Apr 8th, 2011
Is It True That Survival Seeds Actually Are Worth Purchasing Or A Waste Of Money
It is no secret that the world seems to be undergoing a period of economic and societal instability. Few people feel as secure about the future as they did previously, and the proliferation of terrorist attacks has definitely affected people. Many families now have stockpiles of food in their basements ‘just in case’. However, these supplies are finite, and once they give out, the problem of hunger will arise. Survival Seeds
By growing Survival seeds in the kitchen garden, now everybody can have that sense of security that they will not starve even in the hardest of times that might arise in the future. The great thing about these seeds is that they are open-pollinated, and most people could rely on these seeds to obtain sufficient food. Though there are hybrid seeds available in the market as well, but they are usually inadequate, because their seeds can not be used to grow a parent-plant again. A hybrid is actually the outcome of a cross-pollination undertaken between 2 plants of similar characteristics. Though there are positives associated with hybrids like better yield and better endurance against diseases, but still, the inability of the hybrid seed to produce the parent plant again tilts the balance in favor of open-pollinated seeds.
One could look at several sources to buy these survival seeds over the counter. A number of companies specializing in producing vegetable-seeds could be contacted to pick up both open pollinated and hybrid seeds. Most of these seeds producing companies also have on-line catalogs, so it should not be a problem to pick the seeds that a household would require to grow in their backyard.
There are several ways that you can purchase your survival seeds. There are many companies that sell vegetable seeds, and many of them carry both heirloom and hybrid varieties. It is quite possible to go through either an online or physical catalog and pick out the open-pollinated seeds that you want. It might be much easier, however, to avail yourself of one of the seed companies that specialize in heirloom survival seeds. The seeds offered by these companies are guaranteed to be open pollinated, so that you can save the seeds from year to year – there will be no need to buy new seeds every spring. Another benefit of purchasing from a survival seed company is that many of their seeds come from small farmers in the United States, so you will also be supporting family farming when you use survival seeds.
Many survival seed companies sell a survival garden package that will allow you to plant up to an acre of food. The seeds are often meant to be stored for a time of actual emergency, so if you are not planning to start your survival garden immediately, make certain that the seeds are packaged in such a way that will maintain their viability. Seeds packed in mylar are probably the safest, and will generally keep for five years, although if you freeze them, they should last for ten.
Once a survival-seeds garden starts functioning, there might be concerns with respect to the low level of productivity achieved through these open-pollinated seeds in comparison to their hybrid counterparts. However, this issue could be easily addressed by increasing the harvest area in the garden. The great thing about open pollinated-seeds though is the rich original flavor of fruits and vegetables, which would never be possible with hybrid seeds.
If there are issues like over prodution of foods from the graden, they could be addressed by laying down a proper plan for storing this surplus harvest. Most of the vegetables and fruits could be easily stored by freezing, caning, or even dehydrating.
However, before you preserve or eat all of your harvest, remember to save some of the seeds for next year’s use. Some preparation is necessary, so be sure that you understand how to make sure that your saved seed will be viable for the next season’s planting.
As far as types of seeds are concerned, there would only be 2 main categories to deal with including dry-seeds and wet-seeds. Dry-seeds are comparatively easier to preserve for next season than wet-seeds. The process of sampling dry seeds is quite simple, and requires only a few steps. Firstly the seeds are taken from plants, and then they are rinsed to clear any dirt. Later on they are spread in the sun to dry. A crucial thing though is avoiding over exposure of seeds to heat beyond 95 degree F, which would be fatal for the seeds in cutting down their germination rate. Once dried up properly, these seeds could be easily stored in glass containers with their proper label indicating whether they are dry or wet-seeds. Storage of Wet-seeds however requires the seeds to be kept in water for a number of days for fermenting. Once the fermentation has taken place, then they would again need to be washed and left for drying to store for the next season.
This survival seeds overview was merely 1 thing to help you get informed. Click 1 of the articles on this site to find out more information about survival seeds right now.
