seeds

[edd5322]

I have been reading this crops section and im new to all this gardening lark so please forgive the ignorance.I was getting the magazines from shops last year and at the same time saving the seed packs , now im wondering after reading these things if there still going to be ok to plant.

I read a few times that non heerloom seeds wont last longer than a year, is it worth me even trying these ones i kept or just throw them out?

All the seeds i kept are still in there packets untouched

 

[Joecole]

I have been reading this crops section and im new to all this gardening lark so please forgive the ignorance.I was getting the magazines from shops last year and at the same time saving the seed packs , now im wondering after reading these things if there still going to be ok to plant.

I read a few times that non heerloom seeds wont last longer than a year, is it worth me even trying these ones i kept or just throw them out?

All the seeds i kept are still in there packets untouched

If they are sealed in foil pouches inside the packets they should be fine Edd

 

[Erbswurst]

Depending on the species only a part of them are dying every year, so that round about after 3 years it starts to become ineffective. After 5 to 6 years usually it's game over with the whole package.


Only weeds are surviving far longer.
This is, why I prefere them over vegetables and flowers.
You can get them at garden-desaster.com.

 

[edd5322]

Cheers guys

 

[MikeR]

Any seeds kept in dry reasonable conditions will last a few years.
If you want to save your own seed you need to be buying non hybrid (non F1) varieties. There are many standard varieties to choose from, don't get too hung up about the heirloom thing, it just means that particular variety has been around a long time. We save a lot of our own seed.
Good luck with the garden.

 

[Joecole]

Any seeds kept in dry reasonable conditions will last a few years.
If you want to save your own seed you need to be buying non hybrid (non F1) varieties. There are many standard varieties to choose from, don't get too hung up about the heirloom thing, it just means that particular variety has been around a long time. We save a lot of our own seed.
Good luck with the garden.

Likewise another tip is to go to your local supermarket and buy 5 kilos of spuds then let them chit. You can then get as many as 5 or 6 chits from every potato. cut the potato up so that there is at least one chit on each piece. So for the price of a bag of spuds you can plant up a large garden

 

[edd5322]

im planning on being able to keep my own seeds eventually but got these free at the moment so not going to look gift horse in the mouth as they say.

Didnt think you could plant potatoes from the ones they sell in bulk in shops joe or is that a myth they like us to think?

 

[Joecole]

im planning on being able to keep my own seeds eventually but got these free at the moment so not going to look gift horse in the mouth as they say.

Didnt think you could plant potatoes from the ones they sell in bulk in shops joe or is that a myth they like us to think?

Its a myth Edd, if you keep shop bought potatoes for long enough they will start to sprout and if that happens they will grow

 

[MikeR]

Yep, what Joe said. It's a very cheap way of growing some of more select (read expensive) varieties from the supermarkets.

If this is your first attempt, just have a go with what you have and see what grows well in your area. I'm sure there are enough of us to give you a hand if you need it.

 

[edd5322]

Cheers joe,any you can recommend?

I got some from a pound store the other day they had very long sprouts on them( again thought i would give them a go, not scared to fail).But wondering if they will grow haha

Also seeding or sprouting not sure what correct term is for growing tomatoes from seed indoors in n propagator before i hope to put them out doors in small green house.If that doesnt work in next few weeks i will buy already sprouted from shop, but continue to try to sprout at home so i know where i went wrong.

 

[Joecole]

Cheers joe,any you can recommend?

I got some from a pound store the other day they had very long sprouts on them( again thought i would give them a go, not scared to fail).But wondering if they will grow haha

Also seeding or sprouting not sure what correct term is for growing tomatoes from seed indoors in n propagator before i hope to put them out doors in small green house.If that doesnt work in next few weeks i will buy already sprouted from shop, but continue to try to sprout at home so i know where i went wrong.

with reference to the tomatoes, get yourself some biodegradable 2 inch pots, or alternatively cut toilet roll tubes in half fill them with good seed compost and place in a shallow tray. put three tomato seeds spaced apart in each pot the gently push the seeds into the compost for about 8th inch. I used a plant label to do this. When the plants are about an inch or so high pull out the two weakest. All seedlings can be raised in this way on any warm window sill with plenty of light. However once the plant are growing its important to turn the tray 180 degrees daily because the growing plants will naturally lean towards the light

 

[edd5322]

cool found a use for toilet roll tubes then haha
I have planeted them in this way bud less the bio pots(will do next time).

Also starting a compost tea like someone mentioned as i have horses and chickens.
seems i am learning just as much of the shared site from bushcrafters as i did from preppers,glad i joined!

 

[Joecole]

cool found a use for toilet roll tubes then haha
I have planeted them in this way bud less the bio pots(will do next time).

Also starting a compost tea like someone mentioned as i have horses and chickens.
seems i am learning just as much of the shared site from bushcrafters as i did from preppers,glad i joined!

We're glad you joined as well mate, its always good to drink fresh blood oops I mean to have new blood

 

[Erbswurst]

If you want to grow tomatoes, you should collect onion skins in a mesh bag and keep them dry.

When your tomatoes (or potatoes) get the tomato - potato illness Phytophthora infestans, what happens if they become whet, you throw 5 hands full of onion skins in a bucket of cold water and pour this "tea" after 3 days with a watering can over the plants.

This is the only existing organic treatment against that very common illness.
Because you need a lot of onion skins, you should start to collect them now!

With potatoes you can do the same.

I also plant onions very tight around the tomatoes. That helps a bit too.

 

[Erbswurst]

Peppers?

The best you can do is to learn farming!

 

[edd5322]

At the moment my potatoes are in large buckets.
but i am planning on companion growing when i finish my raised beds.

 

[Joecole]

At the moment my potatoes are in large buckets.
but i am planning on companion growing when i finish my raised beds.

Ok companion growing, lets look at carrots, now they are a very small seed so why not mix a packet of radish seed with your carrots?? Radishes mature very quickly so you can pull them long before the carrots mature and also less thinning of the carrots. One think with carrots though is as you thin them you're releasing the smell of carrots into the air which in turn attracts carrot root fly which can quickly destroy a crop. The simple effective remedy is to plant your carrots between rows of marigolds

 

[Barbara]

Good for you Edd, we all had to start somewhere and although l have been growing veg for years l still know nothing! Some seeds have remarkable longevity as l discovered one year when l planted ALL my purple sprouting broccoli seed as it was about 5 years out of date. l ended up with 98 plants, even allowing for the ones the local fauna got. There are only 2 of us....

 

[Joecole]

Good for you Edd, we all had to start somewhere and although l have been growing veg for years l still know nothing! Some seeds have remarkable longevity as l discovered one year when l planted ALL my purple sprouting broccoli seed as it was about 5 years out of date. l ended up with 98 plants, even allowing for the ones the local fauna got. There are only 2 of us....

At the moment Barbara I have a personal vendetta against the pigeons that are destroying my greens. Mind you pigeon does taste good

 

[edd5322]

we have a lot of carion birds it seems here they have started staying awy from miy area now though as i get my air rifle out now and then and i think there scared of the cat and dogs too, but i will be keeping an eye on them