The snow drifts are just deepening around here. But spring will arrive eventually. Even here where I probably won't see the ground for 4-5 months yet. Though it's going to show up a lot sooner for almost all of you! Do you have the seeds you need for this year for whatever you are planning to grow? Tiny green things will soon be ready to start popping out of the ground for many of you. Even if you only have a deck, balcony, or window sill, you can still grow at least a little of your own food. Which I think is fun because watching plants grow and mature is fascinating. Plus it will tend to be much more nutritious than anything you can buy in a grocery store. Very often be less expensive. And you'll have food to enjoy without even needing a store to be stocked! But seed companies are selling out like crazy this year as so many more folks have decided that being in control of at least some portion of their food supply would be a good thing. Which I think is wonderful! Though it is making some seeds harder to find.
While I save all the seeds I can every year from plants I grow, many of the things in my garden barely have time to grow large enough to eat, and freeze long before they can make a mature seed that would germinate the next year. So I still buy some every year. Since as you know, I like to grow many colors and varieties of most veggies, I don't usually use a whole seed packet in a single year. Like I grow 10-14 kinds of lettuce, but given that, I don't need more than twenty plants or so of each kind. Even that gives me 200+ lettuces. And most seed packets come with far more than twenty seeds. Which is wonderful!
I know some people have issues with being able to keep seeds from year to year and get them to successfully germinate the second, third, fourth years and so on. The main enemies of a seed in storage are light, heat, and moisture. Avoiding exposing your seeds to those and you will find they store quite well. A trick I learned from my parents who have always stored their seeds this way is that keeping them in a freezer is excellent for avoiding all three of those dangers. I've always kept leftover seeds in the freezer and get 99-100% germination rates for at least 3-4 years out. Usually by then I have planted the whole pack so I think they would actually last longer. Once I did have some alfalfa seeds kept in the freezer for 19 years. I still got almost 70% germination from them. Not to mention that seeds kept in cool, dry, dark conditions like inside pyramids have been known to germinate several thousand years later. So don't toss your leftover seeds!
I know some people have issues with being able to keep seeds from year to year and get them to successfully germinate the second, third, fourth years and so on. The main enemies of a seed in storage are light, heat, and moisture. Avoiding exposing your seeds to those and you will find they store quite well. A trick I learned from my parents who have always stored their seeds this way is that keeping them in a freezer is excellent for avoiding all three of those dangers. I've always kept leftover seeds in the freezer and get 99-100% germination rates for at least 3-4 years out. Usually by then I have planted the whole pack so I think they would actually last longer. Once I did have some alfalfa seeds kept in the freezer for 19 years. I still got almost 70% germination from them. Not to mention that seeds kept in cool, dry, dark conditions like inside pyramids have been known to germinate several thousand years later. So don't toss your leftover seeds!
After years of storing my seeds like the above photos, with various varieties of a single veggie rubber-banded together and then stuffed in a box, where sometimes a packet would end up upside down or spill when the rubber band wore out, a couple years ago I spotted someone else using the system pictured below. A handy little carrier sold for organizing photos. I do not even recall who I first saw using this system as I have since seen it being used by a lot of folks. But it works really well. It's handy to have each thing like beets, carrots, peas, in all their varieties and colors sorted into their own little box. I keep those in alphabetical order inside the bigger carrier box. And I can grab just the one with what I am planing to plant that day, take it out to the garden, and they can't accidentally get wet. Well I wouldn't drop the whole thing underwater, but it does protect from any smaller spills or sprinkles of rain.
Anyway, I like it! And have found it to be handy for me for several years now. Find the one I have here - https://amzn.to/35pDWY5 if that sounds like something you would find useful too.
Back to actual seed ordering, I, like many gardeners, love looking through seed catalogues and dreaming about everything I would love to plant. Think I know I will be planting, and things that I know would never grow in my area but look so fun anyway. Aren't there so many pretty and fun varieties of foods to choose from when growing your own? Have you ever seen most of those colors of beans or carrots in your grocery for instance? And that's just one set of pages from one seed company for each of those things. There are many more!
Or fun things like Strawberry Spinach that I'd never heard of till reading about it in a seed catalogue. And it is very tasty and grows quite well for me. Every year I try to test out one new thing that looks interesting that I've never grown before. Some don't do well in my area, some I don't end up enjoying eating, and some end up being wonderful on both fronts and become part of my every year plans.
While I have no marketing relationship with any seed company, I don't hesitate to say that Baker Creek Seeds, https://www.rareseeds.com/ is my personal favorite. I've ordered 95% of all my seeds from them for years now and always been very happy with them. I like that they only carry heirloom seeds which is what I prefer to grow so that I can save my own seeds from as many plants as I can coax to maturity. So I don't have to pay attention to whether or not a variety I like is a hybrid or heirloom as I read along dreaming of new varieties to try. I have nothing against hybrids, but since they don't breed true, they are not what I choose so I do have a chance to save my own seeds.
Plus I value helping propagate and save many of the lesser known varieties of veggies from around the world. At least all the cold loving ones. One of my favorite things is that they work with plant breeders around the world to select and create new varieties that are more nutrient dense, rather than more uniform in appearance or easier to ship and set on shelves for a long period of time. Which is what most food plant propagation has focused on for years now. They also have some neat little videos on seed stories (find them here!) about where many of the unique strains were found and their history. I find this kind of stuff fascinating!
Plus I value helping propagate and save many of the lesser known varieties of veggies from around the world. At least all the cold loving ones. One of my favorite things is that they work with plant breeders around the world to select and create new varieties that are more nutrient dense, rather than more uniform in appearance or easier to ship and set on shelves for a long period of time. Which is what most food plant propagation has focused on for years now. They also have some neat little videos on seed stories (find them here!) about where many of the unique strains were found and their history. I find this kind of stuff fascinating!
However, like many companies right now, they have been selling out of some things quite fast this year. And even having to pause ordering for a few days at a time just so they can catch up with filling and mailing orders and know what they have left in stock. So here are some other good options I am aware of. It's often helpful to find a seed company based in a climate similar to the one you are growing in as they will often carry more varieties that will thrive in your area. There are so many great companies to choose from! If you have a favorite seed store that's not on this list, please let me know in the comments and I would love to add it so others can find it too!
https://whiteharvestseed.com/
Soon enough I will have lots of little leaves popping up like this shot from last spring. Best wishes with being able to get all the seeds you need and happy garden planning and planting, large or small!
Cool.
ReplyDeleteGreat article! Glad to see Kitazawa on your list! I also would add Sow True Seed.
ReplyDeleteHi Ariel thankyou for sharing ,great post xxx
ReplyDeleteAriel, first, I love reading your articles. I have a small house but it is attached to my daughter's house (I'm 73 and they worry about me). But I do have a wonderful garden. It is my place of peace. We are on ten acres in eastern Kansas. I was wondering what book that is that talks about all the plants and you show in this article. I would love to have that one. And thanks again. Linda
ReplyDeleteThank you!🪴🥬🥗
ReplyDeleteI buy from seed treasures mostly. They are a small homestead seed saving family in Minnesota, Jackie Clay. Excellent seed. Also seed treasures.
ReplyDeleteSince I‘m a newbie at gardening and only have a balcony (with lots of afternoon sun), I wonder how I can best try to plant some veggies this Spring? Do I need a long raised bed? Or would you start with several diff. pots? My balcony isn‘t that big, approx 3 meters long by 1.5 wide. I could maybe hang some boxes over the railing, but I‘m thinkin one narrow, long (maybe kneehigh) bed would be best. Then I could also make a cover for it, if necessary. What do you think Ariel? I know there’s prob so many possibilities. That sure would make for a cool tutorial video-series on setting up your own little „veggie-garden“ on a balcony. Maybe you have friends nearby who also would like to pimp their balcony so to speak, almost like Fixer-Upper, but yours could be called „Food at your Fingertips“ . . . just an idea ☺️
ReplyDeleteAriel, the place I like to get seeds is Pinetree Garden Seeds at superseeds.com. They are one of the most inexpensive companies to buy seeds. You can get most packets for $1.95!
ReplyDeleteOH man! We are gardening sisters! I have that same catalog. I am on the waitlist for Cosmic Crimson
ReplyDeletelettuce mix. I love all those colors. I'm going to beef up my herb garden this year. I've ordered the usual stuff, but like you I like to get new things. From Johnnys Selected Seeds I have ordered an herb called Papalo which is supposed to taste of cilantro, mint and citrus. It's from South America. From an Etsy grower I have ordered Minutina. It's Italian. I read about it in an old cookbook and wanted to try. I always thinks these things come from hardships, people have crop failures so they forage the countryside for tasty things. I always wonder, is this how people started eating snails, artichokes and oysters? LOL.
I will be trying your seed storage solution, I just graduated from rubber bands to an index box made out of leftover cardboard.
ReplyDeleteI will be trying your seed storage solution, I just graduated from rubber bands to an index box made out of leftover cardboard.
ReplyDeleteIf you have a Michael’s strore nearby (or you could order online), they have the same organizer which often goes on sale for half that price, or less. I got mine for $12.95.
DeleteAriel a huge THANK YOU for compiling the exhaustive list of garden companies. I am in heaven going thru it.
ReplyDeleteI requested a catalog from Baker Creek some time ago but have yet to receive one. How long ago did yours arrive?
ReplyDeleteBaker Creek has just reopened their website due partly due to the coronavirus and they cannot keep up with processing orders, packaging, etc. Your catalog will probably be late. Some things I wanted to order from them are not yet available.
DeleteI personally don't have a garden, but I look forward to seeing you working in and showing us all of the vegetables that you will have coming from your excellent garden, this Spring. You won't go hungry with your knowledge of gardening, canning and great cooking. Thanks Ariel & Burley
ReplyDeleteLike always enjoying your blogg. Realized you are perserving your seeds like in the international seedbank in Norway. Cool . Learned something again today. I hope to plant by next year since my garden still looks like a construction side
ReplyDeleteYou should try the Long Season (Lutz) beet. They get huge and still taste very good. They are tender to eat and not as firm as the regular beets. Your teeth glide thru the beet for an enjoyable journey.
ReplyDeleteHi Ariel and Burley and Happy New Year to both of ye,that Spring smile of yours brings a bit of cheer, that time of year when we begin to look forward to the coming year and where better place to start than thumbing through the pages of a seed catalogue. Have to tell you I am the original stick in the mud when it comes to choosing seed variety I always stay with the same assortment, year after year, am the sort of geezer who thinks a carrot should always be red and a beetroot purple. I like all the old ones that seldom let me down and i stay with them , am the sort who think old friends are best til they prove me wrong. Enjoyed your post on broken money, always try and keep mine in one piece and I do like having gold coins .My Mother left me a case of gold British sovereigns and I managed to add quite a few to the collection, am also interested in old European silver and gold coins and I got a nice collection, great historical interest.I think any one who can afford a few in small denominations is not a bad place to invest a few bucks, though a piece of land is a wise investment, no one makes the the stuff any more either. Cheers from Ireland.
ReplyDeleteI can personally vouch for MIGardener seeds, I usually buy a bunch from them every year. Luke has a great YouTube channel, too, and being that he lives pretty close to me, we have similar climates and can grow similar things. I think his channel is actually how I discovered yours several years ago.
ReplyDeleteI just moved to a new property and have about 4x the yard I did before, so I'm trying to plan out what my garden is going to look like this year. Unfortunately I wasn't able to get my garlic in the ground in time since I moved during the fall, but I think I have enough to last me for another year at least.
Thanks Ariel for the information,your gardens are amazing!!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to add www.adaptiveseeds.com, in Oregon. Heirloom seeds for the short PNW growing season.
ReplyDeleteEn iyi tiny house https://trainertinyhouse.com
ReplyDeletewoow! amazing! thanks for the information. I also planning to make my own tiny garden. Can't wait to see it happen. Thank!
ReplyDeleteI used a couple of garden companies last year and Im adding 2 more companies from the list this year thank you .
ReplyDeleteI am already done it and find that this post is really amazing.
ReplyDeleteSanta Claus Coat Tim Allen
When ordering seeds, make sure to read the product descriptions carefully and choose seeds that are certified organic and non-GMO. Ordering from a reputable company ensures that you receive quality seeds that will produce healthy plants. Lastly, keep in mind that some plants require specific planting and growing conditions, so make sure to follow the instructions on the seed packet carefully. Happy gardening!
ReplyDeleteIf you need help selecting the right seeds for your tiny house garden, coupon followers, a company specializing in organic and non-GMO seeds, can assist you. Our team of experts can help you choose the best seeds for your specific needs and provide you with all the information you need to grow healthy plants.
Hello would you m 먹튀지키미 먹튀검증업체
ReplyDelete