Gardening season is officially over in our neck of the woods with several inches of snow now on the ground. But I am already preparing for next spring. This year I decided to use heirloom seeds instead of the typical hybrid seeds you see at all the big box stores. I had to order them online and found a company that I really like - www.mypatriotsupply.com They have a great variety of seeds along with planting and seed saving instructions.
The beauty of heirloom seeds besides being non-GMO is that you can save the seeds and replant year after year and can expect the same plant. In contrast, hybrid seeds will not produce the same plant if seeds are saved and replanted. Hybrid seeds can also be sterile and may not produce any plant at all. Hybrid seeds may or may not be genetically modified. For a quick overview of the difference between Heirloom and Hybrid seeds check out this short article: http://www.libertyseedcompany.com/blog/heirloom-seeds-vs-hybrid-seeds
This year I planted spinach, lettuce, carrots, tomatoes, peas, and beans. I decided to save the seeds of my peas and green beans since that seemed like it was the least complicated process. The directions on the website said to simply earmark a couple of the plants and let the peas or beans grow and stay on the plant until the are completely dried up and the beans/peas rattle inside the pod. Easy enough.
The hardest part of the whole process was not picking those beautiful green beans! As soon as they were dry, and I could hear the seeds shaking in the pod, I picked them. I saved about 10 green bean pods and have about 80 seeds for next spring. I saved around 25 pea pods and have at least 100 seeds for next year. Since I won't need nearly that many, I kept what I would use next year, some for a reserve, and shared several with fellow gardeners.
Seed saving has been a fun experiment and I am looking forward to planting my saved seeds next spring! I know the process is a little bit more extensive, but next year I am going to learn how to save seeds for my spinach and lettuce. I am also going to increase my garden by adding several herbs, blueberries, peppers and potatoes. If you like to garden, I encourage you to try heirloom seeds and seed saving.
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