Seeds - think about them now

[nomadguy]

seeds - http://www.reneesgarden.com/seeds/newfor2012.html

[Nenuphar]

Posted by Nenuphar (here)
For heirloom/non GMO seeds in Canada, I highly recommend:

Salt Spring Seeds
http://www.saltspringseeds.com/

Heritage Harvest (they sell several very rare and unusual heirloom seeds. I believe they also ship to the USA.)
http://www.heritageharvestseed.com/

Annapolis Seeds
http://annapolisseeds.com/

Just wanted to update - these businesses all have nice Facebook pages now (with great pics of the seeds they offer!)

Salt Spring Seeds
https://www.facebook.com/saltspringseeds?ref=ts&fref=ts

Heritage Harvest
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Herit...90348220999168

Annapolis Seeds
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Annap...ref=ts&fref=ts

Also, the link to Seeds of Diversity, a "Canadian volunteer organization that conserves the biodiversity and traditional knowledge of food crops and garden plants." An excellent resource for books, information on seed saving, seed sanctuaries, and Seedy Saturday heirloom seed exchange events,

http://www.seeds.ca/en.php

[palehorse]

I could not find any specific thread about growing from seed until came across this old one, so lets bring it up to life

I received my new seed batch week ago, I bought what I know is growing around my area, also a few exotics to try out, I visited a large commercial garden where they were growing many varieties in different houses, some of it I never seen before, like Kiwano cucumber (aka horned melon) so I got 5 seeds from them to try.

Here are the seeds I got, that probably/hopefully will grow on tropical savanna climate (Köppen classification Aw).

Sweet Pumpkin
kale
Giant tomato
Bottle gourd
Purple basil
Round red radish
Sweet basil
Yellow passion fruit (Passiflora flavicarpa)
Japanese black pumpkin
White radish
Carrot
red onion
cauliflower
green cabbage
Fennel
Broccoli
Kiwano cucumber
Green Okra
Butter leaf lettuce
Giant green onion
Purple cabbage
Big Jim giant pepper
red long chilli
Coriander
Tall Celery (Apium graveolens)
Shallot
Green long beans
Purple eggplant
Black eggplant
* Bok Choy
Bok Choy Ruby
Italian lettuce
Spinach (bloomsdale)
Oregano
Lemon Balm
Chamomile Roman
Thyme
Parsley
Arugula (Rocket)
Dill
Common German Chamomile
Sunflower Type1
Sunflower Type2
Sunflower Type3
Sunflower Type4
Dandelion
Florida Market Eggplant (black)
Wasabi Mustard
Lavender
Halloween Pumpkin (this one is the only exception, I have no idea if it will grow here)
White Asparagus
Pink Celery (this one is Chinese, I have from last time I bought some seeds, maybe germination rate is low now I will try anyway)

* Bok Choy is already on the go, the germination rate is super high, 1 day after planted was already sprouting, I am doing hydroponics with this variety using those cheap polystyrene boxes, I will post the setup later, it is dead simple and you can do even in your apartment window and the principle works well for many species.

Also I collected dandelion the other day, seeds are really small and hard to collect, my approach was simple, I carried a plastic bag in my pocket when going for a hike and then I just bagged the dandelions and collected the seeds later at home, got thousands of seeds can't really count.

Some I already started in my home, I have little space available for that, the rest I will plant in a vacant land of a friend that allowed me to use it with the condition to give him part of my production, we are going to build a bamboo shade house, this time of the year is the worse for planting, but now we got plenty of water in there so we will start slowly.

For next months I will plant and transplant the following species:

- Jiaogulan (Gynostemma pentaphyllum) alongside Blue Pea Flowers (Clitoria ternatea) - it grows like weed in Thailand and does not require any care. good perennials.
- Moringa (Moringa oleifera)
- Turmeric (Curcuma longa) - I already got a lot of it growing in front of my house, it really goes crazy.
- Ginger (Zingiber officinale)
- Aloe Vera (Aloe barbadensis miller) - also got plenty of it growing, I will plant by propagation, shaded area the best.
- Taro (Colocasia esculenta) - this one is very trick, would be perfect to plant in a swamp, loves water and shade, just little sun in the morning is ideal.

Bushes
Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)
Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
Chaya (Cnidoscolus aconitifolius) - tree spinach - From Mexico, I have no idea if it will grow here, but since it likes hot weather, will try. Loads of nutrients. Must cook the leaves and taste like spinach, NEVER eat raw, it is poisonous.

Trees
Tamarind (Tamarindus indica) - got 3 small trees I planted from seeds about 2 years ago, it is almost 2 meters tall now.
Avocado - also got 3 small trees need transplant to a definitive place in the land, already 1.80m tall in a large vase.


My strategy is as simple as possible based on what I already experimented and know, I tried Fukuoka's approach (seed ball) in our land in the country side, not everything worked well, some seeds started to germinate but got into the wild competition for resources and end up dead, planting directly on soil or in basic beds with or without compost, with or without plastic canvas to stop weed growing (competition again) only the strongest species survived, so it is waste of time and money (most people using this method are using chemicals to keep pest away), here is clay soil, very compact when dried, it also retains lots of water when watering which is bad for many species, so it is a no go for me, already lost far too many seeds and time, so my next strategy is very mixed: I will build the bamboo shade house (the sun here is stupid strong) with raised bed for the softer species that won't grow directly in the soil. For resistant species will all be in the open, they adapt well. For green leaves (salad) I will be working with hydroponics techniques and that is it.

Sooner I will be focusing more in perennials that grows in my area, so I can keep a concise list of varieties that I know work well here.

Remarks: when getting supplies try to buy everything you can with your local suppliers to help small business survive, use Amazon and the likes as last resort only. Doing it you can always ask questions to these people already growing, they will be happy to answer any questions.


This book has very useful and practical information, I did read a while ago and I have a copy in PDF if anyone need, let me know and I can upload somewhere.
"Seed to seed - saving and growing techniques for vegetable gardeners" by Suzanne Ashworth.

[Nenuphar]

Thanks for bumping this thread. Gardening, seed-saving, permaculture, urban farming, pantry-building, etc. are subjects I really enjoy. I am always a little surprised, on a forum like this, with the tenor many of the threads carry, that more people aren't engaged in these topics, even on a basic level. Everything has it's place, but sometimes I think, "Less chaos, conspiracy, speculating, darkness, and doom-scrolling - more solutions, creativity, skill-sharing, inspiration, and networking".

It doesn't take an acre of land, thousands of dollars in one's bank account, and a degree in agricultural sciences to get started. Almost everyone can grow a little pot of herbs in their window or a micro-tomato plant on their balcony or front step. Learning and gradually scaling up - even if one has limited growing space - can go from there.

Food security doesn't just magically happen. It comes, at least in small part, from an attitude of self-sufficiency (on individual and community levels) and the willingness to engage, learn and take some control....yes, even if that can only be growing a pot of basil and sharing some with a neighbour, for the time-being.

[palehorse]

Here is the Bok Choy growing from seed, it is doing well (I think) just few days, seeds were super good, sometimes it takes time to germinate, but it was 1 day.


The media I am using is coco peat, those are small plastic cups with holes on the bottom and on the side, I planted in this tray and covered with a plastic sheet to help keep warm and germinate faster.



Here is the polystyrene box already filled with water + nutrients.


Here are holes in the polystyrene lid I carved holes on it to fit the little cups.



and here is the end product, now is the waiting game, check at least once per day if everything is OK, the water level if there is too much evaporation will be necessary to top up with nutrients, lets see is my first time using this method.

If everything runs well in 30 days or so I will have Bok Choi to eat

Total cost of the experiment:

- $3 for the polystyrene box.
- $.35 for the seeds.
- $1.40 for the nutrients.
- $.70 for the cups
----------
=$5.45

Bok Choi in the local supermarket is around around $1 for a small bag with a large head. If it grows as expected I will get at least 12 bags.

It is easy, fun and quick to do, no special knowledge

edit: forgot to mention, the box can be reused for many years if taken good care, and the cups too, even the coco peat can be partially reused, so basically you only need the seeds and nutrients.

For the nutrients I used 85ml A/B formula (each) to 48L of water in the box. I got 2L bottles of A/B, it will go a long way.

[Nenuphar]

For gardeners in Canada, this Canadian Seed Companies Map is a great resource. There are many wonderful small-scale, independent seed businesses/farms that offer open-pollinated herbs, vegetables, and flowers. Lots of unique heirloom varieties, too, regionally adapted and with fascinating histories attached to them.