With COVID in 2020, we saw vegetable seed companies inundated with orders and wiped out of seeds pretty quickly. Those companies recovered for 2021 and 2022, but customers sometimes experienced limits in what they could order. The ongoing problems with just-in-time delivery and shortages, as well as deteriorating quality of what is available, are prompting an increasing number of people to raise their own produce. This trend will positively impact our health even as people struggle to save money on the groceries. Hopefully they’ll eventually spend less on health care as well. People will be eating more nutritious food and getting some exercise in the garden.
However, as our society collapses, I’m pretty sure the matter of seed availability will become a huge issue in the future. I can easily see a time when every seed is precious, whether it’s because seed growers experience failures, or the seeds don’t get shipped to stores or online retailers, or we can’t get them shipped to us or get to retail stores ourselves. Perhaps we’re the only family left in the neighborhood who still has vegetable seeds. It will likely be in our best interest to share some seeds so that other families can grow their own food. Every family will have to recognize how precious each seed is and how to do everything possible to protect it so that it can grow to feed us. Each of the following tips has been or will be covered in other blog articles. Combining them all, or as much as possible, will offer the best chances for success.
Hydrogen peroxide. Soaking the seeds in hydrogen peroxide, whether in a cup straight from the bottle, or a diluted solution, or in dampened paper towels, will dramatically boost the germination rate. Of course, make sure the hydrogen peroxide is still fresh. Hydrogen peroxide eventually decomposes into water (even if the bottle was unopened), and using water won’t do much to increase germination.
Seed tape. Making your own seed tape not only improves efficiency when working in the garden, but also prevents wasting seeds either through planting too closely or accidental spills. Seed tape allows for precision planting of single seeds where they will grow to maturity. There is no thinning, so no wasting of those seeds, and no time wasted doing that thinning. Seed tape is an especially good option for small seeds like carrots, lettuce, and onions.
Pre-sprouting of large seeds resolves the need to plant several seeds in a hill and then thin. It also lets you get a head start on the season.
Toilet paper/paper towel cardboard tubes can be cut and placed around seedlings to prevent cutworms from killing them. Bamboo skewers or popsicle sticks inserted next to the stem will also work to save your plants. Losing dozens of tomatoes and peppers to cutworms a decade ago in Missouri was extremely frustrating. Losing any of our major food crops to cutworms in the future may be beyond devastating.
Wall of waters or milk jug cloches insulate tender plants to protect them from late spring frosts and freezes. One wall of water manufacturer claims that plants are protected down to 16°F. Milk jug cloches offer 5-8°F of protection, depending on the weather conditions. Canning jars or clear glass vases might also be used, though there is the risk of breaking glass in the garden. These also provide some protection from pests as long as they are in place.
Row covers not only warm the soil before planting (important for corn), they also help keep plants a little warmer after planting, with the amount of protection from cold temperatures varying among the products. Row covers also protect seedlings from pests.
Implementing some or all of these suggestions will boost yields when productivity is of paramount importance. Just make sure to grow some vegetables completely out to be able to save seed for next year.
Links to related posts:
Using Wall o’ Waters to Extend the Harvest
Using Hydrogen Peroxide to Boost Seed Germination
14-Year-Old Vegetable Seed Germination Test
How Storage Conditions Affect Vegetable Seed Viability
The False Security of Seed Germination Tests
How to Test Vegetable Seeds for Germination
18 may 2024
I am not a gardener. The lot on which my home is located is too steep, is covered with pavers, or is too shaded by neighbors' trees to produce much. (I have a few tomato plants and I am trying to grow potatoes in tubs, but I don't consider that to be "gardening."
ReplyDeleteYet, each year, I purchase a goodly number of vegetable seed packets because, after a societal meltdown, they will literally be worth their weight in gold, and because I may well be bugging out to a location where I can plant them. I know that someone there will be able to guide me in cultivating them.
I have read a blue billion preparedness articles over the years. Maybe experienced gardeners consider the use of hydrogen peroxide to increase germination to be a "Well, duh!" situation. In any event, your mention of the use of hydrogen peroxide with older seeds in today's post and in the post about two weeks ago is the first time I have seen that idea ever mentioned in a preparedness blog.
Via email, I pass on web site links to preparedness articles to somewhere around 80 like-minded individuals. I know that some of them forward my emails to others. Your articles consistently "make the cut" for my emails because you address more useful subjects week in and week out than any other blogger. Period.
Kudos, Jennifer! Keep up the good work!
Thank you, Survivormann99! I also truly believe those seeds will be worth their weight in gold.
DeleteDon't want to pop your prepping bubble, but are you aware that seeds are alive, and as such, will eventually die no matter how carefully you store them? Seeds like onions and parsnips only last one year, some squashes about 5 years, others in between. Yes, you can test germination rates yearly, but storing seeds is not a "set it and forget it" strategy.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm very aware and have written articles about it. All of the following articles address some aspect of vegetable seed storage and/or germination. The last article includes a chart with average number of years that seeds can be stored. Another article addresses my results germinating 14-year-old seeds. Then there's an article on the false security of seed germination tests--just because they germinate doesn't mean they will grow well. Covering every aspect of a topic in every article just isn't possible. It wastes my time (and takes away from researching other topics) and the regular readers' time. There are over 1000 unique articles on this blog, and the search bar can help you find those topics you are interested in, if I didn't happen to post links at the end of the article.
Deletehttps://prepschooldaily.blogspot.com/2022/03/14-year-old-vegetable-seed-germination.html
https://prepschooldaily.blogspot.com/2022/01/how-storage-conditions-affect-vegetable.html
https://prepschooldaily.blogspot.com/2022/01/the-false-security-of-seed-germination.html
https://prepschooldaily.blogspot.com/2020/03/how-to-test-vegetable-seeds-for.html
Anonymous, you wouldn't be attempting to pop any bubbles if you actually read the articles. Just sayin'.
DeleteJust to let "Anonymous," the alleged bubble popper, know, that last Anonymous comment was mine. It was accidentally sent too soon. I don't intentionally make anonymous comments on the internet.
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