Has Burpee seeds on sale for 40% off .Yours might too . Sale includes their
line of heirloom seeds , I got some Touchon carrots and Brandywine Pink
tomatoes . Plus some other stuff not marked as heirloom , but neither are
they marked as hybrids .

--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

On Jan 21, 3:29*pm, "Snag" wrote:
Has Burpee seeds on sale for 40% off .Yours might too . Sale includes their
line of heirloom seeds , I got some Touchon carrots and Brandywine Pink
tomatoes . Plus some other stuff not marked as heirloom , but neither are
they marked as hybrids .

--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

Where is Local?

wrote:
On Jan 21, 3:29 pm, "Snag" wrote:
Has Burpee seeds on sale for 40% off .Yours might too . Sale
includes their line of heirloom seeds , I got some Touchon carrots
and Brandywine Pink tomatoes . Plus some other stuff not marked as
heirloom , but neither are they marked as hybrids .

--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

Where is Local?

Memphis Tn. in this case .
--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

On Jan 21, 5:39*pm, "Snag" wrote:
wrote:
On Jan 21, 3:29 pm, "Snag" wrote:
Has Burpee seeds on sale for 40% off .Yours might too . Sale
includes their line of heirloom seeds , I got some Touchon carrots
and Brandywine Pink tomatoes . Plus some other stuff not marked as
heirloom , but neither are they marked as hybrids .

--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

Where is Local?

* Memphis Tn. in this case .
--
Snag
Learning keeps
you young !

Great, that means there is a better chance for the same in North
Carolina

Snag wrote:

Has Burpee seeds on sale for 40% off .Yours might too . Sale includes their
line of heirloom seeds , I got some Touchon carrots and Brandywine Pink
tomatoes . Plus some other stuff not marked as heirloom , but neither are
they marked as hybrids .

also check out local hardware stores or
other stores nowadays. even the dollar stores
have seeds sometimes.

i'm picking up most my extra seeds and
new varieties at five pkgs for a buck.
sure some won't germinate at the rate
stated on the package, but usually i bump
up the sowing rate and have to thin
later anyways.


songbird

On Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:59:43 -0500, Derald wrote:

Same brand (Ferry-Morse); same seeds; same lot number; same quantity;
pre-priced (printed as part of the label): Home Depot, 97¢; Sherwood's Nursery,
$1.75. The only other difference is the product illustration. I'm all for
supporting local small business, and do so, but nearly twice the price is kind
of jaw-tightening.

I thought it was other parts of the anatomy that tightened up...

I stepped into a nearby K-Mart a few weeks ago, as it was near a place
I had an appointment which I had arrived early for. Picked up several
heavy-gauge tomato cages for cheap. Noted that the seed racks they
had in their garden department were all stocked with 2011 seed. Sure,
lots of stuff lasts several years - but really, seed racks sitting in
front of the windows, where they get baked, not so much.

I'm fortunate to live just outside of the town where Baker Creek
Heirloom Seeds has a storefront (called the "Seed Bank" - it's in an
old granite bank building) - while they certainly cost more than the
big box stores, every last seed in the place is heirloom. It's really
easy to get carried away in there - some 1,300 varieties of seed.

On Tue, 24 Jan 2012 13:46:37 -0500, Derald wrote:

Well, there's no Kmart within a reasonable drive of me and I'm not a
(fill-in-the-blank)mart shopper, anyway. Alas, Baker Creek has no B&M store in
my area. I had a bad experience buying online from them, as well as from
Southern Exposure, so both are on my personal "don't bother" list. Too bad, too,
because the latter means I resume the 60-mile annual round-trip to get my
preferred variety of "crowder" cowpea. Of course, YMMV.

If you don't mind sharing - what sort of bad experience?

From talking with them at the store (including the founder, Jere
Gettle), it seems their home base - a large farm operation in MO - is
susceptible to power outages during winter storms. One of the
attractive reasons for them to have opened the store in Sonoma County
is that it provided them with a second place from which to fulfill
orders (and to store seed) should conditions prevent them from doing
so from MO.

Derald wrote:
songbird wrote:

also check out local hardware stores or
other stores nowadays. even the dollar stores
have seeds sometimes.

Same brand (Ferry-Morse); same seeds; same lot number; same quantity;
pre-priced (printed as part of the label): Home Depot, 97¢; Sherwood's Nursery,
$1.75. The only other difference is the product illustration. I'm all for
supporting local small business, and do so, but nearly twice the price is kind
of jaw-tightening.

there were some christmas lima beans i was
eyeing on a display last fall for almost $4/pkg.
i was hoping to pick them up later on but right
when i decided to finally ask the hardware store
folks if they'd let them go for less they removed
the display (it'd been there for months). they
still have a basket of seeds from last year for
20cent each. that's my preferred way of picking
up "extra" or new things to try besides trading.

in the other thread you mention having to drive
120 miles round trip to buy a supply of crowder
peas to plant? why don't you let a few plants dry
out and use those seeds instead? it doesn't sound
like you are short on space. if you get to the
green pod stage you're not far from viable seeds
even if you have to take the plants up and hang
them to dry. i harvested some pods from most of
the beans i grew this season and dried them on
trays for a few weeks/months before shelling them.
these have sprouted fine later.


songbird

Derald wrote:
songbird wrote:

i was hoping to pick them up later on but right
when i decided to finally ask the hardware store
folks if they'd let them go for less they removed
the display (it'd been there for months).

Does "dumpster diving" ring a bell?

sure does. both me and Ma will
reuse all sorts of materials around here.
she found this dumpster outside a cabinet
and countertop installation place that was
a goldmine, but this was unfortunately just
before the most recent construction bust so
they folded up before we could really mine
that vein. if it weren't over two hours
drive away we'd have emptied it of many
goodies.

plus being in a construction trade for
a while and having people who know our
inclinations we can get calls that someone
has a metal drum they don't need or a pile
of bricks, rocks or a piece of carpeting
or ...

i do not have a truck for a very good
reason. on garbage day i'd be out
collecting stuff that i can always imagine
finding a good use for "someday" (even if
i never actually get around to it). it's
bad enough when we go for our walks on
garbage day.

i have two tables and a small bookshelf
here that came from a dumpster and then
got fixed up for a few $ worth of refinishing.


in the other thread you mention having to drive
120 miles round trip to buy a supply of crowder
peas to plant?

Oh, no; it's about 60 miles round trip and the trip is not exclusively for
seeds, although, the destination is the nearest bulk seed vendor where one may
purchase any quantity from a few grams to pounds of seeds -- a vanishing species
in the Sunshine State. It is one of the few remaining stores that in addition to
selling livestock and pet supplies still accommodates what few small "truck"
farmers and market gardeners who persist in the area. The big box stores don't
know nothin' 'bout gardening and, sadly, the reliable nursery in these parts has
fallen on hard times and, more and more, has begun to resemble a hobby; sign of
the times, I guess. Truth is, I'd probably make the annual trip anyway for the
nostalgia and ambiance. Nothing else "feels" like an old-timey feed 'n seed.

yeah, around here a grain elevator does
that sort of thing. there is a chain that
called the Tractor Supply Company around
with things for the farmers, but they also
have a lot of crap and clothes too. like you
say a lot of places that used to be interesting
start trying to broaden their product line to
pick up a few more $ of sales, but in the
process they lose what makes them unique so
they look like any other dollar store but with
higher prices. they lose out in the end
because they are no longer a destination or
come to mind as unique.


why don't you let a few plants dry out and use those seeds instead? it doesn't sound
like you are short on space.

I dunno; just never bothered with it, I guess. Although, I may do so this
year. I don't think drying them in place would be a good idea because mildew
always is a problem so I use electric dryers for the few things I dry. I suppose
it'd work for seeds, too, providing that one used suitably low temperatures.

oh that's right, you have humidity all the time.
we have bouts of it, but not all the time. a
good spot to dry pods is on top of the fridge. no
added expense needed. let a few go long on each
plant and dry those.


Seeds are so inexpensive, it just seems kind of pointless unless, of course, it
suits one's interests. I'm not a "seed saver" cultist or anything like that,
although, I appreciate their efforts. Besides, the good folks at Sustainable
Seeds (for example) need to make their livings, too ;-) I never start my own
transplants, either. The only things that aren't routinely direct-seeded are
peppers and tomatoes but I only ever have just a few and I'll gladly pay someone
a half-dollar each to get 'em to a healthy transplantable stage. Remember, I
don't experience winter as you know it and so am able to direct-seed many
long-season veggies that wouldn't do, at all, in other places without a head
start.

i'm not quite sure i'd fit cultist but i
do like self-sufficiency and variety. when
i have a bare spot of dirt it's nice to have
a supply of something on hand to plant.

yes, we do support our favorite local
greenhouse too the same way you do, for
those plants that i don't really want to
set up a growing station inside. my last
bout with sprouting and growing lights
left me feeling a bit underwhelmed and the
greenhouse has always been helpful and
has avoided the crap outlet factory
approach.

the other thing is that it's a social
outlet for me to have things to trade.
one way to meet fellow gardeners and chat
a bit. i'm not normally an out and about
social person, but plants and books are
two of the things that will at least give
me a chance of seeing how the rest of
the world is getting on.


songbird