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LudwigVan
03-11-2009, 09:28 PM
I started my first garden this week, I think I did a pretty good job.

I planted all my seeds from packets, so it got me wondering; most things such as peppers and tomatoes have the seeds in pretty obvious places, but I'm not sure where to get the seeds out of other plants, like carrots for instance?

(I know this is a pretty noobish question, but this is my very first garden and I've never really thought about it before)

Rick
03-11-2009, 09:31 PM
Not noobish at all. Specifically, carrots take two years to come to seed. The first year is usually what most folks are familiar with. But the second year, the above ground foliage will produce flowers and then grow seeds. The first year fruit is the best but if you want to collect seeds then you need to leave some in the ground to produce them. I planted some in a large pot last year then brought them inside before frost. I've had garden fresh carrots over the winter and will have a few that will seed this year.

Rick
03-11-2009, 10:03 PM
If you are interested in seeds, then you have to plant non-hybrid plants. Here's a web site that you might be interested in. Whether you buy in to their philosophy or not if you scroll down there is a list of non-hybrid plants that are good all around choices IMHO.

http://www.survivalseedbank.com/?gclid=CMLbxdSlnJkCFSQhDQodITVcCQ

bulrush
03-12-2009, 08:21 AM
Good point, Rick. Hybrid plants *might* produce seeds, but they won't sprout. And most seeds sold in stores today are one-shot deals, those will grow but they will produce seeds that will not grow.

Rick
03-12-2009, 08:24 AM
I've gone almost entirely to heirloom plants. They seem to be much heartier, certainly taste far better and can been used to harvest seeds.

Most of today's plants are designed to present a pretty fruit or last a bit longer but most of the true fruit flavor is gone. If you bite into an heirloom tomato you'll taste the difference instantly.

LudwigVan
03-12-2009, 02:45 PM
Say thanks, This is my first attempt so I just planted some cheap packets from the store this time, Next time though I plan on ordering some good stuff:)

Rick
03-12-2009, 02:54 PM
Packets provide a lot of food. Keep the excess in your refrigerator and they will last (and remain viable) for several years. The air inside the fridge is cold and dry. The perfect place to store seeds!

crashdive123
03-12-2009, 02:55 PM
Thanks.


What???? He said say thanks. Good luck with your garden LudwigVan.

Chris
03-12-2009, 03:01 PM
Where do you live might I ask?

The reason is, if you're not in the south, this is really early to be planting peppers, even indoors.

LudwigVan
03-13-2009, 03:17 PM
Where do you live might I ask?

The reason is, if you're not in the south, this is really early to be planting peppers, even indoors.

I live in NC. I haven't actually planted them in the ground yet but they are mature enough, I think I'm going to wait another week or so even though It's already pretty warm.

And I found out that the Brandywine tomato seeds I was given are heirlooms.

crashdive123
03-13-2009, 03:26 PM
I had some Brandywine heirlooms last year - I think you'll like them. I posted a thread last year on how to harvest the seeds (pain in the butt) - I'll find it and post a link in case you're interested.

crashdive123
03-13-2009, 03:28 PM
Found it quicker than I thought I would - http://www.wilderness-survival.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3417&highlight=harvesting+seeds

LowKey
03-13-2009, 05:43 PM
Protect your heirlooms.

Monsanto has been actively pursuing Terminator Seed technology. You can plant a harvest but the seeds produced by the plant are genetically sterile. I've been hearing about this program since the early 90s and it comes up every couple of years as various countries vote whether or not to ban its use. Apparently the gene research is done and plants were in testing stage at Delta & Pine Land greenhouses.

Another company named Syngenta has developed terminator Potatoes. No sprouting eyes unless a specific (and probably patented) chemical is appied.

Talk about the ultimate greed. You can't even save seed to grow your own food.
Nightmare.

Rick
03-13-2009, 09:50 PM
I think there will always be enough purists to maintain a good heirloom base. Folks are really beginning to understand and embrace not only heirloom plants but organic gardening as a whole. Even run of the mill seed houses like Gurneys offer heirloom plants. I find that encouraging. It means the demand is there or they wouldn't offer them.

LowKey
03-13-2009, 11:29 PM
I'm thinking more about you guys that grow your own grains and corn. Those are the targets of this brand of corporate greed.

And I can actually see the fuzzy-headed sheeple thinking that potatoes that don't sprout in the vegetable drawer might be a wonderful idea...

I love growing heirlooms and old standards. If the snow would melt and the ground would thaw...Grr.

Rick
03-14-2009, 06:54 AM
Careful now. I am a fuzzy headed sheeple. And yeah, it would be kind of nice to have spuds that would last longer. That doesn't mean we can't have both. It doesn't have to be either or.

Rick
03-14-2009, 07:01 AM
For those of you just starting to garden, here's a link to the USDA hardiness map. A great guide of when to plant your above ground crops.

http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html

Many fast growing foods like lettuce, spinach and radishes can be seed sown directly on the ground very early. I plant my seeds on Valentines Day each year. They seeds will be fine even if you plant them with snow on the ground. The will simply lay dormant until the ground warms up then germinate. You get a very early crop that way.

For plants like tomatoes or peppers, you can plant them before the last frost as long as you keep them covered on nights when frosts are forecast. They can withstand a night or two of frosts if protected but they will not withstand long term cold or any nights with freeze warnings.

Chris
03-14-2009, 01:00 PM
Protect your heirlooms.

Monsanto has been actively pursuing Terminator Seed technology. You can plant a harvest but the seeds produced by the plant are genetically sterile. I've been hearing about this program since the early 90s and it comes up every couple of years as various countries vote whether or not to ban its use. Apparently the gene research is done and plants were in testing stage at Delta & Pine Land greenhouses.

Another company named Syngenta has developed terminator Potatoes. No sprouting eyes unless a specific (and probably patented) chemical is appied.

Talk about the ultimate greed. You can't even save seed to grow your own food.
Nightmare.
Did you hear the one about diet coke killing you?

Personally, I've always found tinfoil hats to be uncomfortable.

People who rail against genetically modified food annoy me, to put it frank. If there is one thing that will save the world and feed everyone it is genetically modified food. And the fact is, we've been genetically engineering our food for thousands of years. Did you know brocolli, kale, cabbage, bussel sprouts, cauliflower, all came from the same plant we humans hybridized into different forms? Did you know corn used to produce single kernels?

Something as simple as golden rice (rice engineered to contain beta carotene) has saved thousands of third world people from nutrition deficiencies. If we could ever, say, produce nitrogen fixing corn we would be able to grow more crops, with less land, and less fertilizer, which means less fertilizer runoff and subsequent pollution including over-nitrogenizing the waterways which promotes algae growth and depletes oxygen.

It also cracks me up how people who rail against GMO are often hippies. Hippies who are fine with experiments on humans, stem cell research, etc. But as soon as you want to do the same sorts of things with plants or animals the hippies get as religious as the religious right and say you're playing god.

Heirloom seeds are all well and good, but I just grow tired of the "Monsanto is the evilest company evar!" nonsense I read. Monsanto is not trying to sabotage niche and home gardeners, they're trying to help industrial agribusiness grow more nutritious and abundant food cheaper using less fertilizer, pesticides, and herbicides, to help feed the world.

/end rant