Ma Quest 
Seed Organization And Storage Tips
https://growinginthegarden.com/seed-storage-organization-tips/
#SolarPunkSunday #FoodSecurity #Seed #SeedHarvesting #SeedStorage #Seeds #SeedSaving #SavingSeeds
Broadfork@MaQuest Seed sorting out day. Bought seed packets are in the tubs. The envelopes and jars are of saved seed.
All the seed is of heirloom or open pollinated varieties. They have been dried on a windowsill and will be stored in a cool cupboard.
Seed companies in the UK tend to have clearance sales of their stock in Autumn. It’s possible to pick up some real bargains.
#SeedSaving #SolarPunkSunday #Seeds #FoodSecurity #Gardening #GrowYourOwn #LandraceGardening #HomeGrown
Yvan@Broadfork snap! Using the (so far) damp day in a similar way here. I'm still not up to speed with my own seed saving though... so mainly it's bought seeds I am sorting through today, whilst planning some final sowings. (We're mostly heirloom style seed, I try not to buy F1 on purpose these days.)
@yvan Yes it felt like a good job to do of a rainy morning. I won’t buy any F1 seed now either and the varieties of saved seed are increasing bit by bit each year.
I’ll still buy from the seed companies I use like real seeds, Chiltern, Tamar Organics, sow seeds (for green manures) etc but I hope to use more and more saved seed as time goes on.
I have a few favourite varieties I use as a benchmark to compare other varieties against. I can try a few new to me heirloom varieties each year.
@Broadfork we're having to rely on saved seed for our favourite tomato variety, so I'm hoping to keep that going. This year's saved-seed plants seem to have come true so that is good (means the seed I have should be good for at least a couple more years), but I need to put more effort into isolating blossoms next year. (This is a tomato variety which came labelled "Jersey Giant", I got the seeds as a freebie extra with some chilli seeds I ordered from Finland a few years ago! I've not been able to find the variety available to buy, only a related variety called Jersey Devil.) Given the sorts of tomatoes I like the best are either hard to find seeds for or quite expensive to buy I do need to get better at the seed nurturing & saving process.
I've not used Tamar Organics before, I'll add them to my list to check... I use the same suppliers otherwise, plus Nicky's Nursery (mainly for tomatoes) and Chilli Chump (for chillies, strangely enough lol.)
@yvan Well done, it’s good to keep these varieties alive when we can.
There are a couple of other small seed companies I like to check on whose names escape me.
The heritage seed library is good for 5 heirloom varieties of your choosing from their catalogue from around January every year.
I’m still on the look out for the best tomato varieties for outdoor growing I can find so I’ll have a look at Nicky’s.
@Broadfork This is fantastic! 🌱
@MaQuest Thank you. It’s a work in progress towards a more self sufficient landrace gardening.
As much as I like to check out seed catalogues the choice the larger companies offer is becoming more restricted each year.
Thankfully, there are some small UK seed suppliers still carving out their own niches.