this brought a smile to my face re seed saving

[PreppingPingu]

I have been planning my growing schedule and trying to be more organised this year so hopefully be more productive. I use the Real Seeds website and sometimes order from them. Looking through the leftover seeds from last season, I went on their website to see how long they thought certain veg seeds stayed viable for, when half way down the page this paragraph appeared:

"Please, don't try to buy a survival-stash of seed for the zombie apocalypse !
The other thing that we continue to see year after year is people who come to us worried about social breakdown and who want to buy large amounts of seed to store 'for an emergency'. But this really doesn't make sense! Yes, we know there are lots of websites out there selling 'survival seed packs' but to be honest, they are just preying on people's fears, and its really not a good use of your money at all.
Firstly, seeds are best sown fresh. Even stored in a fridge or freezer, the germination percentage and vigour will reduce over time, often quite quickly.
More importantly, suppose you do find you're in a nightmare situation where you suddenly need to grow your own food - it will be too late to start learning then! Even as an experienced gardener it can take several years to clear a new plot and make it properly productive.
And its not just learning to grow the food, you'll need to learn to save the seed, and store the veg overwinter. All take several years experience. So if tempted by one of these 'survival packs', just picture yourself hungry, standing there in front of your powerless defrosting freezer , with your now-out-of-date seeds in your hand. How exactly does that help you?
So, our view is this: Yes, we are living through the biggest theft in history - as the richest 1% of society turn gambling losses of private banks into public debt to be repaid by the rest of us, the taxpayers. Yes, it is outrageously unfair that our schools and hospitals are closed and privatised so that more money can be given to the bankers. And yes, coupled with climate change and peak oil, the current food supply and economic situation is pretty precarious. So, yes, we agree that it might well be wise to be a bit concerned at this point.
But if you are worried about the future, just stashing seeds away really won't help you. The best thing to do is to start your garden now, while you have spare time and money - and start learning now to grow veg well on your plot, maybe try to learn about storing it without electricity overwinter, and - even better - learn how to save your own seeds for future years. Perhaps your new skills won't ever be needed, but even so, you'll have had fun learning, and not lost anything.
The alternative, of just buying a pouch of seeds and bunging them in the freezer, is of course much easier, but will actually achieve nothing, other than enriching some doom-mongering seed seller somewhere. "

It brought a rather large grin to my face!

[Nurseandy]

Excellent. Sound, practical advice and total absence of profiteering. Thanks for sharing.

[Arzosah]

That's brilliant! I always liked them, but now I love them Thanks for posting, Pingu.

[Raven]

Sage advice really.

I think sometimes prepping for the unknown, and not knowing exactly what circumstance you will face can feel overwhelming and if growing your own isn’t your usual area of interest you can underestimate how much work, knowledge, weather dependancy and luck is involved in the whole process, and thats before the zombies attack (there is also a sub-species currently in existence known as financially draining experts lol)

I’ve been searching for decent seeds for awhile now so I will check them out. Thanks.

[jansman]

They are can excellent company, but they ain’t Amazon. They deliver when they feel like it. They will tell you. My kind of traders.

[grenfell]

I'm not religious but of course had to have RE at school many years ago. One parable that sticks in my mind tells of a father who has two sons and gives each half of his grain to look after while he goes away. One son puts the grain in the cellar and the other plants it. When the father returns one son has a field full of corn (?) while the other has a cellar full of mould. Perhaps someone who knows the bible better than i will know the story.
On the subject of old seeds i was looking at a few old packets last night. I'm loathe to throw them out if i'm honest , although i did chuck a couple of packets of coriander largely because i don't like the stuff. I did try a few out old seeds last year. The old spring onions for example germinated really well , the tomatos a bit less.

[Raven]

If you store them correctly then can last longer, (the world seed bank for example) but most of us don't have those kind of facilities or resources.

Besides I think its very important you know how to grow which is the message Real Seeds are ultimately trying to get across. If you are already growing and you lose you job or the zombies hit (I joke), you already have crop to fall back on even if only a little.

[DuneElliot]

Didn't get the chance to start anything last year but this year I want to do something. I might be too late but still hoping I can get some done. Where can I order some heirloom seeds or seedlings from for best growth in the south?

[ukpreppergrrl]

Didn't get the chance to start anything last year but this year I want to do something. I might be too late but still hoping I can get some done. Where can I order some heirloom seeds or seedlings from for best growth in the south?

I live in London and you can grow pretty much anything in the south (excet stuff that normally grows in the tropics like bananas or avocados ), unless you're literally right by the sea in which case you may have an issue with salt and/or wind. If you have a south facing patio or walled area you can even grow stuff like aubergines without a greenhouse. Amazon and eBay are good sources. The big mail order seed companies usually have stores there. SeedParade is one I use and they've been pretty good. If it's still open find a Wilko's as they have good own brand generic seeds at very low prices. Hybrid seeds are usually labeled F1. It's not too late at all in the UK. I usually start seeds indoors at the beginning or March for those that need a long season like chillies or tomatoes. But start planting outside at the end of March/early April.

Seedlings can go out much earlier down south than further up north, but we do have rouge frosts...there isn't really such a thing as a definite last frost date. Keep an eye on the weather forecasts, they usually warn you of rogue late frosts. There is a saying "ne'er cast a clout till may is out" which is generally taken by gardeners to mean that you can get frosts right until June so don't put your bedding plants out until June. But that's way too late to start planting tender veg. We don't really have Zones in the UK as America does as our weather isn't nearly so predictable. In terms of minimum temperature down south it's about -1C to -7C, but the -7 is very rare down here. Maximum temperature in the summer, well last year we hit 37C but again this is rare. Usually summer temps are 20C to 27C. I worked out as a rough guide for myself when viewing US forums that London is in Zone 9 inasmuch as its minumum temperatures are -1C to -7C; and Heat Zone 2 as it has 1-7 days per year above 30C.

One problem veg I have in the south is with Pak Choi which always bolts. I don't know it it's too hot or the day length is too long. I've tried different ways of dealing with that but bolt, bolt bolt. Sigh.... Soya just does not grow well in the UK which is also annoying as I do like Edamame. Lettuce also is prone to bolting in the South owing to the warmer temperatures but does ok if you tend it. Chard grows really well, but I have a problem with beet leaf miner here. If you grow rosemary (or lavender) in the south beware the Rosemary Beetle - you need to keep on top of picking the beetle and its larvae off your plants.