I went to Johnny's Selected Seed Co. yesterday (I live in Main where it's located). I was surprised to find that they are out of some seeds, especially open pollination corn. They are limiting other seeds to one packet per person. I asked one of the women who works there why they were sold out so early and were having to limit. She said it's because of Y2K.

It is unusual for them to be so low this time of year. I have bought seeds there in the past and had no problem getting seeds even in April and May.

I figured I'd pass the word along in case anyone is dragging their feet on ordering seeds.

They have a great little book for $2.50 on growing seeds. It was writen by the founder of Johnny's.

-- monique (me@home.here), March 14, 1999

Answers

Monique; Thanks for the insight. Keep well,

-- Watchful (seethesea@msn.com), March 14, 1999.

Yes- there's been an unprecedented "run" on seeds, potatoes, etc. this year- and some stuff is in short supply I hear. However, there's still much out there from what i can tell- I assume you're looking for open pollinated seed- several suggestions- catalogs- Burpee's Heirloom seed catalog- great varieties- tomatoes, squash, golden bantam corn, etc- all op. (non-treated seed too). Also- try Seeds of Change, Shepherd's Seeds, the Cooks Garden, Vermont Bean & Seed Company (is in N. Carolina!), Vessey seeds. Also- look at your local stores now- WalMart, Agway, KMart, etc- lots of seeds avail.

Regarding corn seed though- not sure if you're looking for op sweet corn or op field corn(dent, flint)- in the case of sweet corn, if the you know what hits the fan bad enough, that's not one of the crops you want to grow unless you have LOTS of space. Field corn is handy for corn meal of course- why not just stock up on corn meal this year, and see? You can always plant hybrid field corn if you have to-it will grow fine in year one, and the seed you save WILL produce corn the next year- just not uniform or the same- but corn none the less and edible too. This seed can be saved from the best plants and so on- you can do this if you had to. Instead of corn though- why not plant soybeans? Takes up less space and provides a high protein versatile product- soy flour, soy beans, tofu, soy milk, etc? Just a thought.

Potatoes, winter squash, onions, garlic, parsnips, carrots, rutabagas, kale- just some of the best stuff to grow if worried about availability of store stuff and wanting to store vegies this fall/winter. Happy planting...think spring.

-- anita (hillsidefarm@drbs.com), March 14, 1999.

Willhiteseed.com (I hope that is correct, should still have seeds.

Also superseeds.com has lots of different varieties for small prices in small packages. If they are on the web your order may be processed faster.

Willhite's is a farmer's seed company, and sell lots of seeds for a smaller price. (standard disclaimer). The other places are all good, too.

Also....like the above post said, and more: consider this: the protein and calorie crops, like beans, potatoes, SOYBEANS, etc.

There is an exellent book out...it is One Circle by David Duhon. It shows how to grow a complete human diet in about 1000 square feet. A little on the esoteric side....and no recipies :( , but is a useful place to start. I paid $10. I got mine from Ecology Action, 5798 Ridgeway Road, Willits, CA 94590. I think you can find Ecology Action on the web. They have a seed company also, Abundant Life, and I noticed my last order was a little slow in coming.

Two other books, that I got from Amazon,com are "How to Grow More Vegetables, etc." by John Jeavons, and Seed to Seed by Suzanne Ashworth. Jeavons has some other books that are extremely useful, I think. (standard disclaimer)

Do it today, please. Now. This is the year that your garden can have training wheels on it, and that you can save seeds for next year.

Oh...one more book: Four Season Harvest, by Eliot Coleman. Also Amazon. Amazon gives a discount that more than covers the cost of shipping and tax.

Got Shovels?

Mary P.

-- Mary P. (CAgdma@home.com), March 14, 1999.

Never been to Johnny's and I live in Maine only about 20 min. ride,I'm a big Walmart fan and they never seem to run out of anything.I was at the store in WTVL last week and they had lots of hybrid and nonhybrid seeds from Burpee and Home and Garden, .79 TO .89 CENTS also found some seeds that are 2nd run but with alittle love they well grow,mabe I wont get as many plants but at 10 cents each I had to buy,put out by American Seed and I can save my good seeds for next year.

Darlene

-- Darlene (boomer@tdstelme.net), March 14, 1999.

I ordered my seed from Burpee this week. No problems. AM going to store hybrid and non hybrid. The book Square foot gardening is great too!

-- Moore Dinty moore (not@thistime.com), March 14, 1999.

monique:

I've received both hybrid and open-pollinated seeds from Burpee's and Willhite's. I've mailed out orders to Gurney's and Territorial. I'm buying these seeds for insurance should TSHTF and all home garden seed be bought out. All seed companies produce only a limited amount of seeds depending upon sales ratios and anticipated future requirements. When the crash comes, the seeds will be gone very fast. Of course, the large grain companies and seed corporations will have all they need, but the simple home gardener will be without except for seeds which were purchased and saved before the crash. Every serious gardener should make an extra effort this year to save some seeds from the most vigorous and tastiest varieties planted.

I've gone completely seed crazy and have a zillion or so. (OK, not a zillion, but I'm not spending the rest of my life counting them.) My basic plan is to provide small amounts of seeds for family and friends and neighbors. Many vegetable seeds have viability of three years: squash, carrots, broccoli, radishes, melons, cabbages, lettuces, tomatoes. However, some such as corn and onion are viable for one year, so to extend their viability I pack them in glass jars within cardboard boxes and place in cool, dark, dry places until they are needed.

My mother thinks I'm being fanatical. She won't think so next year when those tasty vegetables from California remain in California. Expect to see countless Millennium Victory gardens next year. Expect to see countless gardens being pillaged by DGIs.

-- dinosaur (dinosaur@williams-net.com), March 14, 1999.

Right on, Dinty (too personal?). "Square Foot Gardening", by Mel Bartholomew, is especially good for novice gardeners & those in the 'burbs with small yards. I first put some of his ideas into practice back in 1982. Try it you'll like it.

I too have found seed packets selling at 10/$1.00. Too good to pass up! Family Dollar & Lowe's are two retailers who've sold seed at this price. Keep your eyes peeled. You never know what you may find.

-- Bingo1 (howe9@pop.shentel.net), March 14, 1999.

Dinosaur, you talk about the viability of seeds (some being useful longer than others). Thanks for mentioning this. I'm (finally) about to get/order some seeds. Is there a single place (publication/Internet/whatever) that has a comprehensive list of the useful life of vegetable seeds? I'm renting a home in the 'burbs right now, and I might not get to plant anything this year. So I'd like to make sure any seeds I buy will be viable next year. (I suspect if TSHTF, the landlord will be more forgiving of any gardening I want to do next year, assuming I'm not toast already.) Thanks, and sorry for this newbie-to-gardening question.

My father, a DGI, would laugh at me for asking this question. (He's laughed at me for bringing up anything Y2Kish already -- I'm still working on that.) He's a good ol' Texas boy who has a pretty big organic garden -- gets most of his manure by making a weekly hour- long drive to Fort Sam Houston and loading up his truck with the droppings from the horses of the U.S. Modern Pentathlon team.

-- Don (whytocay@hotmail.com), March 15, 1999.

re: the useful life of seeds- Don- I'm trying to remember where I've seen such a list recently- it might have been a recent copy of Countryside Magazine?? Anyway- the basic thing to remember is to keep seeds cool and dry. And protected from vermin and insects as well. Some seeds such as parsnip, onion and scallion don't last very long. Most others, if stored properly, will remain viable for a long time. If in doubt regarding a package of seeds, do a germination test- put seeds in a dampened paper towel, wrap up and place in a bagie. Check germination. If they germinate, use them. If germination is poor, seed heavily. If they don't, throw em out. Simple. The main thing is to store them dry and cool- metal tins are great.

Also- re: seeds sources- check out Seeds of Change- www.seedsofchange.com or 1-888-762-7333. All organically grown open polinated seeds- stuff you NEVER see anywhere else- lots of corn by the way(although I don't know about availability). Some places- my local food co-op for instance, sell their seeds- see if your does or can.

-- anita (hillsidefarm@drbs.com), March 15, 1999.

Why are organic garderners giving the Y2K'ers your best seed sources? Save them for folks who can appreciate the dozens of varieties of squash texture and flavor. Save them for folks understand and practice sustainable agriculture.

Open pollinated heirloom may not be the best advise to Joe chemically perfect lawn. A stash of flavorless disease resistant hybrids might better serve mainstream americans in a crisis. They could better withstand disease in a chemical short post Y2K - and stored properly the hybrid or any seeds can be viable for years.

I'm not knocking folks who want to prepare but if you aren't used to chemical free - you may be in for a few surprises. Brocolli without insectides (and without row covers or BT) will have cabbage worms on it. The flavor of that veggies will be different that you normally get. Your heirlooms can be much more prone to various insect or disease problems - but oh the flavor.... What I getting at is if you want old timey stuff, you'll want to go old timey production. After a season of old timey production, you'll have a better understanding of the premium charged at organic food stores.

good luck jh

-- john hebert (jt_hebert@hotmail.com), March 20, 1999.