Seed saving and buying

[Mr Yan]

So when I clicked over here today the main ad at the top of the page was for a Mega-Seed survival pack. I clicked on it to see what this one was about. I have a system of saving seeds and rotating my stash. This raised a question for me though has anyone here bought one of these survival packs? Or even know someone that has bought a pack?

I save the easy seeds for me - tomatoes, peppers, squash, garlic, and beans. Usually I will buy a few packs of seeds each year to try new varieties or if possible trade seedlings with friends.

Here's my system of storing seeds. Each seed pack is opened (so I can use some) and placed in a zip seal baggie. All of these little bags get placed in a gallon size freezer zip seal bag and placed in the back of my fridge. This is not too elaborate of a system but more work than just putting seeds on a shelf. It seems to work for me as I have tomato and basil seeds from the 2006 season that still germinated well for this season.


Does anyone else save seeds year to year? What do you save and how do you store them?

[nofeargardener]

I go the simple route too. I've save squash, bell peppers (various colors), and green bush bean seeds. I keep them sealed up in an envelope and keep them down in the basement pantry. It is cool and dry down there. Seems to work for me.

I've not purchased one of those seed survival buckets. I think they're a great idea, but as I looked at what was in them, I personally wasn't interested in some of the seeds in there. My veggie garden is a simple one. I have limited space, so I try to stick to what I know will produce well in my particular area.

[klevelyn]

I started saving seed from last season 2011. I have done the same. Put them in a zip lock bag in the fridge. I am glad to see I have done it right. I haven't started planting yet. I will start my seeds in a month.

I only thing I can see about the seed survival kit is that you don't have a choice of the seeds you get. I know if you store your seeds in a cool dark place they will last 3 to 5 years depending on the seed variety.

[Jeremy31]

Putting the seeds in the fridge? I've never heard that before. I'm new to gardening so will definitely keep that tip handy! Glad I joined this site!

[wiseolegoat1]

I don't have much fridge space. But I did put an arbor in my garden last winter and have seeds stored in canning jars. I used to just save the opened packets in a plastic bag, but my neighbor to the back of me got overzealous about watering and got everything on my side of the fence wet; including all my saved seeds. The plastic did let some water in and would not let it dry out again...making my seeds moldy and total loss.
This year I sealed everything in canning jars so they will hold the water out and keep the seeds dry till ready to plant them, I also like to use babyfood jars, with a strip of papertowel in it with what the seeds are written on it. I can read it through the jar and everything is organized and safe this way.
I had bought black cherry tomatoes from the store....they were heirloom tomatoes, and I cut one open, scraped the seeds out onto a papertowel and let them dry there all spread out. After a couple of days I cut the papertowel up and put the little peices with the seed still stuck to it in a babyfood jar. I planted the seed along with the bit of towel stuck to it in peat pots, watered well and they came up just fine, just transplanted them into the ground yesterday, but they are still pretty small. Hope they produce!

[PABackyardGrower]

With more seeds on the market being GMO's I tend to save more and more seeds with every season.

I try to save as many seeds as possible in my garden and use mylar bags to store them in, then use a Dymo label printer to label the bags after sealing them. Some I have for long term storage and put in an O2 pack in those bags. Store the long term storage seeds in my deep freezer (freezer chest) and the yearly seeds I store in my normal kitchen freezer.

Have a very successful germination rate as well!