Heirloom seeds

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Heirloom seeds

I just started getting into Heirloom Seeds, this year I will harvest tomato, melon, pepper and cucumber seeds.;

;The basic way to harvest seeds from a tomato is to scoop the seeds out put them in a 1/4 cup of water and let them sit for a few days. At this point the good seeds will sink to the bottom and the bad ones and the pulp will go to the surface.; Scoop out the pulp and the bad heirloom seeds with a spoon.; Add some fresh water and let sit another day then carefully drain the water.; Pour the seeds onto a paper towel and pat dry.; Then place the seeds on a new dry sheet of paper towel and put in a dry place for a few days.; Make sure to label the seeds and either put them in envelopes or even better store them in airtight jars in a cabinet till use.
Peppers are even easier, just cut them open and tap the seeds out on to a piece of paper towel you can soak them for a day also and dry and store.

Melons are similar simply pick the seeds out wash them off and pat them dry then store.
With each plant make sure they are Heirloom plants and Not Hybrids.; Hybrids will not reproduce exactly the same because they are usually a cross between two or more Plants.
Though it takes a bit more work Heirloom seeds are fun to harvest Just try harvesting some Giant sunflower seeds with the kids, it is fun and educational.
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Contents at a Glance

Is saving heirloom seeds worth the time and effort?
Learn about heirloom seeds
Tomato heirloom seeds

Heirloom seed websites
Heirloom seed news
My favorite sustainable organic gardening books

more...

Is saving heirloom seeds worth the time and effort?

Heirloom seeds have literally been around for generations.

Heirloom seeds breed true, meaning that the fruit from seed you harvest from the current fruit will be the same, generation after generation. This means that if you like the current harvest you can use the seeds with confidence that they will give you the same thing next time.

Hybrid seeds have been cross-bred to achieve improvements in flavor, productivity, disease resistance, holding capacity, or other characteristics which people want and request. The next generation cannot be counted on to be the same as the original plant, and thus we need to continue buying seed from the seed grower.

Producing seeds in your own garden is no big problem if you're growing crops with seeds in the fruit, such as tomatoes, peppers, etc. However, for things like lettuce, cabbage, onions, etc. you have to let the plant stay in the garden while it "goes to seed" - sometimes for as long as a second year.

This can make a mess of your garden, and foul up your plans for continuing to grow food to eat.

Harvesting, drying, and saving the seeds are also not inconsequential problems to consider.

I recommend people get the best advantages of both hybrid and heirloom plants by buying and using the world's best vegetables and fruits from reputable seed companies, and buying a #10 can of 16 varieties of high quality triple-sealed heirloom seeds from the Food For Everyone Foundation at www.foodforeveryone.org/store.

Store the can of seeds in a cool dry place, and you will have the protection of good heirloom seeds for many years, while at the same time your family harvests and eats the best produce possible.

Purchase the Mittleider digital gardening books.

Join the Mittleider organic gardening group

Learn about heirloom seeds

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Heirloom seeds

Heirloom seeds

Contents at a Glance

Contents at a Glance

Is saving heirloom seeds worth the time and effort?

Heirloom seeds have literally been around for generations.

Learn about heirloom seeds

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Tomato heirloom seeds

Heirloom seed websites

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Heirloom seed news

Here's my favorite link:

Heirloom Pepper Seeds

Peppers are great to harvest seeds from.

Do you save heirloom seeds?

Perhaps we can trade seeds

Heirloom seeds

Food for Everyone Foundation

melons heirloom seeds

Heirloom seed information from Universities

Join the Mitleider method Yahoo group.

Get your heirloom seeds

Heirloom

Organic gardening

by steveffeo

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