Caveman Survival
06-24-2014, 02:06 PM
This year I planted a nice mix of produce. I lost all of my indoor starts to my cats, 75 heirloom varieties, all of them started off strong. Needless to say I was a little sour. But that's how it goes sometimes I guess.
I ended up seeding straight into raised beds.... Half from saved seeds from previous harvests, and the other half from store bought 'heirloom' seeds. My saved seeds all came up fine and are getting really strong. My heirlooms are abysmal. Less than a 50% germination rate and those that did sprout are ugly duckling runts. I figured into my garden plan a certain amount of losses due to purchasing less than stellar seeds, this was more of an experiment year than anything else. But I didn't expect such a weak output.
I know that everyone has their own heirloom varieties and suppliers. The intent of this post isn't to poll what sources are everyone's favourite suppliers. It's purpose was more to shed light to those new to gardening as a viable food source, or even as a shtf plan, that just cuz it says heirloom, doesn't mean that it's going to feed you or your family.
Buying those bulk seed purchases are great for long term... But the art of seed saving will be invaluable for the longer term.
I ended up seeding straight into raised beds.... Half from saved seeds from previous harvests, and the other half from store bought 'heirloom' seeds. My saved seeds all came up fine and are getting really strong. My heirlooms are abysmal. Less than a 50% germination rate and those that did sprout are ugly duckling runts. I figured into my garden plan a certain amount of losses due to purchasing less than stellar seeds, this was more of an experiment year than anything else. But I didn't expect such a weak output.
I know that everyone has their own heirloom varieties and suppliers. The intent of this post isn't to poll what sources are everyone's favourite suppliers. It's purpose was more to shed light to those new to gardening as a viable food source, or even as a shtf plan, that just cuz it says heirloom, doesn't mean that it's going to feed you or your family.
Buying those bulk seed purchases are great for long term... But the art of seed saving will be invaluable for the longer term.