Just ordered seeds!

I am really looking forward to gardening again this year. I feel like each year I learn a little more about what works and the kind of things we want to grow and eat. I think in general I am just ready for spring and for things to start growing/blooming again. Our little piece of property is so pretty when it is green and lush. The snow can be pretty too, but now it is rainy and extremely drab.


Two years ago I grew my own seeds in the garage. The grew well, but after I planted them we got a late frost and every one of them died. I ended up buying starter plants (like years before). Last year I didn't even bother with seeds. This year I wasn't planning on doing seeds either, but in my efforts to become more self suffient (and I just like watching things grow), seeds are the way to go. Especially heirloom seeds. Also, if I do it right, I will never have to buy seeds again. Heirloom seeds are "pure" if you will so I can dry the seeds after the garden is done and have my seeds for next year. You cannot do this with hybrid plants/seeds. It is like making a copy of a copy, it just doesn't work well (ever see Multiplicity, "pizza Steve......"). There will be no consistancy in your product, if you get anything at all.

So I just ordered a bunch of heirloom seeds. My hope it that this year my whole garden will be nothing but heirloom varieties. I have been reading up on heirloom seeds and I think they will be a bit tricky at first. Many heirloom seeds are open pollinated which means they can cross with other seeds of the same type. For example, if you are growing more than one type of cucumber, those two types will cross pollinate. This will not effect your end product this year, but the seed you save will probably be a mix and will effect your plant next year. To my undertanding, this does not jump accross species. A pepper and a cucumber will not cross pollinate and create some crazy new veggie (a pucumber?). Also, fortunately, heirloom tomatoes and beans are not typically prone to cross pollination. The way to "fix" the cross pollination problem is to only plant one variety of a certain species or to plant them far enough apart that cross pollination will not happen (I think it is debatable how far that should be). I ordered a number of different variety of seeds for some of my plants and now I need to consider how I am going to do things. I will probably cut back some on variety and try to plant some far enough apart that they don't cross pollinate.

Even though planting heirloom seeds will be a bit more work, I am hoping the benefits outweigh the negatives. Being able to use them year after year is a big plus, but also how cool will it be if my kids grow gardens some day and grow the same seeds their mama did?

FYI, we bought our seeds from Seed Savers online, but their are lots of reputable sites these days offering heirloom seeds.

Julie