Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Proper Seed Storage

I have been investigating how to properly store seeds to make them last as long as possible. The way I see things going, we won't have organic seeds in the future/no variety. So we typically grab a few non-hybrid, non GMO, and organic seeds as we see them, and keep slowly adding to our collection. We don't have the space for a garden quite yet, so I want the seeds to last long enough to make it to those times. 
I read a really good quote, "To plant a garden is to believe in the future." - Audrey Hepburn 




We should be growing our own food, and if not know your farmer! I do not believe we will have many options of what kind of seeds that will be available to us. We are almost forced to have a greenhouse so the garden wont be attacked by Monsanto's GMO crops contaminating everything. Our entire seed collection could be completely taken away in one day if contamination happened. Once it is contaminated it is technically their crop, and their seeds. It's a bit like plagiarism. You stole their product, and aren't giving them credit(Ha!). Except you didn't know you were stealing. Or piracy.. It is the same thing, you didn't know you were downloading illegally. So now you have to pay. This world is so jacked, when corporations are legally human. It is called "Corporate Personhood". They can buy and sell property, hire and fire, sue and be sued, and so on. Lawyers argue that an attempt to sue a corporation for lying is an unconstitutional infringement on its First Amendment right to free speech (More on that here).
Back to my seed saving ; ) I have two ways I store my seeds. I purchased a mylar heat sealed bag filled with 2,500 2010 harvested non hybrid/non GMO seeds. The seeds will last 10-15 years refrigerated, or 20-25 years in the freezer(as you may have guessed- mine is in the freezer). In my opinion it was an investment for our future (buy yours here). With the gas prices, and prices of food sky rocketing and no end in site. All we need is sunshine, water, and time. We can have everything the supermarket offers at home for free, plus more variety. Next- all of the seeds we have been collecting I have been storing them in an air tight stainless steel jar in the fridge. You could also use a mason jar. I purchased silica gel packets to place inside of the jar to absorb any moisture that might form. Silica gel can absorb 15 percent of its weight in water vapor in 2 hours (purchase them here). The seeds we save ourselves- we let them air dry for 5-7 days- place in ziploc bags-then label. The goal is low moisture, low temperature, and low oxygen. Bring the jar to room temperature before opening to avoid condensation inside the jar. In this process it is guessed they will last 4-5 years, place them in the freezer to last even longer. Simple food security.

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