Is it paranoid to worry about seed supplies next spring.I am thinking of ordering seed this fall.thanks for your thoughts.

-- elly snyder (fireliteca@yahoo.ca), September 20, 2001

Answers

Given several seed catalog companies have gone belly-up this year, maybe. I am ordering seed this fall just to be sure I have it.

-- beckie (sunshine_horses@yahoo.com), September 20, 2001.

I've been buying my seed from the same company (Jung Seed Company)for almost 40 years so I'm not worried.

-- Ardie from WI (ardie54965@hotmail.com), September 20, 2001.

Hmmmm.....think I'll dig out that Stokes catalogue and get my seeds now.

-- Chelsea (rmbehr@istar.ca), September 21, 2001.

is it too late for you to save some of your own seed? I am saving pole and bush beans and my peas. My tomatoes all crossed but I have seeds leftover for next year as wells a left over seeds for some other stuff like lettuce and spinach. Dig this! My spinach seed is 3 yrs old and still germinating great! I don't save my lettuce seed because I have quite a bit of wild lettuce around here and it will cross. Just a thought though if something thats still bearing is open pollinated maybe you can save the seed yourself.

-- Alison in NS (aproteau@istar.ca), September 24, 2001.

Are you sure your tomatoes crossed? Tomatoes are mostly self- pollinating, and even planted next to each other, don't generally cross enough to worry about. If you want to keep the varieties scrupulously pure, you might have to take measures such as distance, or caging and hand pollinating. Beans, I believe, are also mostly self pollinating.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), September 24, 2001.

Oh yeah they would most likely have crossed because I planted many plants of 3 varieties very closely together. It was a tomato trial this year..who would win the best tomato and that worthy of me saving seeds. None blew me away but Mystery Keeper is yet to be tasted. I only planted one variety each of bush and pole beans so they are fine..same with the peas. I also save some flower seeds like my calendula. Here in Canada we have an occassion called Seedy Saturday (sponsored by Seeds Of Change Canada among others) where plants, seeds, tubers etc can be traded and sold (seems mostly sold to me)and bought by home gardeners, cooperative gardeners, and farm museum gardeners. Here in NS its in March this year and I can not wait! I bought a fabulous spring planted garlic last year and will be buying lots more to go with that which I saved this year (hope it keeps!). i will have some beans, peas, and calendula to offer this year.

-- Alison in NS (aproteau@istar.ca), September 25, 2001.

Oh DUH...its Seeds of Diversity not seeds of change..sorry for the confusion. Those darn names are so similar.

-- Alison in NS (aproteau@istar.ca), September 25, 2001.