So... where do you ladies and fellers get your *non-GMO*, heirloom seeds?

[sirgonzo420]

Any ideas?

[Heimdhal]

chezsmokey.com

Just got a bunch of stuff from them and they threw in a few packs of various seed for free as an extra.

[Plastic]

rareseeds.com a.k.a. baker creek.

[milehi]

Peppers, chiles, and tomatos from

www.pepperjoe.com

[gunDriller]

hard red wheat seeds - from a health food store, $1 a pound.

apple seeds - from apples.

seeds that i can't get from food - from a farm supply store.

corn & pinto beans - from a farmer in Idaho, purchased as food, but they sprout. non-GMO, old-fashioned seeds.


also - i noticed that Walmart sells some seeds that are labelled 'organic'.

i don't know the exact details of seed labelling, but i have a hunch that "organic" doesn't necessarily mean heirloom.


if you can get it, Territorial Seeds has a big catalog, good for learning about seeds.

http://www.territorialseed.com/catalog_request

[Old Herb Lady]

what the hell is wrong with FrankenSeeds boy ?

just joshin' ya ! :p

heirloomseeds i think is a good one.

[mick silver]

you mean you guys an gals grow food . watch out the gov is watching

[joboo]

I buy direct from Monsanto.

deeee-licious!

[big country]

I ordered all of mine this year from:
http://www.bountifulgardens.org/

they specialize in bio-intensive growing techniques (as opposed to row gardening) and have a lot of good info on their site about that. Everything they sell is open-pollinated and untreated. Not everything is heirloom (meaning the variety has been cultivated for 50 years or more...) but I don't care about that. I only care about open pollination.

Also remember if you plant more then one variety of open pollinated seeds in the same area you're essentially creating your own "hybrids" if your intent is to keep the seed.

[ximmy]

This might be a stupid question but why can't we get seeds from the fruits & vegetables of last season from our own yards?

Where did Johnny Appleseed get his seeds?

[reststop]

This might be a stupid question but why can't we get seeds from the fruits & vegetables of last season from our own yards?

Where did Johnny Appleseed get his seeds?

Well the simple answer is that you may not get the same thing you got the seed from. If you grew a hybrid, alot of times it reverts to the parent that is not very edible. For example, the offspring of a hybrid tomato plant will be a cherry tomato that may or may not be very tasty. However heirloom seeds will produce true but often have little desease resistance.

rest

[gunDriller]

This might be a stupid question but why can't we get seeds from the fruits & vegetables of last season from our own yards?

Where did Johnny Appleseed get his seeds?


you can.

i've gotten seeds from tomatoes, green peppers, corn, Indian corn, potatoes (technically not a seed, just a part of a potato that sprouts). and a bunch others.

basically, it helps to dry them out before they get moldy.

some seeds also benefit from a little bit of frost. i don't know why. so i sometimes break a batch of seeds in 2 and put one of them in the freezer for 1 or 2 days. they need to be real dry for that part.


as far as Johnny - he grew up in the pre-Monsanto era, when seeds came from the food plants and they didn't put chemicals on some of them to keep them from sprouting.


one old-fashioned (and therefore time-proven) seeding arrangement is called the "3 sisters" - corn, beans, squash. somehow they complement each other in terms of root overlap, water use, shading, etc.

i'm using pumpkins for my squash plant this year.