Heirloom Seeds

They sneak it in the back door ...... lol

 

To follow up on a previous post, I recently ordered a pretty big selection from Survival essentials and will be starting some of the seeds this week in the basement. If anyone is interested, I can update with rate of germination and eventually production. I will be starting with a variety of tomato and pepper plants, but once the garden goes in there will be about 30 varieties going in- mostly direct sow.

The garden this year will be about 3/4 of an acre, this is just a section of it. I'm trying seeds from 2 other sources as well and then my usual plantings from the same source my Dad has used for years with great results (Burpee).

 

Wife has cooler boxes of seeds, all categorized etc. Im the non-paid help , and know nuttin.
She has notes on all the seed packages after using some , how they grew to the seeds of the grown plant , a few years later if it reverts back to it's real form (squash is one I've noticed) she makes notes on that also.
We get seeds from direct sellers (West coast seeds is one ) .Many are on the net & underground thru the local farmers market .
Last year we picked up some broccoli cold climate , it was huge & grew it over winter in the greenhouse.

Sloth

 

I'd like to hear about your germination rates and overall success. I want to order but can't decide which retailer has a good product. I have read that it is important to buy seeds that are geographically suited to you area; is this true?

 

I'll post some pics of the results so far. Nothing is outside yet as our climate is still too cold, however the results under the grow lights so far have been incredible. I started with the 8 Tomato variety pack and of 24 seeds planted, 23 germinated (3 of each variety). After a week I put a replacement in that container and it popped right up. 100% germination of each squash variety (12 of 12), Bell peppers did great (30 of 32), Broccoli and Kale went 6 for 6 each. The melons have taken off like weeds- we tried watermelon, cantaloupe, and honey-dew. So far each had 100% germination. Cherry Tomatoes did the worst, at 90%- 18 of 20 germinated. I planted 2 replacements and both took off, so you could say 20 of 22.

If the rest of my grow lights arrive I plan to get corn started inside as well. I wanted to play with getting them started a month early and see if I get any earlier of a crop or if they shock too much when transplanted- I've heard mixed results. I'd like to extend my growing season as much as possible, so this year I've decided to play with different variables and record the results. If finances permit this year, we'd like to build a couple of hoop- houses or possibly a large green house.

I did grow 2 trays of seeds from Burpee and can say their germination rates are no where close to the seeds from Survival essentials. The "Early Girl" tomatoes did by far the worst- 4 of 8 germinated, and of "Big Boy" 6 of 8 germinated.

I'm trying to work out a deal with a local guy that has a small trucking company to bring dirt so I can extend my garden. I'm waiting for him to get back to me to confirm roundup wasn't used and nothing else like it. My hope is to add another 40' x 150' section for wheat, carrots, and more corn, beans and melon. The price is incredible so I'm really hoping it works out.

Obviously this is all preliminary as we are way too soon to be able to report on how much of a crop we get, but so far the results show quite a bit of promise.

 

Sorry, I totally missed answering your question. I'm no expert, but in general yes- different plants do MUCH better in certain places. Your best bet to get started is watching the growing region of any seeds or plants you are interested in. In Michigan, we can't plant outside until May 15 at the earliest- you can find out this date by contacting your agricultural extension office. I finally called them and was really glad I did, I got tons of info from them. They told me about plants that handle frosts easily, like Kale and even grows in average soil- they gave me a list of plants I can start in mid-April, as well as ones that I can plant again in July for a second crop. The other thing that I did, was talk to the local CSAs (crop shares) and asked who they order seeds through, and what varieties do the best around here. I like to experiment and learn, but if they can help and shave a few seasons off the learning curve I'm happy to get the help.

Start here for your growing zone

 

Here is the first shelving unit, more pics to follow of the other shelf. Quite a few plants were moved the last couple nights to larger containers. The top shelf has the squash and tomatoes- the largest group is the variety 8- pack of heirloom they offer. The last picture has cherry tomatoes on the left and Burpee hybrid to the right.

 

Harbin: Nice seedlings and a good start. Around here, we use the Kentucky Derby as a guide and no one sets plants out until after the Derby (1st Saturday in May). I tried it last year because it was soooo nice, and we still lost more than 50% to frost, so I learned my lesson. We have already started our sets for this year from the left over seeds from last year so I won't be using Heirloom seeds this season. However, I still have germination rates that are very close to yours. I was thinking of ordering some seeds now for next year and am searching for a book about collect anb preserving your own seeds. Where did you buy your seeds?

 

Thanks Elessar, so far so good.

After reading my previous posts again I think I came across in ways I didn't intend. I wasn't trying to say that hybrid seeds have poor germination rates, my Dad has been using them for years in his garden with good luck. With proper care (heat mats or keeping at the right temp in general, good soil, etc), I think these germination rates are typical of both kinds. The heirloom varieties shown in the pictures were all ordered through Survival Essentials. I emailed them asking if they have a regular store to buy through and was told they only sell through ebay. The rest of the seeds came from either Park (online store) or were picked up locally at Tractor Supply and are Burpee brand.

 

Thanks for the update. I have a tractor supply near me but they tend to be expensive so I don't shop there much. I'll check 'em out.

 

It varies, some seeds are simple, just let them dry on the vine, so to speak. Others need to be washed and dried then sun dried. But most just need to be allowed to flower, picked and then dried to prevent mold.

What do you plan on saving?

Actually it didn't. Public TV WGBH ran a show for years hosted by a man. Crockett was his name, now deceased the program was Crockett's Victory Graden. Crockett’s Victory Garden

 

Here in northern Arizona you have to wait until after Easter, or you are almost guaranteed to see some snow or frost damage. In order to get a head start on the growing season we plant our seeds in a greenhouse in January.

 

A good resource for seed saving is Seed Saving Handbook: Learn How to Save Seeds From Common Garden Vegetables—Free!