Now that ducks4you is "Deeply Rooted", I have my rights...

[ducks4you]

...to ask a question. (Actually, I was just being an 'attention hoe-are'.)
I have noticed that many (but not all) of my seed packages that I bought for 2010 planting didn't sprout very much. I want some opinions about what produces the best sprouting/ growing/ harvesting for YOU.
Do you do the best from:
1) seed saving (generally)?
2) save seeds from the BEST crops, only?
3) plant from packages bought from heirloom seed companies?
4) buying seedlings?
5) buying from a nursery?
6) buying from a garden center?
I know that I've missed some options. Whatcha think?

 

[boggybranch]

1).....not really, but sometimes ('specially pea seed)
2).....not really (probably why #1 is "not really")
3).....no
4).....no
5).....no
6).....no

I, actually, use catalogs to decide which seeds I want......then, buy them off ebay. Have had, remarkably, good luck with germination. After they are "up", it's ALL on me as to how they turn out (excluding diseases that don't know about until they rear their ugly heads).

 

[hoodat]

There is one big advantage to saving your own seeds from your best plants with the tastiest fruits. After a few generatons you end up with a strain tailor made for your personal garden.
I use several criteria.
1. Automatically eliminate any plant that shows disease no matter how good it otherwise is.
2. Take early or late ripening of the fruit into consideration.
3. Consider the number and sizes of the fruit on that plant.
4. Number one in my book is the taste. Always save seed from the best tasting if there is a choice.

 

[boggybranch]

There is one big advantage to saving your own seeds from your best plants with the tastiest fruits. After a few generatons you end up with a strain tailor made for your personal garden.
I use several criteria.
1. Automatically eliminate any plant that shows disease no matter how good it otherwise is.
2. Take early or late ripening of the fruit into consideration.
3. Consider the number and sizes of the fruit on that plant.
4. Number one in my book is the taste. Always save seed from the best tasting if there is a choice.

Sage advice from someone who knows what he's talking about. CAN'T go wrong using this advice, for sure.

 

[Whitewater]

I don't seed save, I just don't have enough space!

Last year, my 1st year gardening, I bought seeds from big box stores that happened to have a home & garden section. I still did that some this year, BUT

A) I did my research on the companies I was buying from
B) I bought heirloom varieties from heirloom sellers with high germination rates.

I also, this year, found a small company in California that sold started organically grown heirloom tomatoes and peppers that weren't bare-root, they shipped in plugs and the shipping was pretty reasonable ($10 whether you bought 1 plant or 100). I can very easily tell which plants in my veggie garden are theirs, and which came from somewhere else.

This year, the started plants I bought from Home Depot are -- so far -- lagging significantly in every way. Smaller, slow growers, less prolific, even a lighter green.

Next year I will buy peppers and tomatoes from my guy in CA again and buy ALL my seeds from heirloom companies. And I'm going to try not to buy any started plants from anywhere except an honest to goodness nursery -- no home improvement stores!

The heirlooms have a much greater rate of germination, and there are clearly better companies than others in that respect.

In short, I buy both seeds and started plants, but I do my research and try to find the best of each that suit my needs. This year I also bought Cavendish strawberries(started plants) and Eureka cucumbers (seeds) from Ebay, and that's working out nicely too.


Whitewater

 

[journey11]

I get my seeds from such a variety of different places, including saving some of my own. I do notice a difference in germination rates. The most faithful are always the bulk packs of things I get from my Southern States farm co-op. Those are also varieties geared more to my area and growing conditions. Their seeds sprout great for me, even when a couple years old, almost all of them germinate.

I think possibly with some of these bigger outfits/big box retail, there are a lot of factors affecting their bottom line that play into lower quality seeds. Quality of the parent plant is less picky, recirculation of prior year's seeds, mass produced/mechanically processed methods of collecting/drying the seed, etc. I have not bought enough seeds from heirloom companies to make much comparison there, although I figure they pay closer attention to the quality of the parent plant and work in smaller batches. But most of them go through many different growers, so there is room for quality difference there.

I am rather haphazard sometimes in my own seed collection, just grabbing a handful here or there and have always done well/had no trouble with what I saved. This is my first year saving tomato and bean seeds, so I am being more selective now with those. I do put a lot of care into properly drying and storing my seeds and I think that makes a big difference. I keep all of mine in the fridge until shortly before time to plant.

Everything I got last winter from trading did really well, with the exception of one pack of pumpkins that were a total fail and one pack of tomatoes that had a very, very low germination rate--only two sprouted!

No matter what (except with the So. States seeds) I always plant extras to make up for possible problems with germination.

 

[cwhit590]

...to ask a question. (Actually, I was just being an 'attention hoe-are'.)
I have noticed that many (but not all) of my seed packages that I bought for 2010 planting didn't sprout very much. I want some opinions about what produces the best sprouting/ growing/ harvesting for YOU.
Do you do the best from:
1) seed saving (generally)?
2) save seeds from the BEST crops, only?
3) plant from packages bought from heirloom seed companies?
4) buying seedlings?
5) buying from a nursery?
6) buying from a garden center?
I know that I've missed some options. Whatcha think?

I think that's kinda interesting that you didn't have good luck w/ your seed packets ducks. Were they all from the same place? How did you store them (if you didn't plant right away)? What kinds of seeds...all veggies? flowers? How did you start the seeds? indoors/outdoors?

I haven't gotten into seed saving but would like to someday once I have a better setup.

I usually buy seed packets and started plants from local nurseries/garden centers.

Seed packets - I will order some from catalogs, but we have a great garden center near us that carries tons of seed packets, so I shop there quite a bit too. I will buy any brand of seed as long as the price is right and it looks decent. I do seem to come back to the Botanical Interests packets....I think I like them because their packets have so much info (and they use artists to illustrate the packets ). I like companies that give you lots of plant info...tells you that they know and care about their product.
For the veggie garden I direct seeded lettuce, radishes, carrots, corn, bush beans, pole beans, squash, basil, cilantro, and peas.
I planted some flower seed too....sunflowers, zinnias, calendula, cerinthe, sweet pea...all seem to be doing well...

Plants - I buy started plants at local nurseries - we have a lot of nurseries to pick from around here, so...I am very picky about what I chose. Only the best plants. Lets see...this year for the garden I bought started herbs, tomatoes, peppers, tomatillos, an eggplant, some zucchini, cabbage plants, kohlrabi, and a few bean plants.
I try to avoid buying a lot of curcurbit type plants...they seem to do much better for me when direct sown into the garden.

 

[ducks4you]

First, thanks all for the great responses!!
I just think that we should be discussing how BEST to spend our gardening money.

hoodat wrote:
After a few generatons you end up with a strain tailor made for your personal garden.

I have heard of this before, regarding tomatoes.

cwhit590 wrote:
I think that's kinda interesting that you didn't have good luck w/ your seed packets ducks. Were they all from the same place?

Yes, pretty much, and pretty cheap. I HAVE done well with cheap seeds for things like cucumbers before, but not this year. For instance, I put in 4 packages of sweet peppers, but my seedlings that sprouted look like I only planted ONE packet.

How did you store them (if you didn't plant right away)?

I transferred them immediately from their paper packages to labelled, glass jars, with tight lids, in the dark (in my basement garden desk.)

What kinds of seeds...all veggies? flowers?

-The cheap flowers are popping up everywhere--cosmos, bachelor buttons--even the seeds that were old were successful.
-The more successful seeds were from the same store, but were name brand, like my okra. I think just about every okra seed has sprouted a (now) 3 ft. plant.

How did you start the seeds? indoors/outdoors?

I started tomatoes indoors, but I direct sowed my sweet peppers, okra, beets, radishes and lettuce, sunflower, sugar snap peas, sweet corn, yellow squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, green beans, wax beans, lima beans, scarlet runner beans, pumpkin, zuccini, yellow squash, Hubbard squash and millet. I didn't tend or water ANY of these, and they are doing great. NONE of my hot pepper seeds sprouted at all! I bought 6 plants on clearance, and they are doing well.
I am trying hard to keep track of my costs, but, like everybody else, we are running to catch up. Good news--discovered enough green beans for dinner last night!! :bun Discovered lots more beans, so now I need to harvest and freeze--more (fun), but also, more work.

I believe that if we all contribute our experiences with regards to costs, that we can figure out how to make our gardens feeds us for less. It's fun to work the soil, and the plants and pretty and many of them smell nice, BUT FOR ME, I'd like a little payback from my rooted friends in the back yard.