Finally, A Word Or More About Seeds And Sets

This is the last installment of my gardening lessons learned (part 5/5) from the 2023 season. We start with some ways of buying veggies for the garden.

Rule number 1; do not buy your seeds and seedlings from any big box store. Go to a local nursery. Reason 1; often the BB stores keep their seed displays out in the sun and heat in the garden section of their store. Their germination rate is poor to non-existent, no kidding. The seeds that do sprout are rheumy and weak. Reason 2; Keep your business local. Independent nurseries buy better quality seeds and often they’re cheaper, believe it or not. The pots of seedlings are much superior to the big guy’s stores. Look at my short vid on the two tomatoes I grew. One was from a BB store and the other was from my fav. local nursery. They cost the same.

Second Word About Seeds, Really Finally!!

Let’s go back to the determinate/indeterminate business. You can harvest and save seeds from indeterminate seeds only. They will breed true. The determinate are hybrid or sometimes genetically modified seeds. They will not breed true. If you are going to go through the tedious process of gathering and saving seeds you don’t want disappointment the next planting season. I do gather and save seeds. It’s all part of my hobby fun. You have to love it to do it because it is truly a pain in the butt!!

Once you have gathered your seeds for storage, here’s what I have found to be the very best way to easily preserve them. First, I make smallish envelopes, write on the front the data I want, then, drop the seeds into the little pouch I created. I take all these little pouches of seeds and wrap them in saran wrap to keep the air out. Next, I drop this package into a Glad bag and store it in an unused corner of the fridge. I also save unused store bought seeds from last year in the bag. I write the date purchased. Seeds vary. Some will sprout for several additional years, some only last two seasons. It seems like I always get more than I need when purchasing seed packs. I don’t like waste. I also like saving money.

End Result Of Growing A Garden

Is it worth it? Nah, not unless you enjoy gardening like I do. You don’t save anything over shopping at the store except your sore back. Will I keep doing it? You betcha, I like gardening. It’s a great hobby and a positive lifestyle. And no, I don’t want to be a farmer!