Saving seeds long term – the easy way!
David’s books: https://amzn.to/3L5JHQu
Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth: https://amzn.to/421pzoI
Landrace Gardening by Joseph Lofthouse: https://amzn.to/3l8G6X7
Free Plants for Everyone: https://amzn.to/3Yu9xRe
COMPOST YOUR ENEMIES and CHAINSAW T-shirts: https://www.aardvarktees.com/collections/vendors?q=The%20Survival%20Gardener
You’ve probably seen a survival seed collection for sale. There are great big survival seed vault offers, with everything from sweet corn to beets, all packed in a way to make seeds last longer than you might expect.
However, you can save seeds in the fridge by putting them in mason jars with silica gel packets and they’ll keep for a REALLY long time. You can also save seeds from the garden if you know a few tips and tricks.
By growing seeds in the garden, you can save varieties from year to year and never have to buy seeds again. Or, take advantage of all the spring seed sales right now and get lots of seed packets, then store seed away in your very own mason jar survival seed supply.
We use a combination of both methods, storing seeds and growing seeds and saving seed from the garden. You can too! If supply chains go down, you’ll have all you need to grow a survival garden, Doomsday Prepper style!
It’s not exactly the Svalbard seed vault, but it’s way better than what most people have.
00:00 Introduction
00:58 It’s Spring: Seed Buying Time
02:28 Your Super Simple Seed Vault
04:18 Growing Your Own Seed and Saving it
05:38 Seed Saving Knowledge
07:23 Conclusion – How We’re Saving Seeds
09:03 Post-Credits Montage of Harvesting and Weighing Produce
37 Comments
Today we cover how to save seeds the easy way!
David's books: https://amzn.to/3L5JHQu
Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth: https://amzn.to/421pzoI
Landrace Gardening by Joseph Lofthouse: https://amzn.to/3l8G6X7
Free Plants for Everyone: https://amzn.to/3Yu9xRe
COMPOST YOUR ENEMIES and CHAINSAW T-shirts: https://www.aardvarktees.com/collections/vendors?q=The%20Survival%20Gardener
You've probably seen a survival seed collection for sale. There are great big survival seed vault offers, with everything from sweet corn to beets, all packed in a way to make seeds last longer than you might expect.
However, you can save seeds in the fridge by putting them in mason jars with silica gel packets and they'll keep for a REALLY long time. You can also save seeds from the garden if you know a few tips and tricks.
Thank you for watching.
what kind of radishes were those big red ones?
New gardener here, is seed saving only for heirloom?
unrelated comment: I was accused of putting meat/bones in the 'collective' compost and then accused of being your friend in the same breath. I don't think we've met… and i'd never 'contaminate' someones else's compost.
otherwise thank you from holding me back from the abyss and buying one of those survival packets, just in case. Excited to try some of this okra we saved from last year and maybe some of the chinese red noodle beans… definitely not going to try to plant any of the corn that i dried out and is sitting in a box on the back porch since november
With gardening everybody wins….pigs enjoying some fresh greens, your chickens also and of course The Good Family as well!
How far apart should you plant peppers/tomatoes to keep them true to seed?
Wow your soil looks awesome 👌
It is surprising how long seeds last! I have some that are years and years old and they still work perfectly! I was very shocked! I never throw away any seeds.
David, You always get Heirloom seeds – correct?
We will not get anything else & we do save seeds from our plants. Sometimes just let the seeds drop & regrow. Judi
Great topic David.
I, personally, do not store seeds in jars.
Seeds are living organisms and like all living organisms, they need oxygen to survive.
They don't take big breaths like we do, but they do respire on a very small level and without air they do die.
This is the primary cause of seedlings not coming up when planted too deeply. The seeds can't get the oxygen they need to germinate, so they die.
Many jars seal out air (especially food storage jars that are designed to seal airtight).
No oxygen=dead seeds.
For those that do choose jars for storage, I have 2 suggestions;
1) every once in a while, open the jar briefly to let air in. It can be twice a year like changing the time on a clock.
2) which is the VERY important:
Do NOT stuff a jar full of seeds.
Why? See above.
The more seeds stored in a jar, the more oxygen is needed.
Yet, over packing the jar uses up air space and yet needs more oxygen than a sparsely packed jar.
Think of a small room crowded with people – it will need an air exchange unit, fan or ventilation system of some type running so the crowd has enough air.
Now in reverse, a single person alone in a big room can survive for quite a long time before the oxygen is used up without any fan running.
Glad spring has come your way. It's snowing here in Connecticut❄️ and won't be safe to plant out most crops until late May or even early June 😕, still months away.
Happy Gardening.
CT Worms and Gardens
I'm so glad you said it. I've been saying this for year's
Good video. That "Seed to Seed" book is my go-to book.
I love the elegant dinner music you played for the piggies feeding time. How fancy….that was over the top…funny stuff…
Excellent as always!
we have a vacuum sealer. We buy the packets that we want to work with and then we clip the end so that any air in the packet itself can be sucked out without sucking out the seeds.
just the first 30 seconds caught me and made me laugh. Thank you for normalizing and showing the need and skills for keeping seeds and growing them,.
Yea 'Don't eat the pizza box' — so they can say that they told you so
I've been saving seeds for the past 3 years — beets & radishes bolted so I've saved the seeds.
I've experimented with popcorn, bean and flax etc to see if they'll grow
Store bought squash etc … I save the seeds.
Thank you David!!!
Great video. Thanks for sharing this info ☺️ I'm growing different beans and saving the seeds and made a video of it. The beans grew fast. I have lots of silica packets and I will try your method. Have a great day and happy gardening 🌿🌱😊🤗
slightly off topic, as you mentioned silica gel. My mind wandered to what happens if you actually eat the do not eat sachet. I love the internet –
Q – What does silica gel taste like?
A- With regard to taste descriptors, 'supertasters' within the panel of 22 volunteers ascribed a 'chalky' taste to silica in water and 'metallic taste' to bulk silicon. Their taste descriptors for oxidized porous silicon were 'no metallic taste' or 'no off-taste'.20 Jul 2012
DO NOT EAT
obviously, (he thought)
Good video. Thanks to the book recommendations
Thank you for another excellent video! As a newbie to gardening, I really appreciate your informative and easy to understand vids! Thx agains, blessings to you and yours 🕊🌾 Sharing
Excellent episode! It gave me Reading Rainbow vibes.
I'm trying to store Loquat seeds in the fridge but they're kinda like avocado seeds, they can dry out… one source said store them in lightly moist moss so I used wrung-out coco coir… is this correct for larger tropical seeds like this or would they store better long-term without the humidity? Thanks
Exactly what I want to hear someone tell me… Just go buy a bunch of seeds. Yes. Yes. I will… Thank you for enabling my habit. Usually I hear… Don't you think you have enough seeds? Like that's a lot… Silly city people, it's never, ever "enough". 🤣😂💯🌻🌾🦅🌿🕊️🌿🌻❣️
David, Thank you! I have been looking for credible information on this for years!
I mean yes, everyone has got an *idea*, but nobody could really speak about it from knowledgeable firsthand experience!
I am sure that you have saved many lives and many harvests with this great and much-needed video!
Great ❤
0:23 lettuce has no substance
1:56 nothing lasts forever. Grow now and save the seeds! That’s the only way! I’ve got dozens of seed vaults (masons jars), keep them in the cellar where it’s cool and dark. Works great!
6:30 it doesn’t have to be forever, most people won’t survive half a season when the grid goes down.
I been using ziplock bags. I like your idea better. Thank you for the knowledge 😊👍
I thought seeds need oxygen? Or is that just when germinating or cold stratifying?
The place and the garden look SUPER!
Chickens Dave:- How do people in countries where they cant get purina feed their chickens? What about legumes? Can you grow/dry enough of those ? DEFINITELY nut trees. The worm bin etc I’d have more if there’s room. Fish? Or other water born life – Can you grow any – in a pond/water source? The predators that one in – cant you trap and process them? Using lots of sources and variety perhaps.
I'm not to new to gardening overall but a newbie to starting with seeds. So far I'm having about 80% success rate. Maybe it's the seeds? Gosh. Like the idea of storing seeds. The older seeds are best anyway. Jensen Beach FL here
Eline emeğine sağlık bu güzel vlog için kolay gelsin hayırlı işler….👍👍👍👍
I like to store my seeds in individual ziploc bags. The bags use much less space! I also keep them in a cooler in my closet.
I had a woman at whole foods tell me not to by seeds when she found out I didn’t have land. She actually said “seeds expire”.
She also discouraged my idea for a seed/seedling swap and trying to get a church that I know has land to let me use it.
I’m now trying to channel that feeling I get from these types of experiences in my book “Lies They Tell You About Gardening”.
Despite gardening for 4 years in my apartment I still have people who tell me it can’t be done. But don’t want to see the pictures.
One woman insisted that my tomato plants had to be kale because hers are. Obviously she was misinformed in several ways. 😂
Writing the stupid stuff down helps. It’s t gives me a good laugh.
But it’s people like you on YouTube U who showed me it was possible to grow before I was told I couldn’t.
Thanks for the continued encouragement.
Thank you for the book recommendations. I've gardened off and on most of my life. Now I'm gardening like lives depend on it…