Strange times folks. I don’t know much about what the new normal looks like or where this is going, but I do know that it sure can’t hurt to have a little food security.
I have gone through my seed stash which consists mostly of heirloom, open pollinated seeds that I have purchased or some that I have collected from my own garden. These seeds will grow food and, if left to mature, will produce seeds that can be resown for continuous food production forever.
Based on what I have on hand, I have put some packets together with the following seeds:
I am going to set up a bed in my garden for this set of seeds so we can all be getting started together. I made packets that are large enough to be meaningful but still small enough that I can really spread the love. You might only get 10 lettuce seeds and they are teeny-tiny. Even so, if you plant them all and then let just one go to seed (grow up, send up a flower and then create seeds) you will have lettuce forever and enough to share.
If you are interested, please DM me your address. I will keep sending seeds until I run out. I probably have enough packets for 20 or 30 people.
For those with the means to do so, I recommend finding a small seed production house in your area and supporting them iwth your order. I love Territorial Seed for the Maritime Northwest US. After moving a few years ago to Northern CA, I started using Siskiyou Seeds. The idea is that seeds produced in your climate will do better. A package of Burpee Watermelon seeds may do really well in Kansas or Georgia but you’re not going to get a melon in Portland.
I used the toilet paper to demonstrate where the rows are going. A good rule of thumb is to plant seeds twice as deep as they are wide. The toilet paper will also help you keep track of the seeds as you plant.
They are small and blend right in with the soil so they are easy to lose track of. If you look at the little tiny lettuce seeds, you can see that they get planted in a very shallow little trench.
I placed the beans along the side of the bed with a retaining wall as they are floppy and could benefit from something to lean on. The beets go right down the middle for two reasons. One, the should be in the deepest part of the bed. The second reason is that they are taking up underground space and the two things on either side are taking up above ground space. It is nice to stagger under and over ground crops.
Once all of the seeds were place, I carefully pinched the rows closed over the toilet paper rows. The goal is to cover the seeds without scattering them all over the place. I was feeling really good about my technique until a breeze kicked up and scattered the beets everywhere. We will see where they grow . . . I am sure your rows will be straighter than mine.
Day 10 update:
We have some spinach starting! This little bed was planted in the rain and has seen snow for a few days. Now the weather is in the 70*'s things are going to grow like crazy!
It’s time to consider your fall/winter garden. I am zone 7a. Tell me your zone and we can figure out what you can plant now.Who is getting ready? Here are some of the seeds I have ordered in preparation for planting in August:
First time I grew these was for our wedding. You can do stars also. I’m still working on getting a heart shaped watermelon. It’s much harder to do than the cucumbers, but if I could pull that off in a greenhouse and have them ready for Valentine’s Day…
We started a garden this season as well!
8B in Eugene Oregon, what do you recommend? I also built a small greenhouse to help with starts and to extend our season!
You can grow all of the things I listed above starting in August. You are also in a prime area for great, organic seeds that you can collect and replant.
I highly recommend:
These are both local-ish to you and will have things that will grow well in your garden. I have ordered from both in the last month and shipping is pretty fast too. Pick something (my first was spinach, marigolds and beans) to grow and let go to seed. Learn to harvest the seeds and store them for next season. Truly, these could be the last seeds you ever buy!
