Seeds for SHTF

I was wondering about buying seeds for when SHTF.
I have been buying some and have seeds in storage.
How much seed would someone need to store for future
use?
I am not a gardener and I would really like to get an idea
of how much to buy.I will appreciate any advice.

Any survival gardener will tell you to get only heirloom seed varieties as the plants will produce seeds that can be used year after year.

Here is a great resource.

Postage Stamp Vegetable Garden

You can learn alot from this site

Oh...and start gardening now!!!! If you short on space there are some great tips in the link i posted above.

[edit on 12-5-2010 by Gibbon]

First thing you want are heirloom seeds. Not hybrids. Hybrids produce an inferior product if you let the plant seed and replant the next year. Heirloom seeds on the other hand get stronger every time you plant them.

Avoid anything that says geneticly altered or Monsanto on it. Frankenfood plain and simple.

There are alot of sources out there, type Heirloom Seeds into your search engine. I like Baker Creek Seed Co, but thats just my opinion.

Next, look at where you live and your growing season. If you live in Canada, stocking up on sugar cane seeds isnt a real sound investment. Go to a local nursery, farmers market, whatever and ask about what grows well in your area. Avoid the big boxes, they are looking to sell you on certain items, local farmers will know best.

My personal seed collection is built on the theory that the seeds will last for up to five years. I keep them in a fridge year round, and only take out when it is time to plant. I do only grow heirloom, and rarely need to buy seeds as I am able to harvest my own. (This isnt as easy as it sounds with every vegtable, so practice is advised)

As far as quantity, thats up to you, your space and your needs. I plan on feeding 4 people for one year, 75% seed germination. So I am loaded up on root veggies, i.e. rutabaga, potato, carrot, etc... as these grow and store very easy. Items that are canned easy are also a big player in my gardens, cucumbers, tomatos, cabbage. The seeds I dont have a whole lot on hand would be items with little nutritional value, hard to store, or I dont like. Lettuce, eggplant, green peppers.

Go to your local university co-op for more information on how much you will need to grow in your garden to feed x number of people. I think there is a thread on here allready about that, if I can find it, will add to this one.

A side note. I first started gardening about 5 years ago. My first year was a disaster. A lot of wasted space, food and time. If you are planning on growing your own should TSHTF, I would get started now, or you will likely starve or only eat carrots and radishes (easiest things to grow), also, having a garden now will reduce your food budget and you will be eating better.

reply to post by mamabeth



Found it. This is a general guideline to feed four people, one year:

Rows are in feet, plant spacing in inches.

Plant, Row, Spacing, Yield
Beans, 100, 6-8, 50 lbs
Beets, 50, 2-4, 50 lbs
Broccoli, 50, 18-24, 30 lb
Brussels Sprouts, 50, 24, 30 lb

Cabbage, 60, 18-24, 90 lb
Carrots, 100, 2-4, 100 lb
Cauliflower, 50, 18, 75 lb
Celery, 25, 6-8, 45 lb

Sweet Corn, 100, 12-14, 100 ears
Swiss Chard, 25, 6, 25 lbs
Cucumber, 25, 12, 50 lb
Eggplant, 12, 18, 15 lb

Endive, 25, 10, 15 lb
Kale, 25, 10, 25 lb
Kohlrabi, 50, 4, 50 lb
Lettuce head, 25, 10-15, 25lb

Lettuce leaf, 25, 3-6, 20 lb
Mustard greens, 25, 6, 15 lb
Scallions, 10, 1-3, 10 lb
Onions, 25, 2-4, 25 lb

Parsley, 10, 4, 5 lb
Parsnips, 50, 3, 50 lb
Peas, 150, 2, 40 lb
Peppers, 25, 18, 25 lb

Potatoes, 150, 10-14, 200 lb*
Radishes, 25, 1, 18 lb
Rutabagas, 50, 4, 75 lb
Spinach, 25, 8-10, 20 lb

Summer Squash, 10, 30, 75 lb
Winter Squash, 25, 48, 60 lb
Tomatoes, 75, 24-36, 150 lb
Turnips, 50, 3, 75 lb

Yes, thats alot of food, alot of storage, and alot of work, but well worth it I assure you.

reply to post by mamabeth


How many?

Lots, really, enough to plant a farm.

Quick-maturing varieties, high-yield varieties, hardy varieties. Lots of varieties, since you won't know what the weather will be like, and seeds will certainly be useful trade items.

A garden takes two years to be dependable in good times. Remember you'll be feeding birds and bugs first, you'll need access to large reliable quantities of water, and tools to turn and clear the earth.

I recommend that if you have a site in mind, go scatter various seeds there now in likely growing spots. That way you might have a small crop present already to use in emergency, as well as a ready-made garden in rough form. The added bennie is that if the plants take hold, they will attract game to feed on them. Be aware that the game will attract other predators besides you, too, though.

reply to post by Gibbon


I have only purchased heirloom seeds.I want to get an idea
on how many to buy.I noticed that one seed company on the
net is closing after this season.

Save seeds from the foods you eat now. Rinse then in a colliander and dry
on newspaper. Store seeds in envelopes, mark the seed type and date on the envelope. Seeds last a few years dried out and kept in a cool dry place inside your house. Save everything you can. The orginal Williamsburg and Jamestown people farmed their front yards and even in the center of the roads. They came here to start wineries, but moved to tobacco, cotton, and indigo. Get cow manure to start your seeds in starter pots. Buying seeds is nice, but they give you a few for a huge price. Trade
seeds with friends and relatives who garden. I noticed that in places like England and Ireland their seed sell for $3-$4.50 USD. I brought some seeds back but I don't know if they will work here in southern USA.
I planted them in semi shade and water them more frequently. It almost never rains here, and the soil is terrible. Its full of red iron and rocks,
sometimes we have to use a pick ax to plant large bushes. I brought some dirt back from Indiana after my grandmother's funeral from her farm. It is solid black premium dirt, almost like potting soil! We have been
practicing gardening here for six years. The lack of rain and poor soil have made it extremely challenging. Putting hotel soap samples at the four corners of the garden help to keep Mr. Rabbit, and Mr. Deer away.
We push it vertically in to the dirt. When we water it makes the soap smell.
It would take most people all of their yard to feed themselves somewhat.
Don't forget to start a compost pile for organic fertilizer, this also takes a long time to develop. Egg shells, fish remains, shimp shells, coffee grinds can all be thrown in there too. Good Luck to all!

reply to post by Gibbon


Thank you Gibbon for the great link on Postage Stamp Gardening, Great Tips! It is similar to "Square Foot Gardening". Which is also great for limited space and for people with back or disability issues.

Originally posted by frugal
Save seeds from the foods you eat now.

I wouldnt do this if you are buying from a supermarket. Its fine if you grow your own, but produce that is purchased is generally a hybrid variety, so in the end, you wind up with hybrid seeds in your collection. Even if buying at a farmers market, be sure to ask what type of seed their veggies came from.

Seeds are useful for:
Planting
Sprouting
Trading
The more the merrier

Non-hybrid seeds

Non-hybrid seeds

Seed for all purposes

Great Resource

More info

More info


[edit on 12-5-2010 by The Utopian Penguin]

I considered getting only seeds that are recommended for my zone but realized that our climate is changing. I have all sorts of seeds from tropical to arctic and everything inbetween.

I figure that with a greenhouse, you can adjust the temperature to what you need/want anyway and prevent contamination of your heirloom seeds.

Another cool place I've found is one that sells organic seeds for wild edibles/ medicinals.
mountainroseherbs

@frugal
You might try planting amaranth. It's a hardy weed and grows in rocky, useless soil where not much else will grow. It has a surprisingly high yield and is high in protein. Great survival plant and the seeds are miniscule so they don't take up much room.

I guess it depends what happens. If an A bomb drops on your city it will not matter how well you can survive with nothing or what kind of seeds you have.

I found these books to be more than useful for anything plant and seed related.

Edible Wild Plants A North American Field Guide

Gardening Indoors with Soil & Hydroponics

I'm not sure how good a lot of it stores, but don't forget about the stuff that comes back every year on it's own. I get a lot of asparagus, chives, rhubarb, raspberries and blueberries.

You may also want to find out about growing sprouts. They are full of nutrition and can be grown indoors relatively quickly with no need for soil or sun.

If you're going to harvest your own seeds know that different seeds may need to be handled differently. Tomato seeds for example need to be fermented before you can dry and save them because of the pulp that surrounds them.

Another thing is to know what else to plant with your veggies. For example plant marigolds with your tomatoes to help prevent aphids.

One thing that I have done...
I placed 3 bags of potting soil into a large plastic
tub.I had some potatoes that had gone to seed.
I planted them into the soil and placed the tub in the
sunlight about 4 hours a day.
I now have some baby potatoes showing up.They
are the size of marbles so far.I didn't cut the potatoes
before planting them.I planted the whole thing in the tub.
This was my first time and I don't have anything to lose.
I might even end up with more seed potatoes if nothing
more.

Me and my fiance just bought a house and we're designating a large portion of the backyard to make a garden for our family. Figure I can teach my son to eat REAL food, not the processed bull# my generation was brought up eating. We're installing a rain barrel too to water the veggies. Thanks for all the info guys! It'll come in handy within the next two months as we start planting.

What are everyone's thoughts on this question:

Better to buy Heirloom seeds from eBay or a garden centre?

Edit to add: OR a catalogue

[edit on 13-5-2010 by SerialLurker]

OP wanted to know how much seeds to buy...

hard question to answer, too many variables, how many people are you planning to feed and what's the viability of the seeds you currently have. Being that you are stocking up on heirloom, after each growing season you'll be able to save seeds from what you grow for the next season.

i'd start with something like 5 packets of each variety... Lettuce, carrots, radishes...buy much more, simply because I have no idea how to harvest seeds from those...plus these are fast growing crops and if you alternate planting you may be able to have a constant supply during the growing season.

hope that helps

The thing is with seeds and gardening learning is very important.
So read read read.
But practical application of the knowledge is paramount.
Experience is import.
Seed longevity
is effected by storage methods. Knowing How to save seeds is important.

More seed related links for everyone.

www.seedsave.org...
www.primalseeds.org...
www.abceeds.com...
www.seeds.ca...
www.bgci.org...

Thread I did.
DIY - Long Term Food And Seed Storage

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
www.usna.usda.gov...

Global Gardening Zones
vegetablegardens.suite101.com...

[edit on 13-5-2010 by The Utopian Penguin]