SEED SAVING

Hello everyone,

     I have found a relatively inexpensive way to get seeds for the garden that I am planning for this coming spring.  When ever anyone buys produce or bags of cooking beans, most of the time people do not think of it as an opportunity to gain seeds for the garden.  For example, a large majority of the cooking beans that we buy in bags for soup will sprout if put in a jar of water for 24 hours, and then continually rinsed and drained once per day for several days.  The same is true for plain dry bagged popcorn, or any other grain that still has its hull on.  In order to test and see if they will sprout just try a couple of seeds in water -then you know that you have an inexpensive way to get garden seed.  And, the produce section is even better when it comes to winter squash and other types of vegetables.  The seeds are within and, all one needs to do is gather them before they go to cook the squash.  So, how do you process the seed??? Simply get a paper plate to lay the seeds on after they have been rinsed off from the squash, and let them air dry in a cool dark place.  You will find that a large majority of these seeds will sprout.  In addition, I have also found that old unused store-bought potatoes originally from the grocery section will sprout just as easily as seed potatoes specifically sold for planting.  Most of them will develop eyes for growth within a couple of months of having brought them home.  Do you need a method to store some seed after it dries??  I usually get some of my old used vitamin bottles to store them in.  They are really ideal for this because they are airtight and compact -and the labels can be easily written over with a marker to write the type of seed and the year gathered.  If you do try some of these ideas, they will save you money when preparing your garden for this coming year.  If you have any questions or comments, you are welcome to post them on this blog.