Survival Seed Vault – Heirloom Emergency Survival Seeds – 20 Easy-to-grow Varieties

Could you feed your family from your garden if you *had* to? What if you simply decided you wanted to?

This emergency survival seed vault was created to serve that very purpose. With a large selection, this seed bank contains 20 varieties of easy-to-grow heirloom vegetable seeds. All seeds are packaged in jumbo-sized triple-layered foil packets. These packets have built in zip-lock, so they can be resealed once opened. Detailed planting, harvesting, and seed saving instructions are included!

Survival Garden Seeds Hermetically Stored For Greater Shelf Life

Heirloom Seeds Are Open Pollinated & 100% Non-GMO

Survival Seeds May Be Planted, Harvested, and Replanted Endlessly

Manufacturer Has Signed Safe Seed Pledge

Waterproof Emergency Seed Supply

Get it here: Survival Seed Vault – Heirloom Emergency Survival Seeds – 20 Easy-to-grow Varieties

Seed Saving 101 (FREE 30 Page Guide)

If you grow your own fruit and vegetables, I think saving seeds from successful crops is a no-brainer. It saves you money, allows you to be self-sufficient and it enables you to replant varieties which have already proven themselves to crop well and resist disease. It just makes sense!

A lot of the time, seed saving is pretty simple – beans, for example, couldn’t be easier. Just leave them on the plants until the pods start to shrivel and dry out; then just pop off the beans and store them somewhere dry until replanting. Things like carrots, cauliflower and cabbages are not quite as straightforward, but again, once you know how it is relatively simple.

Below is a link to download a FREE 30 page PDF guide from the Seed Alliance. It is a very detailed guide that covers everything you need to know about saving seeds for the most commonly grown plants. I highly recommend you download it and print it out. When you click on the link, it will open the PDF guide your browser. To save it, just right-click on the first page and choose ‘Save As’.

Seed Saving 101 (FREE 30 Page Guide)

(Photo from: Seed Alliance)

List Of 100+ Heirloom, Non-GMO & Organic Seed Companies

We all (should) know the benefits and advantages to using heirloom, non-GMO and organic seeds. Simply put, they are as nature intended and when you work with nature, rather than against it, you get the best long-term results…

There are currently 100+ heirloom, non-GMO and organic seed companies listed now, mainly across the US, Canada, UK/Ireland and Australia. There are a few others elsewhere, but these are the main locations.

What I particularly like about this list, is that it is largely made up of small independent seed suppliers, rather than the huge seed/gardening companies. Personally, I would much rather spend my money with a small, family run, ethical business, rather than a huge faceless international corporation. Check out the list and bookmark a few suppliers for next year’s seeds.

List Of 85+ Heirloom, Non-GMO & Organic Seed Companies

(Photo from: Off The Grid)

Seeds Explained: Heirloom, Hybrid, GMO (Includes Pros & Cons Of Each)

When did choosing and purchasing fruit and vegetable seeds get so complicated?

Years ago seeds were just seeds and you purchased what the store had in stock. These days you have heirloom, hybrid and GMO seeds to choose from…

If you are confused by all the terms, this great infographic from Dr J Renae Norton will help you make the right choice.

(Graphic from: Eating Disorder Pro)

A Prepper’s & Homesteader’s Guide to Buying Seeds

It’s getting to that planning and planting time again and many folks are buying and planting seeds.

The things is, which seeds should you purchase? Organic, heirloom, hybrid or those cheap ones from the $1 store? Well, it largely depends on your values/beliefs, your requirements, and your budget.

From a prepper, homestead and self-sufficient point of view, you will likely be interested in seed saving, that is – you harvest some of the seeds from this year’s crops for planting the following year. To do this effectively you need to invest in the right seeds, to begin with. Seed saving will save you money and enable you to be more self-sufficient in the longer term, so it is worth paying a little extra for these seeds now.

Jennifer from ‘Are We Crazy Or What’ has written a great guide on buying seeds, which breaks down the different kinds of seeds and the benefits of each. It’s a great read, especially if you are going to be buying some seeds soon.

The “Dirt” on Seeds: A Prepper’s Guide to Buying Seeds

(Photo from: Are We Crazy Or What)

When To Plant Vegetable Seeds (2 EXCELLENT Printable Charts)

Knowing when to plant seeds is crucial to successful germination and healthy plants.

I don’t know about you, but I am always eager to get sowing seeds indoors this time of year. Trouble is I always sow too many and too soon. They shoot up in the seed trays indoors and they are ready to be transplanted outdoors in no time. Problem is – it is still too cold outdoors to plant them out…

These two charts have been created by the lovely folks at Roots Nursery and I don’t need to tell you how useful the charts will be. If you are like me you’ll have them printed out in no time.

Do me a favour, though – if you like these charts as much as me, head over to the Roots Nursery Facebook page and ‘Like’ their Facebook page as way of a Thank You!

The Storage Life of Seeds

Now is a good time to get out your seeds and take a look at the dates and storage conditions. If you are prepping, you may have stockpiled a mass of seeds but are those seeds still good to use?

Seeds of plants have different shelf lives which evolved under the conditions of the origination of the plant species. The seed coat that protects the seed also determines the length of time that the seed germ can stay alive and any conditions that must be met to stimulate germination.

The Storage Life of Seeds

(Picture Credit: garlandcannon)

5 Advantages Of Starting Seeds Indoors

It’s getting to that time of year again when we are starting to think about planting, but you have to be so careful planting early, heavy rain, late snow, and frost can all spell disaster for germinating seeds and seedlings. Starting your seeds off indoors can give you a good head-start on the season, whilst also ensuring your plants aren’t at the mercy of early spring weather.

When starting seeds off indoors, the main thing you have to do is harden them off before planting outside. You can’t just move the plants from a heated environment and then put them straight outside in the cold. There has to be a period of adjustment for the plant, where you can place them outdoors during the daytime for a few days and bring them in overnight. This way, when you do finally plant them out, it won’t be quite the shock to the system.

If you want to read more about starting seeds off early indoors, the Prep-Blog has written and article on the 5 advantages of doing so.

5 Advantages Of Starting Seeds Indoors

How to Sprout Seeds for Super Quick, Super Nutrition

The nutritious value of sprouts is nothing short of amazing. All sprouts contain a higher concentration of vitamins, minerals, proteins, enzymes, anti-oxidants and trace minerals than when the plant is fully matured. When you add to this the fact they can be grown in a jar anywhere and they are ready to eat in 3-5 days, they are a no-brainer for preppers.

MRSs and tinned goods will keep you alive but you will not be in the best shape without getting some fresh fruit and vegetables into your diet as well. Sprouting seeds are excellent for this as there are many varieties with different nutritional properties. Personally, I don’t feel sprouting seeds can be overlooked when it comes to prepping and self-sufficiency.

See: How To Make Fresh Sprouts With Sprouting Seed

Build A Back Saving PVC Corn, Bean, Seed Planter

Do you know what, I am not even 40 yet and already my back already protests after a short while of bending over planting seeds/beans etc, so God knows the problems this must cause for folks in their 50s, 60s, 70s etc, and others with back and joint conditions such as arthritis.

I have not looked properly, but I don’t recall ever seeing a device like this planter in stores or advertised on the TV. This is surprising as it is immediately obvious that a great many gardeners would benefit from it. Anway, even if you can purchase them, there is not need as below is a tutorial from ‘Sensible Survival’ showing how to make your own back saving seed planter from PVC pipe.

How To Build A Back Saving PVC Corn, Bean, Seed Planter

(Image from: Sensible Survival)