Stocking Seed for Next year, NOW

[pamela]

Hoping you're right coney.
I was wondering about what if that flu takes hold of us this fall/winter and wrecks havoc on mail order houses and stores.
what if people get afraid to go out?
or get quarantined?
etc...
that's kind of what I was thinking about and wondering if it might be a good idea to go ahead while we can, and get some stored up, just in case.

[spacecase0]

the artificial hype over the flu worries me,
quarantine would be a really big problem,
and it kind of seems like that is what most people are not ready for.
I am glad that I have enough seeds (and food) to deal with that sort of thing.

[kats]

Also, in the event of a big, and I mean BIG collapse, garden seed may be one of the best barter items you could have.
 

That is a great thought.

[Grower]

That's why I keep all my old seeds. I will need them one way or another.

[kats]

I am totally confused about storage. I had read that storing seed in a air free environment would alter their viability. It didn't make sense to me as the storage seed I bought is in sealed cans. Has anybody actually stored seeds in a glass jar, sealed with a food saver and had them germinate? If so, that is the way to go for me, with an added dessicant and oxygen absorber. It is so damp here that the cellar is out of the question.

I've stored in 2 places (and I save seeds and keep them for years). One in the veg drawer of the fridge, which is cool, and 2 on a shelf in the utility room, which is warmer, but less humid. The viability of most seeds depends more on their genetics, I think, than on the details of how they're stored, as long as they are reasonably cool and not too wet.

[residualheat]

I keep old seed as well, but always buy a new batch every year and rotate it. It's surprising how long a lot of seed will last, except for things like parsnips. I always mean to store them more carefully but they end up in a plastic box in the garage and in a carrier bag indoors.

Being across the pond, we've started ordering seeds from Seeds of Italy (http://www.seedsofitaly.com/) and find them very good value. For some reason the seed packets you in the shops in the UK only have about 200 seeds in them, often a lot less, but Seeds of Italy give you about 3000 seeds for the same price and they're good quality as well. When friends have brought me back packets of seed from France, they always have about 3000 seeds in them as well. I can't figure it out - why are the UK seed suppliers so stingy?

[kiwi]

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