This is my first year to do any of this at this scale! I'm loving it all. How could I buy/trade some of your 100 year old bean seeds? At this point I have saved seeds for many things. My husband says "how many seeds DO YOU NEED?!"
This is my first year seed saving. I harvested my San Marzano when red on the vine, kept it in the house for a couple of days before saving seeds, but the tomato was still firm and meaty. Should I have waited until it started to get soft? I’m currently fermenting the seeds and there are quite a few floating.
Excellent idea. Are they receptive to this subject? Reason I ask is because I have a 13 year old grandson and I can't imagine him sitting down to watch it.
@@PAFloridian Idea: You and your grandson get together and build a perfectly imperfect garden spot....a bed, some pots, etc. Let him pick what is put in it. Have a conversation on responsibility and accountability. Help him understand the value. Let him experience the failures and successes. Teach him as you go the joy, anticipation, disappointment, etc. He will begin to ask questions. Go to others, wiser than yourself, and seek out the answers together with your grandson. When he can build, plant, grow, enjoy, and plan... he will become connected to what sits in front of him on the table. You won't have to stress over his desire to watch a video on seed saving. .. It will become the natural next step. And then talk about the seeds, and the beauty of them. Just food for thought!
@@PAFloridian my 14 year old son (grew up in the city with no gardens) is so intrigued with these types of videos! We moved to our little 2 acre farm 2 years ago and he can't wait to get out and plant the food that he will be eating! Never underestimate your kids and grandkids when it comes to gardens :) they see the world through a different perspective that we do :)
I traveled to India for months in my mid 20's and there was a woman there who bought a property on the beach in Goa--she ran a little "resort." She was super hippy-dippy, white hair, white robe, beautiful, glowing. She told me once, "save your seeds, child. Save your seeds." I've thought about it all the time in the past 20 years. I've always known she was right, but this is the year I take heed. My husband's just bought us a homestead and we're moving in a month. I've never been more excited about anything. (Except for traveling Asia so many years ago.)
You're so fortunate to afford a homestead. Land has become more and more expensive in the past few years; wish we had started years back. Does your homestead have an existing house or have you had to build on it? I wish you the best in your homesteading journey.. very exciting!! 💃🙋🍁🥞🤗
I have seed saved Calendula for 8 years. So 8 years without buying any Calendula seeds. I feel kinda proud about that. The result weirdly is more filled flowers, bigger flowers and they seem to grow for longer into the fall.
@@wildboundwebsite I genuinely hope so! I was mistaken by the number of years though. It has actually been over 13 years since I bought seeds from Calendula. Surreal! :D
You, my dear, are the perfect example of how the older generation can learn from the younger. You're a wise youngin'. Some older...fine wine...person Taught you well Don't you ever take that for granted. Carry on dear. It's needed Wanted And appreciated!
I’ve been saving seeds for many years. It’s a great family tradition. Your video is one of the most comprehensive yet understandable presentations of the subject I’ve seen. Hopefully it will inspire many more people to begin seed saving
As a novice gardener, 4 yrs and learning - thank you for your patient instruction. Very nice, you are providing a necessary service to us former city dwellers.
I appreciate what you’re saying but I’ve been saving seeds now for over 40 years and sometimes I buy something from the store and I like it and I save those seeds and it turns out just fine the next year so please don’t discourage people from saving the seeds from food they might buy at the store that is not heirloom.
True. I sometimes hear that if you ''accidently'' create an hybrid, it's finish, it will become ''steril'' and you'll get something that you would not like. But not all the time, sometimes in the contrary, you can have pleasant surprises through the years and get interesting fruits. Well, in nature, all the plants and trees we are looking at are hybrids (it takes time dough). What do you think?
Just joined the academy... buying land this fall... literally know nothing. My dad has a huge garden in TN. Hoping between him and your academy, I will be have a chance😊
Awesome. My Missus told me about your channel. I can see why she likes you. Your presentation is good. It's clear, to the point, got the right amount of information, not overloaded or over complicated. Easy to understand. Thank you.
A dollar store electric toothbrush is fantastic for shaking tomato blossoms. (It's rubbish for brushing teeth) Fantastic videos, thank you for all the hard work and information.
So much essential information. I will have to listen again. I love seed saving and watching my produce get better every year. I have been growing Porter tomatoes every year for seven years. I do not eat tomatoes so I have testers😋. They are bigger and more prolific and better tasting every year. I also have one I marked finies. One year I have a friend several Porter plants and her husband was growing them out when he had a hemorrhagic stroke. Completely unable to care for himself or a garden I harvested the first to the last tomatoes for them as they took care of Finies in the home. I saved seeds. I have the original plus the ones I grow out every year for the family. It is a special honor to him especially since he has now passed. The power of saved seeds and their stories are priceless.
We smash planted our pumpkins last summer. Tons of seeds germinated but we thinned down to two plants. One of the plants was normal pumpkin and the other we think was a cross between yellow squash and and pumpkin. We called them squashkin. It was super prolific
We got some Red Japanese Mustard for free w/ our seed order and I let it bolt. I just harvested the seeds yesterday, but also started a Fall planting and spread the rest in the chicken run to see what they do w/ it.
Melissa, I asked you a question yesterday in the comments relative to grinding not gardening. I hoped for an answer but wasn’t sure I would get one. How amazed I was when it came up today, the very next day at the top of my subscription list. Thank you so much for your answer, your help and for putting yourself out there. Keep up the good work.
I’ve done seed saving for years. I’ve lost some beans I loved one year, due to rabbits eating all the sprouts after every time I planted until they were gone and I can’t get those anymore. This year I was giving my garden a rest, so I’ll be praying my seed from last year is still viable next year. It feels so good to be self-sufficient. Because of cross pollination I’m thinking I’ll pick one variety of each crop each year and rotate which variety each year. That way I keep each variety pure.
Carrots can bolt in the same year if they undergo stress. We had temperature of 59 one day and 91 the next few and this went on for a couple of weeks this year. Yep, carrots are bolting, Just an FYI.
I wish that I'd have seen your video a year ago. I saved my zucchini seeds from a huge and yellow matured zucchini, but this spring the seeds did not germinate at all. the seeds were from a zucchini plant that I bought from a garden centre last year. On the other hand, the English cucumber seeds that I have been saving from purchased plants for a few years now, have germinated very nicely. I have great results with my saved seeds of purple heirloom cherry tomatoes and 3 kinds of lettuces. I have also saved seeds from tall variety of snap dragon and I already have the plants transplanted in the ground. It makes me very happy when the seed saving works out.
What I just learned from another channel is that onion sets are kept from sprouting through refrigeration before you buy them, and that cold spell can provide enough of a season change to trigger them to flower - in your first year, but their second.
We might think you’re a pro at farming. We got valuable ideas from your video and we’re going to share your channel with our customers who want to start a farm. Thanks for creating this!
Great video !! I have been saving some seed off of different veggies for a while...funny thing this last yr..I had my compost ( garden trash) mixed with my wood ash( from my Insert)...and So many volunteers of everything came to life...Pumpkin, Cantaloupe, Tomatoes,peppers, Zucchini,Squash.....I just put them in flats transplanted when they were ready...thank ya Lord!! But you were very Informative..Thanks from Indiana
I have hybrid and seed saved for 30 years and my father did the same during his life time and once in a blue moon the plant was bad-bitter or cracks, etc. Most of the time the next generation is just as good...or like last year better and amazing! I grew a hybrid butternut squash + pumkin that produced nine 10-15 lbs butternut flavor squash. The flesh is 3.5 inches thick. Totally amazing for one plant. I cannot wait to see if the seeds will produce the same characteristic fruits size and flavor next year.
I am amazed how green it is everywhere! So glad to see trees growing wild and rich on the mountains and they dont even trim branches for the train. I love it!
I just bought a whole bunch of varieties of seeds to plant coming up this spring, but I bought probably 4x the number of seeds I’ll actually plant. I only have 2 4x12’ beds, but I might build more soon.
@@Paulo-py4mm Monsanto verse Texas corn farmer that was saving his own seeds = he lost. Granted he was saving his own seeds, you should always be able to buy GMO seeds, so they have repeat customers.
I just found your channel and subscribed right away!! You are my new favorite! For years i've been doing all forms of preserving and making my own bath, body and cleaning products, foraging, growing, saving seeds...etc. And i'm always learning something new from you! Thank you so much!! I want to take your course☺🙏💗
Melissa - I've had a similar journey. I'm the sole keeper of an heirloom half-runner bean seed. I grew up in GA, but the military took me around the world. It's been hard to keep it going. Where we live now it's tough to grow - we're at 6,100' elevation. We get cool nights, which slows growth and every year we get hail that wipes out gardens. But - with the help of some friends in other states, I've managed to get others to grow it and send me seed. I'm attempting an indoor grow this year - so far so good. What an incredibly informative video. You're amazing! Thanks!
beans and peas are semi self-pollinated...I raise certified beans for seed several decades. We found that though could save seed back for our own use (could not by law sale any for seed stock). Every 4 years we had to get new seed, as by cross-pollination they would vary too much that we would want to replant. the variance was obvious even at growth, as SRF stock the beans had a spear-shaped leaf, the first year we did not find any round leaves, the second year a few. For yield the 3rd year, the amount of cross-pollination previous years really did mot affect yield; we would never save any of this seed for another year, the reversion was ramped.
There are many other food security tips to be discovered on this platform AND by just doing an internet search for topics like: “flower bagging” to prevent cross pollination of vegetable seed, “hand pollination techniques” and “propagation from live cuttings”... so much great free info being shared. 👍
How do you keep your hands so clean and soft looking gardening so much? I have to scour mine so it’s either clean or soft never both lol. Love everything you do, thank you.
@@MelissaKNorris thank you, I also have no dishwasher and use doing the dishes to get my hands a little cleaner actually lol but that can get so sore. So excited about this lotion bar. Thank you!!!
Hi Melissa ! Wow, so beautiful. Thank you for enlightening us with your seed info. We are also seed savers, with a large seed bank , mostly sunflowers, squashes and tomatoes. We prefer to dry them on cardboard and then pack and label them in recycled jars for the next seasons. Let's get cooking . ♥🎊🍊
Regarding tomatoes, my garden this year was overrun by ever growing rogue tomato plants cropping up in every area of the garden. I had raised beds that just started producing healthy plants so I decided as a one year experiment, to let some of them go to fruit. The tomatoes were similar to the Brandywines that I have grown for years but not exactly the same in flavor. And there were various forms of cherry and grape tomatoes that just kept cropping up all season in crazy locations. Next year I'll aggressively control these rogues but it was an interesting year allowing our gardens to "seed save" spontaneously! BTW: Thanks Mellisa for all your hard work. You seem to know how to filter out that which is important from the endless filler material found in so many of these TH-cam videos. You are right to the point, no wasted verbiage!
Melissa, I tried to contribute in the comment section in your E mail I recieved- about certain items.. washing curtains/ drapes( mainly) in the washer...anyways..the platform there in the resonse/ comment section would not let me post my comment..it said... "repeated comment, already said that"..of course..it was my first-time..just thought you should know. Thank you for a wonderful wealth of generations of family knowledge being suggested with us
Great video. I have a 50x80 vegetable garden that I spend very little time maintaining. I use all the techniques you mentioned. I hope the garden every few days after planting and after it rains to control the germinating weeds. I till the pathways regularly and I use some mulch. By July almost no weeds appear and those that do I pull by hand. People are amazed at how little time I spend working the garden. But then again according to Lennon and McCartney. “Doing the garden, digging the weeds, who could ask for more?”
Have in the past. But not in the last few years, used to save my half runner bean seeds, and squash, some times tomatoes, and corn seed, Just smart doing this, Loved hearing you talk about the Fairy Garden, My lady friend loves hers, Peace & Love from North Carolina
tomatoes will drift pollinate. We had a specific tomato in the garden that eventually took on characteristics of other tomatoes that we grew. Sadly, we lost the one variety people couldn't get anymore. Nice presentation and thank you very much
I seed save my beans but I also cut the plants back to ground level and leave them there. They regrow the next year. I let them stay in the ground for several years before I replace them. The bigger the roots, the bigger the beans and they are still tender. It also gives me a build up of seeds to share.
I love this topic and have done quite a bit of seed harvesting on our little ranch as well. I have gotten a lot of tips from your channel that have been applied to our operation as well as our channel, thank you!
What a fantastic video! This type of information is why I recommended your channel to a friend who's also into this stud. Thanks for taking the time to run this channel!
I have heritage seeds( I didn’t grow). That said, extra income you could sell to baker creek heirloom seeds. You could also grow to save seeds for them. I don’t work for them but buy a lot..lol
I’ve been seed saving for years and also buy starters when seedlings fail. What you shared in this video explains a lot. You are so knowledgeable and I enjoy all your videos! Thank you for sharing this great info. ❤️
Six years ago it was 21 varieties of tomato! - this year one, Black Krim , my favorite. The same with the whole garden, heirlooms, one cultivar, for seed saving. Golden Bantam is going in one hoop house, with electric fencing around it - Raccoons. 100 pounds of blood meal is in 5 gallon buckets, in case it gets hard to find. The thought of having a garden and no seed keeps me up at night. No succession planting this year, just seed saving.
Tip # 4 for saving your money, if shopping for a big ticket item or just more than one of the same item don't be afraid to ask for a discount, the clerk will probably say that they are not authorized so talk to a supervisor or manager, if you don't ask, you don't get.
Sowing from saved seeds is something I have done with beans and for the first time, started my tomatoes from seeds saved from last year. The tomatoes are doing fine and as bonus, a volunteer plant grew through my potatoes and put it where it could get more sunlight. As far as carrots are concerned, there are some wild varieties growing in my area so I tend to shy away from trying to seed save those. Even had some of the wild stuff grow out of my garden,talking of course about plants in the carrot family.
Excellent video! Most people do not realize the variation between plants, within a species. As you said, always select for the best plants and yields.,
My spaghetti squash was light and dark green. And the darker green looked like zucchini. Didnt string as well as they should have but were sweet and tasty and I even ate a little of the skin because it was like zucchini. We enjoyed the blunder on the part of bonnie. We bought the seedlings in may. And they grew fast and in fact we still have 8 more growing on the vine. Have harvested a dozen already.
I loved saving seeds this year! I actually had a variety fail due to sudden hot weather in early spring, the one or two surviving plants gave me plentiful seeds for next year, so it wasn't a fail after all!
Same, got hot and a number of my plants went to seed quickly, but still had the silver lining of saving the seeds. One of the nice things about gardening is that there is usually a silver lining to failures, from learning to suddenly having an open pot for news seedlings, etc.
I love this video; it’s so informative and pleasant to hear your voice and knowledge about seed saving. I have been saving seeds for several years but I will raise it up to the next level of being ‘serious’ after hearing you talk. Thank you for your time and your willingness to share. Sending love from Arkansas! I miss the beautiful mountains of the Northwest!
The F2 generations, and beyond, will start yielding different, and sometimes tastier, varieties of fruits. It's a fun way to do long term lucky dip fun 🤗
Love your garden thank you for sharing. Your garden looks like mine. I live alone but grow for the world. I love experimenting with our black iron sand that pretty much grows everything and anything. For 15 years now I have used seeds from plants the year before without too much of a problem. I have a 5 different garden areas one being a dampish area that has NZ native trees growing here and there throughout. Last year just for fun I grew runner bean seeds around these trees to see just how high the beans would grow knowing they grow 4 meters up my garden trellis near the house. Well these climbing bean grew and grew perhaps 30' or so to the top of the trees before they stated putting feelers out looking for more climbing to do. They were covered in longer than normal pods and I put that down to the water table only being 2' beneath the surface. I left the beans there choosing not to harvest, it will be interesting to see how far they spread next year if nothing like rats or possums have eaten my seeds. Mean while in my other sand garden where water is not so available I harvest any bean that is between my knees in height to the top of my head the rest is left for seed. Often I have around 20kg of runner bean seeds and 10 kg of butter bean seeds, plus most of what you have in your garden.
This video was excellent Melissa. I have previously saved bean and tomato and lettuce seeds but gained some more insight via this information. Thank you so much for all you share to help others!
apart from beans or squashes, may be others, I quite often have a dedicated bed for growing plants for seed, especially biennials as this then doesn't tie up the beds for the next season, if one is doing crop rotation. Here in the UK hybrids are referred to as an F1 variety. I initially started saving seeds from my parsnips as the fresh seeds seemed to germinate better than shop bought, one couldn't tell how they were stored or how old. It may be apocryphal but I was told seed companies would put a certain amount of old seed in the packets. Also in the UK we have a national seed storage facility where old( heirloom ) varieties are kept. Sometimes gardeners can donate varieties if these are not in the bank.
Appreciate the in-depth explanation. One of my round zucchini plants produces fruits that look halfway between a round and a typical oblong zucchini, so looks like its parent may have been cross-pollinated from another plant! Fortunately they still taste good, so maybe I'll save seeds for the funky genetics 😄
I purchased a tomato called kumato from grocery store save some seed and planted it year and it turned into a paste shape with the same coloring very difficult to peel the next year grew again after blanching the Skins came off really good and were still the same color and shape
Same thing with chickens, hybrids can propagate but they won’t always be what you want. Now hybrids have their place, they tend to be very hardy but they also come with comprising characteristics. Plants and animals. I’m trying two subspecies of blackberries that actually need each other to pollinate next year, and hope to propagate more from slips. So much fun!
Wow so impressed with your knowledge and the ease at which you convey information. Thank you for this brilliant intro to something I've never attempted - saving my own seeds.
Have you done seed saving before? Are you doing it this year?
Yup! I always save my seeds ! I’m saving my rattlesnake pole beans this year!
Yard long beans
This is my first year to do any of this at this scale! I'm loving it all. How could I buy/trade some of your 100 year old bean seeds? At this point I have saved seeds for many things. My husband says "how many seeds DO YOU NEED?!"
Yes, 4yrs 3 more yrs they become heirloom. Save seeds off 1st harvest before we eat anything.
This is my first year seed saving. I harvested my San Marzano when red on the vine, kept it in the house for a couple of days before saving seeds, but the tomato was still firm and meaty. Should I have waited until it started to get soft? I’m currently fermenting the seeds and there are quite a few floating.
I'm going to have my grandkids watch this for their homeschooling. Thanks much. Really well done and interesting.
Excellent idea. Are they receptive to this subject? Reason I ask is because I have a 13 year old grandson and I can't imagine him sitting down to watch it.
@@PAFloridian Can't hurt, better than Netflix:)
@@PAFloridian
Idea:
You and your grandson get together and build a perfectly imperfect garden spot....a bed, some pots, etc.
Let him pick what is put in it.
Have a conversation on responsibility and accountability.
Help him understand the value.
Let him experience the failures and successes.
Teach him as you go the joy, anticipation, disappointment, etc.
He will begin to ask questions.
Go to others, wiser than yourself, and seek out the answers together with your grandson.
When he can build, plant, grow, enjoy, and plan... he will become connected to what sits in front of him on the table.
You won't have to stress over his desire to watch a video on seed saving. ..
It will become the natural next step.
And then talk about the seeds, and the beauty of them.
Just food for thought!
@@PAFloridian my 14 year old son (grew up in the city with no gardens) is so intrigued with these types of videos! We moved to our little 2 acre farm 2 years ago and he can't wait to get out and plant the food that he will be eating! Never underestimate your kids and grandkids when it comes to gardens :) they see the world through a different perspective that we do :)
Aww I'm homeschooling too
I traveled to India for months in my mid 20's and there was a woman there who bought a property on the beach in Goa--she ran a little "resort." She was super hippy-dippy, white hair, white robe, beautiful, glowing. She told me once, "save your seeds, child. Save your seeds."
I've thought about it all the time in the past 20 years. I've always known she was right, but this is the year I take heed.
My husband's just bought us a homestead and we're moving in a month. I've never been more excited about anything. (Except for traveling Asia so many years ago.)
You're so fortunate to afford a homestead. Land has become more and more expensive in the past few years; wish we had started years back. Does your homestead have an existing house or have you had to build on it? I wish you the best in your homesteading journey.. very exciting!! 💃🙋🍁🥞🤗
I have seed saved Calendula for 8 years. So 8 years without buying any Calendula seeds. I feel kinda proud about that. The result weirdly is more filled flowers, bigger flowers and they seem to grow for longer into the fall.
Sounds like the seeds are adapting to your specific environment.
@@wildboundwebsite I genuinely hope so! I was mistaken by the number of years though. It has actually been over 13 years since I bought seeds from Calendula. Surreal! :D
You, my dear, are the perfect example of how the older generation can learn from the younger.
You're a wise youngin'.
Some older...fine wine...person
Taught you well
Don't you ever take that for granted.
Carry on dear.
It's needed
Wanted
And appreciated!
Amen!
Your so informative a 100 year bean seed your ancestors would be very proud especially in todays world great job Melissa
I see why she has an Academy...she know's her green life well.
Bolted radishes also gives you an excess of seeds to grow radish sprouts.
Thanks for the terrific reminder!
I’ve been saving seeds for many years. It’s a great family tradition. Your video is one of the most comprehensive yet understandable presentations of the subject I’ve seen. Hopefully it will inspire many more people to begin seed saving
Dad saved his tomato and that's it. I'm trying to learn how to do it .
Have you checked with Baker Creek Heirloom seeds? I know they are always looking for Rare or hard to find seeds.
Melissa , technically speaking U are the best of the best candidate for homestead farming.
As a novice gardener, 4 yrs and learning - thank you for your patient instruction. Very nice, you are providing a necessary service to us former city dwellers.
This is me, too. Novice, former city girl! Haha.
You have a nice professor vibe.. very thorough, knowledgeable & excited about the subject!
Lovely. ❤❤❤
I appreciate what you’re saying but I’ve been saving seeds now for over 40 years and sometimes I buy something from the store and I like it and I save those seeds and it turns out just fine the next year so please don’t discourage people from saving the seeds from food they might buy at the store that is not heirloom.
True. I sometimes hear that if you ''accidently'' create an hybrid, it's finish, it will become ''steril'' and you'll get something that you would not like. But not all the time, sometimes in the contrary, you can have pleasant surprises through the years and get interesting fruits. Well, in nature, all the plants and trees we are looking at are hybrids (it takes time dough). What do you think?
With high humidity and heat where I live, how do I save seed for many years to stay viable?
I agree. I've had good results with the seeds of peppers and melons from the store.
Yup, I am having 10 kabocha squash this summer from the fruit I got at the Asian store last year.
Isn't it true that if you save from the first plants that bolt, eventually you will have a variety which bolts early, which is undesirable?
Just joined the academy... buying land this fall... literally know nothing. My dad has a huge garden in TN. Hoping between him and your academy, I will be have a chance😊
Awesome. My Missus told me about your channel. I can see why she likes you. Your presentation is good. It's clear, to the point, got the right amount of information, not overloaded or over complicated. Easy to understand. Thank you.
Dang! Those are some green beans. I’m glad I’m not a jealous person! 👏🏼
Green bush beans most likely. They grow massive...like 1.8 metres i believe
A dollar store electric toothbrush is fantastic for shaking tomato blossoms. (It's rubbish for brushing teeth) Fantastic videos, thank you for all the hard work and information.
So much essential information. I will have to listen again. I love seed saving and watching my produce get better every year.
I have been growing Porter tomatoes every year for seven years. I do not eat tomatoes so I have testers😋. They are bigger and more prolific and better tasting every year.
I also have one I marked finies. One year I have a friend several Porter plants and her husband was growing them out when he had a hemorrhagic stroke. Completely unable to care for himself or a garden I harvested the first to the last tomatoes for them as they took care of Finies in the home. I saved seeds. I have the original plus the ones I grow out every year for the family. It is a special honor to him especially since he has now passed. The power of saved seeds and their stories are priceless.
We smash planted our pumpkins last summer. Tons of seeds germinated but we thinned down to two plants. One of the plants was normal pumpkin and the other we think was a cross between yellow squash and and pumpkin. We called them squashkin. It was super prolific
We got some Red Japanese Mustard for free w/ our seed order and I let it bolt. I just harvested the seeds yesterday, but also started a Fall planting and spread the rest in the chicken run to see what they do w/ it.
Melissa, I asked you a question yesterday in the comments relative to grinding not gardening. I hoped for an answer but wasn’t sure I would get one. How amazed I was when it came up today, the very next day at the top of my subscription list. Thank you so much for your answer, your help and for putting yourself out there. Keep up the good work.
I’ve done seed saving for years. I’ve lost some beans I loved one year, due to rabbits eating all the sprouts after every time I planted until they were gone and I can’t get those anymore. This year I was giving my garden a rest, so I’ll be praying my seed from last year is still viable next year. It feels so good to be self-sufficient. Because of cross pollination I’m thinking I’ll pick one variety of each crop each year and rotate which variety each year. That way I keep each variety pure.
Carrots can bolt in the same year if they undergo stress. We had temperature of 59 one day and 91 the next few and this went on for a couple of weeks this year. Yep, carrots are bolting, Just an FYI.
I just love the mountains in the background and the area you live in so pretty
Skagit County is beautiful.
I wish that I'd have seen your video a year ago. I saved my zucchini seeds from a huge and yellow matured zucchini, but this spring the seeds did not germinate at all. the seeds were from a zucchini plant that I bought from a garden centre last year. On the other hand, the English cucumber seeds that I have been saving from purchased plants for a few years now, have germinated very nicely. I have great results with my saved seeds of purple heirloom cherry tomatoes and 3 kinds of lettuces. I have also saved seeds from tall variety of snap dragon and I already have the plants transplanted in the ground. It makes me very happy when the seed saving works out.
What I just learned from another channel is that onion sets are kept from sprouting through refrigeration before you buy them, and that cold spell can provide enough of a season change to trigger them to flower - in your first year, but their second.
You are a TREASURE TROVE of homesteading knowledge! I am hooked! My new favorite channel!!
Stay safe. I will watch this to fall asleep on I think. Nice and soothing garden talk. ❤️
I do the same thing. Pretty sure I fall asleep smiling!
We might think you’re a pro at farming. We got valuable ideas from your video and we’re going to share your channel with our customers who want to start a farm. Thanks for creating this!
Thank you for the information! I didn't know that detail of self-pollination, that's important and will save me a lot of trouble on seed saving,.
Great video !! I have been saving some seed off of different veggies for a while...funny thing this last yr..I had my compost ( garden trash) mixed with my wood ash( from my Insert)...and So many volunteers of everything came to life...Pumpkin, Cantaloupe, Tomatoes,peppers, Zucchini,Squash.....I just put them in flats transplanted when they were ready...thank ya Lord!! But you were very Informative..Thanks from Indiana
Great homeschooling vid. Loved, shared and gonna watch again! Well done and thank you from Nova Scotia
I have hybrid and seed saved for 30 years and my father did the same during his life time and once in a blue moon the plant was bad-bitter or cracks, etc. Most of the time the next generation is just as good...or like last year better and amazing!
I grew a hybrid butternut squash + pumkin that produced nine 10-15 lbs butternut flavor squash. The flesh is 3.5 inches thick. Totally amazing for one plant. I cannot wait to see if the seeds will produce the same characteristic fruits size and flavor next year.
I am amazed how green it is everywhere! So glad to see trees growing wild and rich on the mountains and they dont even trim branches for the train. I love it!
Great Video. Love them beautiful mountains behind you, And that garden and those flowers Beautiful and so green and healthy. Love from North Carolina
Been saving seeds, keep saving we wont be able to buy them soon
I just bought a whole bunch of varieties of seeds to plant coming up this spring, but I bought probably 4x the number of seeds I’ll actually plant. I only have 2 4x12’ beds, but I might build more soon.
Why would you not be able to buy them?
@@Paulo-py4mm Monsanto verse Texas corn farmer that was saving his own seeds = he lost. Granted he was saving his own seeds, you should always be able to buy GMO seeds, so they have repeat customers.
I just found your channel and subscribed right away!! You are my new favorite! For years i've been doing all forms of preserving and making my own bath, body and cleaning products, foraging, growing, saving seeds...etc. And i'm always learning something new from you! Thank you so much!! I want to take your course☺🙏💗
Johnny's Select Seeds pictures and lists Patterson yellow onion as F1 hybrid, so it is not heirloom variety.
Melissa - I've had a similar journey. I'm the sole keeper of an heirloom half-runner bean seed. I grew up in GA, but the military took me around the world. It's been hard to keep it going. Where we live now it's tough to grow - we're at 6,100' elevation. We get cool nights, which slows growth and every year we get hail that wipes out gardens. But - with the help of some friends in other states, I've managed to get others to grow it and send me seed. I'm attempting an indoor grow this year - so far so good. What an incredibly informative video. You're amazing! Thanks!
beans and peas are semi self-pollinated...I raise certified beans for seed several decades. We found that though could save seed back for our own use (could not by law sale any for seed stock). Every 4 years we had to get new seed, as by cross-pollination they would vary too much that we would want to replant. the variance was obvious even at growth, as SRF stock the beans had a spear-shaped leaf, the first year we did not find any round leaves, the second year a few. For yield the 3rd year, the amount of cross-pollination previous years really did mot affect yield; we would never save any of this seed for another year, the reversion was ramped.
Beans and peas can get cross polination through pollinators, that sometimes bite open a flower to get to the pollen. Saw that happen a few times.
There are many other food security tips to be discovered on this platform AND by just doing an internet search for topics like: “flower bagging” to prevent cross pollination of vegetable seed, “hand pollination techniques” and “propagation from live cuttings”... so much great free info being shared. 👍
Thank you for sacrificing your time to learn, and share.
You didn't have to.
I appreciate you.
How do you keep your hands so clean and soft looking gardening so much? I have to scour mine so it’s either clean or soft never both lol. Love everything you do, thank you.
Not having a dishwasher helps with clean 😂 but lotion bars are the secret to soft. I have a tutorial and recipe on my website
@@MelissaKNorris thank you, I also have no dishwasher and use doing the dishes to get my hands a little cleaner actually lol but that can get so sore. So excited about this lotion bar. Thank you!!!
Hi Melissa !
Wow, so beautiful. Thank you for enlightening us with your seed info.
We are also seed savers, with a large seed bank , mostly sunflowers, squashes and tomatoes.
We prefer to dry them on cardboard and then pack and label them in recycled jars for the next seasons.
Let's get cooking . ♥🎊🍊
Regarding tomatoes, my garden this year was overrun by ever growing rogue tomato plants cropping up in every area of the garden. I had raised beds that just started producing healthy plants so I decided as a one year experiment, to let some of them go to fruit. The tomatoes were similar to the Brandywines that I have grown for years but not exactly the same in flavor. And there were various forms of cherry and grape tomatoes that just kept cropping up all season in crazy locations. Next year I'll aggressively control these rogues but it was an interesting year allowing our gardens to "seed save" spontaneously! BTW: Thanks Mellisa for all your hard work. You seem to know how to filter out that which is important from the endless filler material found in so many of these TH-cam videos. You are right to the point, no wasted verbiage!
Melissa, I tried to contribute in the comment section in your E mail I recieved- about certain items.. washing curtains/ drapes( mainly) in the washer...anyways..the platform there in the resonse/ comment section would not let me post my comment..it said... "repeated comment, already said that"..of course..it was my first-time..just thought you should know.
Thank you for a wonderful wealth of generations of family knowledge being suggested with us
I found the tar heel beans at White Havest seed company
Well spoken. Smart. Beautiful 🥰
Ditto
Great video. I have a 50x80 vegetable garden that I spend very little time maintaining. I use all the techniques you mentioned. I hope the garden every few days after planting and after it rains to control the germinating weeds. I till the pathways regularly and I use some mulch. By July almost no weeds appear and those that do I pull by hand. People are amazed at how little time I spend working the garden. But then again according to Lennon and McCartney. “Doing the garden, digging the weeds, who could ask for more?”
Have in the past. But not in the last few years, used to save my half runner bean seeds, and squash, some times tomatoes, and corn seed, Just smart doing this, Loved hearing you talk about the Fairy Garden, My lady friend loves hers, Peace & Love from North Carolina
Love your videos Melissa ❤ I seed save my grandmas beefsteak tomatoes and this year im attempting lettuce and beets too xxx
tomatoes will drift pollinate. We had a specific tomato in the garden that eventually took on characteristics of other tomatoes that we grew. Sadly, we lost the one variety people couldn't get anymore.
Nice presentation and thank you very much
I could live in her garden! It's so peaceful.
I seed save my beans but I also cut the plants back to ground level and leave them there. They regrow the next year. I let them stay in the ground for several years before I replace them. The bigger the roots, the bigger the beans and they are still tender. It also gives me a build up of seeds to share.
With 5 degree F winters here beans do not regrow
Best seed saving show I have seen . Thank you very much
I love this topic and have done quite a bit of seed harvesting on our little ranch as well. I have gotten a lot of tips from your channel that have been applied to our operation as well as our channel, thank you!
What a fantastic video! This type of information is why I recommended your channel to a friend who's also into this stud. Thanks for taking the time to run this channel!
Thanks Melissa! My pole beans are doing great here in NC this year! I like the bean arch you made from wire!
Incredibly helpful. I learned things that I have never heard before 🌞🌞🌞
I have heritage seeds( I didn’t grow). That said, extra income you could sell to baker creek heirloom seeds. You could also grow to save seeds for them. I don’t work for them but buy a lot..lol
I really like watching your channel ,I learn so much and get alot of garden ideas from you.
You are very intelligent on gardening. Learned a lot from this video
Wow! The most detailed video on seed saving! Great job!!
I’ve been seed saving for years and also buy starters when seedlings fail. What you shared in this video explains a lot. You are so knowledgeable and I enjoy all your videos! Thank you for sharing this great info. ❤️
Great to leave plants to go too seed great for birds and bees
Thank you very much for the seed saving education. I learned a lot. Very good.
Fabulous information...Appreciate that you took the time to be thorough.
Six years ago it was 21 varieties of tomato! - this year one, Black Krim , my favorite. The same with the whole garden, heirlooms, one cultivar, for seed saving. Golden Bantam is going in one hoop house, with electric fencing around it - Raccoons. 100 pounds of blood meal is in 5 gallon buckets, in case it gets hard to find. The thought of having a garden and no seed keeps me up at night. No succession planting this year, just seed saving.
Fantastic information. Thank you, and will be joining your academy. :)
Tip # 4 for saving your money, if shopping for a big ticket item or just more than one of the same item don't be afraid to ask for a discount, the clerk will probably say that they are not authorized so talk to a supervisor or manager, if you don't ask, you don't get.
Sowing from saved seeds is something I have done with beans and for the first time, started my tomatoes from seeds saved from last year. The tomatoes are doing fine and as bonus, a volunteer plant grew through my potatoes and put it where it could get more sunlight. As far as carrots are concerned, there are some wild varieties growing in my area so I tend to shy away from trying to seed save those. Even had some of the wild stuff grow out of my garden,talking of course about plants in the carrot family.
Excellent teacher! Great information! Thank you! 😊💚
Thank you! This made seed saving much easier to understand!
Excellent video! Most people do not realize the variation between plants, within a species. As you said, always select for the best plants and yields.,
I learn so much from you, thanks. Great video 👍
Thank you for sharing this knowledge. It’s very educational. I wish to one day learn as much as you know about growing food.
My spaghetti squash was light and dark green. And the darker green looked like zucchini. Didnt string as well as they should have but were sweet and tasty and I even ate a little of the skin because it was like zucchini. We enjoyed the blunder on the part of bonnie. We bought the seedlings in may. And they grew fast and in fact we still have 8 more growing on the vine. Have harvested a dozen already.
I loved saving seeds this year! I actually had a variety fail due to sudden hot weather in early spring, the one or two surviving plants gave me plentiful seeds for next year, so it wasn't a fail after all!
Shasta Lea sometimes that’s the best you can hope for. Recouping seeds for next year. I’m in No. California and it’s been brutally hot.
Same, got hot and a number of my plants went to seed quickly, but still had the silver lining of saving the seeds. One of the nice things about gardening is that there is usually a silver lining to failures, from learning to suddenly having an open pot for news seedlings, etc.
GOOD FOR YOU, MELISSA!
I'm so glad I found your channel!
I love this video; it’s so informative and pleasant to hear your voice and knowledge about seed saving. I have been saving seeds for several years but I will raise it up to the next level of being ‘serious’ after hearing you talk. Thank you for your time and your willingness to share. Sending love from Arkansas! I miss the beautiful mountains of the Northwest!
The F2 generations, and beyond, will start yielding different, and sometimes tastier, varieties of fruits.
It's a fun way to do long term lucky dip fun 🤗
Love your garden thank you for sharing.
Your garden looks like mine.
I live alone but grow for the world.
I love experimenting with our black iron sand that pretty much grows everything and anything.
For 15 years now I have used seeds from plants the year before without too much of a problem.
I have a 5 different garden areas one being a dampish area that has NZ native trees growing here and there throughout.
Last year just for fun I grew runner bean seeds around these trees to see just how high the beans would grow knowing they grow 4 meters up my garden trellis near the house.
Well these climbing bean grew and grew perhaps 30' or so to the top of the trees before they stated putting feelers out looking for more climbing to do.
They were covered in longer than normal pods and I put that down to the water table only being 2' beneath the surface.
I left the beans there choosing not to harvest, it will be interesting to see how far they spread next year if nothing like rats or possums have eaten my seeds.
Mean while in my other sand garden where water is not so available I harvest any bean that is between my knees in height to the top of my head the rest is left for seed.
Often I have around 20kg of runner bean seeds and 10 kg of butter bean seeds, plus most of what you have in your garden.
Wow! That’s amazing. 😃😃😃👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
This video was excellent Melissa. I have previously saved bean and tomato and lettuce seeds but gained some more insight via this information. Thank you so much for all you share to help others!
you explain so clear, thank you!
Love your channel..this is my first year learning to save seeds. I have saved lettuce and tomato seeds so far.
apart from beans or squashes, may be others, I quite often have a dedicated bed for growing plants for seed, especially biennials as this then doesn't tie up the beds for the next season, if one is doing crop rotation. Here in the UK hybrids are referred to as an F1 variety. I initially started saving seeds from my parsnips as the fresh seeds seemed to germinate better than shop bought, one couldn't tell how they were stored or how old. It may be apocryphal but I was told seed companies would put a certain amount of old seed in the packets. Also in the UK we have a national seed storage facility where old( heirloom ) varieties are kept. Sometimes gardeners can donate varieties if these are not in the bank.
Appreciate the in-depth explanation. One of my round zucchini plants produces fruits that look halfway between a round and a typical oblong zucchini, so looks like its parent may have been cross-pollinated from another plant! Fortunately they still taste good, so maybe I'll save seeds for the funky genetics 😄
Radish pods make delicious snacks. Kind of like snap peas with a radish flavor.
This information is so important, especially now!
Excellent informative video. Thank you for sharing. Liked and subscribed.
I purchased a tomato called kumato from grocery store save some seed and planted it year and it turned into a paste shape with the same coloring very difficult to peel the next year grew again after blanching the Skins came off really good and were still the same color and shape
GREAT CONTENT!!
Really wonderful video, very informative. Thank you!
Same thing with chickens, hybrids can propagate but they won’t always be what you want. Now hybrids have their place, they tend to be very hardy but they also come with comprising characteristics. Plants and animals. I’m trying two subspecies of blackberries that actually need each other to pollinate next year, and hope to propagate more from slips. So much fun!
I'm gonna save this video! Fantastic information! Thank you😊
I didn’t see where you mentioned the book you recommended for seed saving.
Do you have a video showing how you store your seeds?
Wow so impressed with your knowledge and the ease at which you convey information. Thank you for this brilliant intro to something I've never attempted - saving my own seeds.
Extremely informative. Thank you!
Thank you so much, for sharing your knowledge.