This is disturbing, I hope they can find some type of fix for this problem. I always freeze my cheesbuger seeds in the spring for harvast in the fall that way I don't lose too many

I don't think it's a good idea to freeze the seed. Freezing seeds will cause the moisture in the seed cell to expand and the seed may burst or be destroyed by the freeze/thaw cycle inherent in freezer mechanisms.

Some seeds will do well if refrigerated; others should be stored with a dessicant.

Originally posted by iamcamouflage
Seeds keep quite well if kept dry and in the freezer. I usually over purchase the seeds that i need each year so that I am sealing and storing packets of seeds for times like these or in the event of something much more serious.

I frequently keep the seeds from my store-purchased produce — from the tomatoes and lemons and cantaloupes, et cetera, et cetera. I dry them outdoors on a sheet of window screen, then store them in paper bags in the cool, dry basement.

I actually have several pounds of such seeds waiting to be cultivated.

Last year, I tried growing a wide variety of pumpkins, squashes and cantaloupes out in the back yard — I've got a really big back yard — but I didn't organize the beds properly to take advantage of the full sunlight, and the produce yield was pathetic.

Something to keep in mind, if you save seeds from store-bought produce, is that a lot of your commercial produce is being grown hydroponically in greenhouses these days. This affects the quality of the seeds. It doesn't make them weaker, necessarily, but it does change their growing characteristics if you try to plant them in raw earth.

For example, I know that most of the exotic pumpkins you see in the produce section every autumn — the Japanese Blue pumpkins and other really eccentric varieties, for instance — are grown hydroponically, tended constantly, in a climate-controlled setting. That's why those eccentrics cost so damned much.

I grew a few hundred of these eccentrics from seeds taken from store-bought pumpkins, and my harvest was pathetic, the pumpkins stunted and small compared to the pumpkins from which I obtained the seeds.

And I did everything according to accepted agricultural procedure for growing pumpkins. The only difference was that my pumpkins grew in cultivated soil, whereas my seeds came from plants that grew in a chemical bath.

The seeds themselves were different because of this, and they grew differently when I introduced them to soil.

— Doc Velocity

Originally posted by iamcamouflage
Most that I have read says that storing seeds, vacuum sealed and in the freezer is the best long term method. As long as the seeds are dried properly first.

I store a lot of seeds, but I never store them in a freezer. I keep them dry and cool in the basement, which kind of sends them into "suspended animation" for an indefinite length of time.

Now, when I'm ready to plant them, I'll wake them up from their sleep.

About two months before planting, I'll take my dry seeds and mix them with the soil in which I intend to plant them, bag this mixture and throw it in the freezer for several weeks. After about 6 weeks, I'll transfer the frozen mixture to the basement once more for thawing (about a week), and then I'll plant outdoors.

The freezing is a kick-start to the seeds' botanical clocks. They think they've just come out of a hard winter, and they're ready to germinate.

— Doc Velocity





[edit on 2/2/2010 by Doc Velocity]

Seed doesn't and shouldn't have to be brought, it can be extracted from the food you eat and providing it is prepared well, IE putting cherry tomatoes or grapes/grape seeds in a jar of dry soil or rice to dry them out and putting it outside in a sheltered place until the next growing season, is a good way to prepare them since they don't need to be wet and the seeds can mature properly and naturally.

Some fruits and veggies, like apples, however have to be kept moist, so storage in moist soil in cold conditions (not killing cold) for a few months before the growing season to simulate natural conditions.

Some veggies and fruits, like seedless potatoes and chayote, sprout from the fruit, feeding on the fruit as it grows- eventually it needs to be planted, of course.

In nature fruits fall to the ground, and they begin to rot and the seeds, if they survive rot and fungal attacks, will sprout the next season.

Fruits that grow in warm climates, can sprout anytime. Every seed that I take from a lemon, rinsed off with water to wash away the citrus acids that help prevent it from germinating, and planted in soil, usually germinates rapidly.

Foods that can grow outdoors in colder climates sometimes need to go through a winter to simulate natural conditions of fruiting, decay (hibernation) then germination in spring.

Refrigeration is better than freezing, and even in the refrigerator the seeds should be protected, to boost the survival rate.

Fruit trees can take YEARS to reach fruiting age, and fruiting depends on again, what type it is. Apples for example need winter dormancy and warmer climes fruits usually need drought periods to signal flowering and fruiting.

People can grow tropical fruit trees indoors for years and wonder why it never fruits- these types of fruits need drought periods (not to mention lots of light)

Plants will not grow well without compost- And natural mixed compost\ compost tea is the best hands down, chemical fertilizers are inferior.

Compost almost anything biological- vaccum collections, tissue paper, inkless papers, relatively fresh human urine- try not to waste your urine- it is full of vitamins and minerals- anything except human excrement, human excrement from meat eaters needs very high temperatures and is claimed to be full of nasties, it should be thrown in a separate compost bin for flowers and grasses.

Coffee grounds are acidic and kitty litter has those nasty clumping stuff that keeps kitty # together, so it shouldn't be added.

I throw rancid meat and facial tissues in the compost along with other stuff but not excrement and my plants do just fine... Seriously, if it's an SHTF situation, eat the rats that are attracted to the meat in the compost The bacteria and worms in the compost bin break down these base elements into stable elements. Come from the Earth, go back into the Earth... rinse and repeat...

To make super compost tea, add a quarter of compost in a bucket (I don't put it in a potato or leggings sack or anything- I just plop it in the bucket and mix it up with water) and fill it up with rainwater or tap water that has sat outside uncovered for a few days (tap water right out of the tap will kill the microorganisms contained within the compost), add some mollasses, maybe a tablespoon or two, to feed the growing microorganisms, and put an air stone in the bucket to oxgenate the microrobes and stir it whenever you're bored to mix up the stuff. Whenever required, keep the temperature at around 70 F for optimum conditions using an aquarium heater for 2-4 days then finally dilute a quarter of it with safe water and apply as a watering. I use a strainer, not shown, to separate the heavier solids from the liquids.

Here is my setup with a little help from my gf...





Deluxe all the way!



[edit on 2-2-2010 by star in a jar]

Seeds are dirt cheap and there is no reason at all that anyone shouldn't buy their seeds a year ahead IF NOT 2 YEARS.
They will keep, no worries.
Onion sets and seed potatoes are only seasonally available and cannot be kept for more than a year.
I won;t have any problems, I know that much.

Several of you have mentioned saving the seeds from the foods you buy at the store, but are not most of those foods GMO? I do not think they are meant to reproduce, they will either not grow any fruit at all or the fruit comes out rather stunted. Now if you are talking organic produce, I understand, but even then, the fruits could still be GMO, just not grown in poison. It is best to start your garden with heirloom seeds and then save from there, but I am guessing you all know this and have skipped this detail in conversation.

we bought a good amount on non hybrid seeds for the sole purpose of planting gardens whenSHTF....

All are vaccumed sealed in bags and placed in containers for storage...

Seed shortage? yes there has been a shortage of some non GM seeds for years.
just try to find "certified" non GM corn seeds.

seeds should be dried and and stored in jars.
put a small piece of dry ice in the jar and put the lid on loose till the dry ice disappears. then tighten the lid. this will kill any bugs.
with some seeds one week before planting freeze the dry seeds for a week.
this will help them germinate.