Save Money Harvesting Your Own Seeds
From: Christy
When you grow marigolds in your garden, make sure to break off the blossoms after they die off and save them in an empty coffee can. Cover it with a plastic lid with holes punched in it. The dead blossoms will continue to dry up and, the following season, you won’t have to buy marigold seeds or marigold plants. In the spring just take your supply of dried up marigold blossoms to the garden area where you want them to grow and simply rotate the dead blossoms between your fingers until they flake apart. Then just lightly cover the area with fine garden soil, water and watch your free marigold plants emerge.
Note from Jill:
You can do this with zinnias and other flowers too. A word of warning, though– Marigolds are beyond hearty and will often come up the next year without reseeding. Ask me how I know this as I pull up yet another marigold plant. ;-)
Photo By: Alan Levine
Thank you for all your wonderful ideas. I just love getting your e-mails.
A few years back I decided to buy heirloom vegetable & herb seeds ($1.50-$2.00/pk). I haven’t regretted my decision. There are a lot of plants that you can save seed from year to year, not just flowers. Squashes and lettuce are VERY easy. One reputable source is Seed Saver’s Exchange, another is Baker’s Creek Heirloom Seeds. Both have websites and catalogs and Baker’s Creek usually sends along information for how to save basic seeds. Baker’s Creek also has seed potatoes and garlic bulbs that you can plant and then replant. It’s been great fun, and a learning experience for my family and I.
I also started buying heirloom seeds last year and I’m so happy to be able to plant my first saved seeds this year.
A friend of mine bought some peanuts in the shell year before last from the grocery store and planted them. They grew a lot of peanuts last year. Will watermelon, cantaloupe, squash, dried beans,tomatoes, peppers, and other things that produce seeds grow? In other words can we buy vegetables and save the seeds to use to grow things?
As a general rule no. If you buy produce that was grown from heirloom seeds then you can do that and you can grow potatoes and garlic from the store but other than that that’s about it.
Thank you Tawra that is good to know. I was wondering about potatoes since they seem to sprout easy. Just starting to plan my garden and was thinking about what to plant where. Peanuts, garlic and potatoes are a good start plus a few tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, etc., etc.