As I was shelling the peas, I started to thinking of reasons why we as Homesteaders should save our own seeds. There are several reasons, some obvious, and some not so obvious.

(1) Saving your own seeds is economical. I do not know about you, but I am the original cheap skate. I like to save money any way I can. Seed saving is one way to cut down on the expense of your garden. My father-in-law ordered some watermelon seeds from a well known seed company this past year. When the seeds arrived (which was almost to late) we opened the package and inside was 5 seeds. FIVE seeds for $3.50 plus shipping and handling! The watermelons he ordered are seedless on top of that so he can not even save seeds from them. The watermelons I grow are worth several thousand dollars just for the seeds at that rate. I know this is an extreme example, but seeds from any seed house is like gold. Have you ever figured out what an ounce of lettuce seed cost? Lettuce is one of the easiest seeds to save too. You can cut your expense to almost nothing by saving your own. If you are raising produce for market like we do this is very important.

(2) Saving your own seeds lets you know what you have. Have you ever read the ads in seed catalogs? They sound so tempting that you could spend hundreds of dollars and still not get all of the seeds you really would like to have. Remember these ads are written to catch the gardener. Just like most fishing lures are made to catch the fisherman and not the fish. DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING YOU READ IN SEED CATALOGS. Watch the plants during the growing and producing season. The ones that do good in your area that you like, keep the seeds from them. You know what you have then.

(3) Saving your seeds lets you control your garden better. Did you know that seeds that grow in your area get acclimated to that area? As a Texan, I would freeze to death in Wisconsin in the winter (maybe in the summer too). Seeds are like people they get used to growing in certain climates and they do best in that climate. Most of the seed catalogs sell seed that are grown completely out of our area. You can also choose which seeds you want to save. NEVER save seeds from an inferior plant. You will only get inferior plants the next year. The rule of thumb is, save the best seeds from the best plants. The next harvest time, save the best seeds from the best plants again. Be ruthless in segregating the seeds. Throw away small seeds and keep only the largest ones. Use seeds from only the best formed ears or pods or fruits on the best plants. You will find that you will eventually develop your own strain of seed for that plant.

(4) Saving your seeds insures quality. Did you know that most seeds you order are genetically engineered now? I do not know about you, but I had rather have seeds that are not tampered with. By saving my own seed, I am assured they are good, organic, and not genetically changed in any way. I also know they have not been coated, sprayed, or dipped in any fungicides etc. I like the idea of pure wholesome seeds that will grow into pure wholesome plants and produce pure wholesome fruit and vegetables. We learned the hard way on this when I did not save corn for this years crop and my brother bought seed corn from a local dealer. The seeds were coated pink. When you handled any of it the pink came off on your hands. We finally threw it away afraid to use it. We got some more seed from my brother-in-law and planted that.

(5) Finally saving your own seed is pleasing. If you want to be self sufficient like we do, you should do everything you can to work towards that goal. Saving your own seed is part of that process. Just like raising chickens or pigs or cattle. It gives you a sense of accomplishments. It is great to be able to go to the seed storage, pull out seed from last years crop and begin to plant. No waiting on the postman to bring them from a far and distant land. No trips into town. No paying out precious cash for a few seeds that may or may not grow in your area. It is pleasing to know you did it like your ancestors did.

Happy Gardening

Byron Tumlinson

T-N-T Farm