Too many seeds!
I have way too many seeds!
My 'seed management' has been very lax over the past few (10?) years.
Rather than being organised and planned I have bought on impulse and fancy.
I have overbought, underused, got inappropriate seeds, and let many of them get too old.
This year I am trying to be organised.
I have divided all the seeds in to four boxes :
Roots - beetroot, carrots, onions, parsnip, swede, turnip...
Leaf vegetables - broccoli, brussels, cabbage, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, salad leaves...
Legumes - broad beans, dwarf beans, runner beans, peas...
Everything else - herbs, flowers, cucumbers, squash, tomotoes, fruit, exotics...
This year I am going to sow all these seeds to make a clean start next year.
Some are very old (even 10+ years) and probably won't germinate, but I think it was @bobydimitrov who gave me the tip of soaking old seeds in warm water prior to sowing. I will try that.
I may of course end up with too many plants but I have a lot of space. I have the polytunnel, two greenhouses and several new raised beds that I didn't have last year.
Any plants I can't fit in I will give away to friends.
I have made a start with the tomatoes. Two packets (one old, one new) have been sown in the past few days.
Going forward my grand plan is to save as much of my own seed as possible. I began last year with peas.
To this end I will eliminate any F1 hybrids in future seed purchases.
I will also be concentrating any seed purchases I do make primarily on :
The Real Seed Catalogue in Wales
Seedaholic in Ireland
Both these companies offer excellent personal service with high quality, often organic, seed.
By the end of this year I am hoping to have my seed stocks under control and up to date.
Aside from seeds for regular use I have wondered about getting in stock some of the Heirloom Survival Seeds packs that are popular with preppers in the US. These packs appear to be common in the US but rare and very expensive in the UK.
I guess I could just make my own...
You might also be interested in some of my other posts :
MSP - My Life in 8 Songs - Thursday 12 April - with guests @jackmiller, @jonny-clearwater, @reko
Time to plant potatoes
My Life in 8 Songs - a chance to promote your organisation or project
The Newt and the Chicken House - How did the newt get in the bowl?
SteemRadio - schedule of all the steemit radio shows - week beginning 9 April 2018
My Life in 8 Songs [Thursday 5 April 2018] - @starkerz - interview & 8 songs
My Life in 8 Songs [Thursday 5 April 2018] - @allasyummyfood - interview & 8 songs
My Life in 8 Songs [Thursday 5 April 2018] - @anarcotech - interview & 8 songs
My Witnesses - time for a clearout & rebirth
The Steemit Name Challenge - @pennsif
Five Ways to Fix the Witness System
[ photos by pennsif ]
Thems a whooole lotta seeds alright, lol. I thought I was bad. :D
I watched a YT video series from the MIGardener following his attempts to germinate & grow 87 year old seeds he'd bought (cause they were heirloom, and even extinct).
One thing he gleaned from experts was using sugar-water to soak the seeds in for a while (hours, not days I think) because that gave a boost of energy.
I remember seeing the MI Gardener video when he started that project, but then I got distracted by steemit.
What happened in the end? Did those old seeds grow?
In the end he got one tomato seed to successfully germinate and grow into a highly productive plant - from which he was going to use to collect more seeds from. It was wonderful because he brought back an extinct variety.
That will be interesting to see how that develops.
When I planted a bunch of seeds, I knew some were very old and the odds were against them germinating, but I figured, what the heck, worth a try! I figure it will balance out. :) I too am trying to get my seeds used up and organized, though on a much smaller scale! 😆
Yes I am going for the same. Just plant them and see what comes up.
If nothing grows, I'll try the next packet.
Should make for an interesting growing year.
Good crop resulted in good seed
Many kinds of seeds, You have.
Too many seeds is not a bad thing. Are you starting them in trays or straight in the ground?
Damn dude! That’s a lot of seeds!
...my account was hacked last night and the bot created a phishing site link here in the comments from my account ... the link is now removed... Today I got my account back.. sorry about that :( :( :( thanks.