Seed Swap!

[mlongworth]

These two are my favs baker creek and bountiful gardens. Also territorial and seed savers. All have heirloom and op. Tree of antiquity carries a lot of different fruit.

 

[lazy gardener]

thank you. I am new to gardening and need people like you guys to help. What company do you purchase from that doesn't stock MONSANTO seeds? I would also like to purchase from them! I will look for the F1 in the future.

Fedco seeds: a small Maine company. You'll find their catalog a good read. They have a lot of nice varieties. I'm not sure how these varieties compare to companies who cater more to southern climates. What planting zone are you in? I'm in zone 4. They do sell throughout the country, so I'm guessing that you'd do fine with them. Their prices are very reasonable with variety of seed pack sizes available. And, I have no affiliation with them, other than liking their seeds, policies and pricing. They also sell trees, tubers, and bulbs. Again, I encourage you to start saving some of your own seed. You just need to learn some basic techniques, and if you make a mistake, you have not really lost anything. The easiest seeds to work with IMO are lettuce, dill, parsley, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash family, and any flowers that produce larger seeds. When I see some nice petunias growing in a window box, or any other flower for that matter, I'm not too proud to pinch off a few seed heads... after all it makes them flower better! From mid summer on, I usually have a few seeds of one variety or an other drying in my pockets or on my window sills.

 

[newbie32]

Fedco seeds: a small Maine company. You'll find their catalog a good read. They have a lot of nice varieties. I'm not sure how these varieties compare to companies who cater more to southern climates. What planting zone are you in? I'm in zone 4. They do sell throughout the country, so I'm guessing that you'd do fine with them. Their prices are very reasonable with variety of seed pack sizes available. And, I have no affiliation with them, other than liking their seeds, policies and pricing. They also sell trees, tubers, and bulbs. Again, I encourage you to start saving some of your own seed. You just need to learn some basic techniques, and if you make a mistake, you have not really lost anything. The easiest seeds to work with IMO are lettuce, dill, parsley, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, squash family, and any flowers that produce larger seeds. When I see some nice petunias growing in a window box, or any other flower for that matter, I'm not too proud to pinch off a few seed heads... after all it makes them flower better! From mid summer on, I usually have a few seeds of one variety or an other drying in my pockets or on my window sills.

I am zone 9b. I do plan to save seeds which is why I had insisted on heirloom because I know you can save the seeds from them. But I was just told that open pollinating are basically the same thing. I think? I plan to keep my seeds in a shoe box in my closet. I have also heard-many times-that people keep them in old coffee cans but since I don't drink it, I don't have them!

These two are my favs baker creek and bountiful gardens. Also territorial and seed savers. All have heirloom and op. Tree of antiquity carries a lot of different fruit.

oh I know both the bakers creek and bountiful gardens! I just was not aware of their Monsanto policy. YAY!!

 

[lazy gardener]

I have a policy in my house. The silicone gel beads that come in pill bottles NEVER get thrown away. I have a pile of them saved up. when ever I pack up an envelope of seeds, I throw a couple of those dessicant packs in to help seeds stay dry.

 

[SunnySkies]

Heirloom, from what I understand, more refers to the time origin of the seeds, while open pollinated means the plant will breed on.

Heirlooms are often the plants our grandparents grew, or what they grew in Thomas Jefferson's garden, stuff like that and are all OP. I prefer heirlooms, as I think they taste better...but...and this is something to note with all OP plants, whether modern or heirloom....some will cross pollinate or hybridize. Like if you grow a couple types of OP squash, they can and might be crossbred. Or corn...and corn is a problem as it can be wind pollinated from corn miles away. So your Golden Bantam corn can be crossed on accident with Monsanto stuff. But crossbreeding does often lead to plants that thrive in your particular gardening situation. A very good book about this kind of stuff is the one the Baker Creek people wrote. It's very basic, but it helps you decide if you should save seed from your Swiss chard or beets, for instance, depending on what else was around you. Then there are some other books to go through in depth about seed saving.

I buy seeds from Baker's Creek, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange, Seed Savers Exchange, Annie's Heirloom Seeds. I might get a few things that I know are hybrids from Johnny's, just because they sound great and could improve production of some crops (I have a 10k foot garden).

I don't save seeds feom my garden because I like growing new stuff every year, lol, and I know a lot of it hybridizes...like 5 kinds of melons will cross breed. But I keep my extra seeds in ziplocks with silica gel beads in the freezer. Some store well, others will not (like onions). But I did save seeds from the tomatoes I loved this year because they were extraordinary in flavor and appearance. Just let it come to room temp before busting open the bag.

 

[KentuckyMom]

Exactly what do you mean by heirloom?  This following statement is NOT directed at you!   I'm
beginning to think that word is highly
overused.  IMO, if it is an open pollinated
variety, if it has characteristics that I like, if it
grows well in my garden and does not seem
to be disease or insect susceptible, I will
save
the seed.  I'm fairly confident that the seed
will breed true, in spite of the warnings that
you must isolate crops by a ridiculous
distance... how far can a honey bee fly
anyway!...   IF that OP variety is the only one
I am growing, I let the bees do their thing.  IF
I'm growing an other variety that will cross
pollinate, I will hand pollinate, but, I have yet
to have the need to do that.  That being said,
Suyo Long is an excellent, non bitter, white
spine, long (growing > 12" while maintaining
good quality and small seeds) well growing
cucumber that needs to be trellised.  I
believe
it originated in Japan.  The only fault it has is
that the fruit will curl if they are not trellised. 
If water and fertility needs are not met, they
may have a narrow neck and put all of their
energy into the portion of the fruit that will
produce next years seed, as will every other
variety of cuke.  I love to experiment with
new
varieties, and in 37 years of gardening, I
have yet to find a cucumber that I like better.

So, yes I have seed.  If any one wants some, I'd love to share, first come, first served.   PM me, I'll give an address, and you can send
me a SASE.  I think it's important for
gardeners to share seeds and perpetuate
varieties that work well.  Some seed
companies like to shake things up and
eliminate the older varieties in favor of the
new and improved, which more often than
not is a hybrid!

Newbie:  Yes you can plant seeds from
your bird seed.  And no, they are not "heirloom" but they will grow and produce
more BOSS.  I'm now sprouting about 2 cups
at a time for my chickens.  By sprouting the
seed, you actually end up with a product that
has more nutrition than the original seed, just
by adding water.  Add a bit of sun the last
day before feeding them to your birds, and
the chlorophyll will green them up, boosting
the nutrition even more.

I will PM you and send a SASE if you still have the cucumber seeds available! I just discovered that cucumber trellised last year , but discovered it too late in the season! Thank you also for the BOSS idea!

 

[spencerpearson]

I have tobacco seeds of different kinds. And some other garden seeds from peppers to corn does any one need anything... I always have some left over and save from the yr before out my garden

 

[newbie32]

I have tobacco seeds of different kinds. And some other garden seeds from peppers to corn does any one need anything... I always have some left over and save from the yr before out my garden

HMMM tobacco seeds sound interesting. Do you grow them in close proximity to other plants?

 

[spencerpearson]

No..lol there just tobacco. they do good around any plant.