With inflation being what it is; there's a larger number of people wanting to grow at least something of their own. The most budget friendly alternative is starting your plants from seeds; either direct sow or in pots based on the seed you're starting. The cheapest alternative of the budget friendly start is to start that process with seeds saved from previous seasons. That's right. Heirloom seeds come to mind, but that's not necessarily the only way. Yes, I've purchased Heirloom seeds, mainly because I have a plant sale each year and that's what people like to buy. For myself I'll use either some of the "Heirloom" seeds or just average run of the mill seeds from plants not bearing the "Heirloom label". My logic is this: it's a pretty lame business plan to have to recreate seeds every season because your "non Heirloom" seeds won't reproduce. What is a good business plan is to package your seeds with an "Heirloom" label and charge more. Even though they're the same seeds. Not saying this is the case. I wouldn't want to malign anyone, but I can see it happening at least in some cases. Heirloom or not, saving seeds saves money! Your plant wants to make more of itself. Let it do that, and you too can be blessed with a never ending supply of food.
1) Saved seeds will acclimate to your climate first season. So you may(or may not) have a so so harvest that year as they adjust. Following years will be better because the seeds are now used to your soil, temp, etc. So what you want to do is save the seeds from the prettiest fruit produced that year. Save a lot. That way you can be generous with your planting, and sharing.
2) You can also save seeds from fresh produce purchased at the store. I've successfully saved seeds from store bought Watermelon, and a variety of different types of peppers. I've also planted things like store bought dried beans, and popcorn successfully. These are the packages of dried beans or popcorn normally used for food. In those cases it does depend on the store. Kroger had the best germination for pinto beans. However, a couple of years ago I purchased a 5 lb. bag of organic non gmo pinto beans from Azure Standard. They were for cooking, but I set aside about 20 to see how they would grow. They grew, and produced true to their parent plant. In other words, they made more pinto beans. I saved those seeds and planted them year before last. I had enough to set aside 100 seeds and have about a pound of dried beans for cooking. Last year I planted those 100 seeds, and so on and so forth. I will set aside some for next years planting and save the rest for cooking.
3) Don't think you have to use only Heirloom seeds. Packages without that label are still good for seed saving plants. I've saved seeds from Blackeye peas( cow peas), Speckled Lima, Tomatoes, Peppers, Squashes, Cucumbers, Green Beans, Marigolds, Zinnias, and Snow Peas. Non of these were marked "heirloom", all produced true to their parent plant. Last year I saved seeds from some non heirloom spinach. Planted this year they came up and were...spinach! Your best bet is to buy seeds from a feed store or local mom and pop garden store.
4) Seed saving is not hard. Google is your friend in this if you need to learn specific how to's. I can , however, share a few ways.
Broccoli, Cabbages, Brussel sprouts, Kale, and other members of the Brassica family. When your plant bolts it can make you sad; especially when you didn't get anything , or very little, before it did so. That happens to me often because we have Ga weather which can be a bit unpredictable. Now when my plants bolt I will let one keep flowering and pull up any others that have bolted. Trust me, one plant is enough! Bolting means it began to flower. That means the vegetables on it are now bitter tasting and not much good for anything...except seeds. This can be a sad moment when you're having to pull this up, but you need that space to plant something else. So get to it! Once your one plant is done flowering, you will notice what looks like little bean pods. These little bean pods will swell and get bumpy like a bean pod would when it's full of beans. Don't pick it yet! Wait until the little pod is brown and dry. Then carefully remove the pods. Might want to clip them, because if the pod crushes when your pulling it, you will have tiny seeds on the ground. No telling where they'll grow! Once you've gathered your dry pods, you can open them onto a tray or plate to catch the seeds. To be honest, once the little pods are brown and dry, you can just rub them between your h ands and the seeds will come out onto whatever you have to catch them. Put your seeds into a container and store in the fridge /freezer. This simulates a change of seasons. Plus helps keep the germination rate good. Seen below in this picture are the pods. It's hard to tell, but there are brown pods mixed in here. I just went ahead and harvested because I didn't need all of them!
Spinach. This will also bolt or flower. Let it. It will continue to grow and flower and you will see clusters of little beads at the main stem. Wait. It needs to turn brown and dry out before you harvest your seeds. Once those little beads are dried out, you can begin to remove them from the stem. Pretty much at this point your spinach plant is done, and it will look done. Put seeds in a container and store in the fridge/freezer.
Peppers are easy peasy. You will simply pull the seeds out when you prepare your peppers to eat. Lay the seeds out on a saucer and sit to one side on your counter to let them dry. I leave mine out weeks and weeks until I am certain they are all dry. Then store in a container in the fridge/ freezer.
Tomatoes- Now you can go on Youtube and find plenty of videos where they are saving their tomato seeds by fermenting them a few days and blah, blah, blah. That is a way the you can save seeds, and then plant one at a time the following year. That's all fine and good if you want to be all organized and such, but I know tomatoes are seriously resilient plants. They endure transplanting well. So I simply just squeeze the seeds, still in their juice and gel covering onto a saucer and let dry. Then I chip up the seeds, dried pulp and all into my bottle and into the fridge/freezer. It means I'll plant 4 or 5 seeds at a time in each pot, but it also means I know at least one will emerge. I simply separate the tiny plants and put them each in their own pot. Never had an issue this way.
Green Beans- As green bean pods mature they get bumpy as they begin to fill with seeds. Allow the pods you've designated for seeds stay on the vine until they're brown and dry. Then harvest your pods, shell out the bean seeds. Store them in a container in the fridge or freezer to use next year. Don't store if the pods have gotten wet. Make sure they're good and dry before storing.
Squash. Last but not least. This one is also easy. Simply choose one of your best squashes and let it stay on the plant. It will grow, get hard, and bumpy. Pick the squash when the squash is hard and bumpy, Cut it in half and scoop out the seeds. The pulp should be pretty spongy at this time and the seeds should be able to be removed easily. Put your seeds on a plate or saucer and let air dry well. Then put in a container in the fridge/freezer til next year. See below my bumpy babies. You can pick when they're like this. The smooth ones are for eating.
There is no need to expend extra cash on all heirloom seeds or 25 year seed vaults. Save seeds you're interested in having in your garden; what your family likes to eat. Save them each year and you will always have seeds on hand regardless of what's in stores. Plus, you will have more than enough for your family and to share with others!
