fertilizer.have fun

[TwoDo]

most seeds store well rapped in brown papper bags kept in the bottom of the refrigerator

Not sure I agree that this is the best method as it does not address the moisture issue. Seeds prefer a constant temperature, cold preferably, but more than anything seeds like it dry. Reducing the moisture content does a lot more to assist the longevity of seeds than lowering the temperature. Worst place ever for storing seeds is in something like a greenhouse or garden shed as they have a massive daily cycling of the temperature through a large range and also high humidity. Best bet is to place the seeds in a mason jar along with a small bag indicator silica gel (cheaply obtainable on ebay) and store them somewhere cool. The silica gel will absorb a lot of the moisture in the jar, the mason jar will stop any new atmospheric moisture getting into the seeds and they will be pretty dry. At that point any reasonably constant cool temperature will dramatically extend their life.

If you can get the seeds down below 6% moisture content, you can store them below freezing and they will keep almost indefinitely (100 years or so for most). This is how the seed banks do it.