Buying seeds for your allotment

By James Middleton - Added 6th of May 2008

Where to shop for seeds

When looking for an unusual or rare plant seed variety, I tend to either shop on-line or visit a well stocked garden centre. Lately I have been finding that the best place to pick up a bargain is at the weekly car-boot sale. I live near one of the Midlands busiest car-boot venues, just outside of Furness End in the West Midlands. Last weekend I managed to pick up 40 packets of vegetable and flower seed for under £5. Most of them where packeted by highly reliable seed companies such as Sutton Seeds and Thompson and Morgan. The reason why they were so cheap - they were last years stock.

Using and storing old seed

The yield (amount of seeds that germinate) from old seed reduces as it gets older, so it is a good idea to always check the 'sow by date' on the back of the packet before purchasing. Fortunately, the packets that I bought last weekend are still fresh, although the sow by date suggests planting this year. I bought the seeds with the intention of planting next year as I already have enough young seedlings and plants for the next few seasons.

So have I shot myself in the foot by buying old seed? The answer to that is no. Careful storage will slow down the seed's natural deterioration. I store my seeds in an old tin box and keep them in the fridge to prolong their life.

Certain seeds do age quicker than others; parsnip and chervil (herb) spring to mind. It would be better to buy these types of seed from your local garden centre. As a rule, the larger seeds tend to keep better than some of the smaller seeds. Beans, peas, cabbage, cucumber all have a life-span of 5-6 years.

You can also allow certain plants to run to seed, collecting the seed and storing them in dry dark conditions, although methods will vary from plant to plant. Many varieties of plants in our gardens and allotments will not yield true to seed; that is, they will either not produce seed capable of germination or the offspring will not carry the same characteristics of the parents. This is especially the case with F1 hybrid strains.

Another method to try involves collecting seeds from some of the fruit and veg that we buy in the shops. So far I have had great success with butternut squashes, pomegranates and citrus plants. Try drying out the seeds before planting.

Credits & Links

Article written by James Middleton - www.theallotmentgarden.co.uk.

Information for Publishers

This article is copyrighted and you do not have consent to copy or redistribute it without written consent from the author.

Add your own comments

«Back

*Your Name
Comments Please do not use HTML codes within this field*	(Max chars: 1000) Characters remaining:
*Security Code	Please type the above code into the box below (case sensitive):
	Please Note: All comments are reviewed before going live.