I got the coolest thing in the mail last week from Hometown Seeds; a sealed package of non-hybrid, emergency survival seeds that keep for up to five years (ten if frozen)! Talk about some brilliant food storage! The whole package is only thirty-odd dollars (on sale from $50) and you can plant 3/4 of an acre worth of food with it. And, of course, all the seeds are non-hybrid, non-GMO so you can save the seeds and continue the whole storage/preparedness/self-sufficiency thing. But I just love that someone else figured out which are the best varieties and put it all together in a little kit (I love kits!) that you can simply tuck in the back of your freezer for a few years for some peace of mind.
I, of course, opened ours right away because a) the curiosity was killing me, and b) we're going to plant a lot of them this year anyway and then save the seeds. I wish we had room for corn though... maybe we'll give those seeds to Clay's brother and sister-in-law. So, here's what spilled out of the shiny, silver package; Golden Bantam Sweet Corn, Lincoln Peas, Champion Radishes, Spanish Onions, Beets, Tomatoes, Bloomsdale Longstanding Spinach, Golden Acre Cabbage, Swiss Chard, Paris Island Lettuce, Scarlet Nantes Carrots, Peppers, Butternut Squash, Cucumbers, Kentucky Wonder Pole Beans, and Black Beauty Zucchini!! That's a whole garden's worth!
The seeds came with a whole packet of information about the seeds; they were chosen because they do well in short season climates (and thus would be fine in long season ones too), are easy to grow and are adaptible for most regions. They quote a study that says that with $30 worth of seeds you can grow $600 worth of vegetables; that's a way better return on your money than playing the stock market! The packet gives tips abot soil modification, moisture, planting times, harvesting and saving the seeds and even nutritional info about each of the veggies. And it's all really simple and basic, no frills, nothing fancy, just good, honest seeds. I love it and I can't wait to plant some!
