Going Through Our Seeds - Getting Ready To Plant!
We are amped up to plant some seeds! This is what our day looked like today.
We pulled out the big box of seeds that we have been saving from the various farms and gardens we visited and volunteered for over the last 2 1/2 years, seeds saved from gardens past and seeds gifted to us along the way.
Getting Seeds Organized
It took a while to get our groove going but once we did, we had a good system. We separated seeds into 4 boxes:
- Seeds to start in flats the greenhouse
- Seeds to direct seed in the garden
- Seeds that we will not plant this year
- Extra seeds for a seed swap coming up
Then we organized seed packets by categories like carrots, broccoli, beans, etc in their own baggies so that we can grab one group at a time as we are ready to plant.
Combining Approaches
@idyllwild and I have very different training and experiences working & propagating gardens. Coming together with different ideas is sometimes challenging, but in the end it leads to a more dynamic and interesting approach to the garden that suits both our personalities.
Saving Seeds in 2018
It was good to go through everything and get organized. It also helped us to start developing our plans for saving seeds at the end of the year.
For onions we are going to take a similar approach as with the garlic. Grow a bunch of different varieties, find out next spring what stores the best under our conditions and then grow those out for seed.
We are still learning about saving seeds. For the most part we want to take a natural & shotgun approach to saving seeds. Starting with multiple varieties and let our favorite plants hybridize and cross pollinate. Each year we may introduce more genetics as we evolve our favorite personal varieties. We will also choose to grow some veggies and save seeds separately so that it is true.
As we learn more I am sure our approach will evolve. When we find a permanent location we may start over or take a totally different approach. If you have any insights we'd love your feedback!
How fun it is to see the potential for the year
Well it sure does feel good to have 3+ years of seeds finally have some semblance of organization.
Tomorrow we start planting!
i will like to participate in this i love something like this it make me feel good anytime i see or hear about it @sagescrub i like to know more about this
Thanks for sharing! Your table full of seeds makes me think of my shoebox in the shed that I gather my seeds in. ( Maybe not the best conditions) How long can you still use your seeds, do you know? Like how many years? I think some of my seeds might be 3 to 4 years old, is that still ok to plant?
Great question! I am still learning about seed longevity too. I've heard that you shouldn't keep seeds past their shelf life but I am a contrarian and I think until a seed proves me wrong I give it opportunity. But I'm also not going to count on a really old seed. As far as 3-4 years I think you are pretty good there unless they've had excessive heat or moisture for prolonged time.
But it can depend on types of seeds too.. some kinds last longer than others. I actually have a handy dandy chart in front of me. It seems like onions in particular are short shelf lived. I would think the timeframe listed in this chart is for fairly high germination... older you would still get some germination but it might be less.
My favorite thing to do with really old seeds (5-10 years+) is mix them together and sprinkle them around and see what nature does!
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Great, get ready for the season. I started end of January and posted this week an update after 4 weeks. My chili peppers are really in good shape right now. I am using a grow box with heating, ventilation, and light. This boosts plant growth. 😊
That sounds great! We would have started earlier except we just moved in ;) You're making me excited in anticipation of chili peppers.. just sowed out 8 different type of chili peppers today :)
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Great seed collection! I love seeing that so many people here on Steemit are seed crazy like I am LOL. =)
Yay for lots of seeds!!
Stores unrolled! But! Not all seeds seem to be as viable after 3 years already (while others come back to life after millenia?) This is what I noticed when I started up a mini seed bank from my own patch (literally) of garden. OR some varieties are no longer made to give good seed? Will be following your results closely! Happy sowing!
We have old seeds of our own and even older seeds that were gifted to us. We decided 2010-2012 was going to be our cutoff year depending on what the seeds were... some were much older though. Most of what we have are heirlooms and very few hybrids. Well we are taking age into consideration and sowing more thickly if the seeds are more than a few years old. And we are noting dates in our journal so we can see what works and what doesnt! I think some seed has the potential to last for ages if they are stored well, others not very long. I'm not scientifically informed in this regard so I would rather go out on a limb and see what happens! I don't have much to lose :)
i totally just did a little "SQUEEE SEEDS!" dance here in the chair. most of my life goals are there, right on that table!
have fun, y'all 😁
LOL! That's about the reaction we had too :) Its so meaningful and fun!
Ohh fun fun! Look at alllll those seeds!!! No monoculture for you two haha! <3 looking forward to the planting posts!!
I've been digging through the boxes of seeds. Somehow I feel I'm missing some lol. My first plan is going to basically be mixing groups of seeds and tossing caution to the wind. Lol. Planned choas. Will probably be my first year taking cuttings from some random things growing here. Anyway, you and @idyllwild look like you'll have a fun day planting. ( :
I hope you find your missing seeds! Oh no! Mixing seeds together and tossing them sounds fun :) It sounds like you have an exciting season ahead of you!
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Hi @ma1neevent! Thank you for recognizing my post and our work with the seed flats :) Yes I accept your curation for this post and any post I make in the future!
Seeds! Seeds!!Seeds!!! Natures cryptocurrency ~read that saying somewhere! Loved it 💖
Nice work you guys 💖 Happy Planting 🎉🌱
LOL how funny, I read it somewhere too :) Thank you @yogajill!