Seeds

[afchic]

I just saw a commercial for a company selling non-hybrid seeds called survivalseeds.com

I know how many of you said it was important to get these type of seeds in our survival kits. Have you ever bought seeds from a place like this. I would like to start stocking up to go along with the other food stuffs we are stockpiling.

Can't remember ever seeing someone else selling non- hybrid seeds.

Thanks for the help

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by afchic

I just saw a commercial for a company selling non-hybrid seeds called survivalseeds.com

I know how many of you said it was important to get these type of seeds in our survival kits. Have you ever bought seeds from a place like this. I would like to start stocking up to go along with the other food stuffs we are stockpiling.

Can't remember ever seeing someone else selling non- hybrid seeds.

Thanks for the help

Yes, I have bought seeds online before.

One of the companies that I have used with good success was Walton Feed, the other was a company that had specialized seed based on where you live. The seeds were for heritage crops that would thrive in whatever specific part of the country you lived in.

Most of the time, the #10 cans of seeds can be had for less than $50, so I consider it cheap insurance.

TR

[Dusty]

I bought a pack for about 27 bucks and grew everything I liked. Kept seeds to use this year, and saved a bunch.

[afchic]

Thanks for the info. Hubby and I have been taking your advice about a years worth of food and water to heart. Slowly but surely getting there. We have enough for about 6 months right now. Luckily we have a 20,000 gal pool in the backyard we can use if needed for water.

Seeds was one of the last items on our list.

[Peregrino]

Afchic - Some sources.

http://www.stockpileseedsnow.com/see...FRafnAodjAEc0w

http://www.survivalseedsonline.com/

http://www.non-hybrid-seeds.com/surv...FRienAod1lCkfQ


And another food source I didn't know about until this morning.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/pr...Id=prod2411209

[Penn]

You want heirloom seeds that have no history of genetic modification.
Monsanto and several other large mega-agriculture companies have taken farmers to court for selling seeds that were not theirs/modified.
A good example is soy beans seeds, the patents are owned my Monsanto, if you sell non Monsanto, or plant non Monsanto seed they can sue.
Once that process begins, the farmer usually loses his farm due to the carrying cost for legal representation.

What IS THE TERM WHEN BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT WORK TOGETHER TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE PEOPLE. I'm not sure, but I think we fought a war over the concept.

[Penn]

......As plaintiff
Since the mid-1990s, it has sued 145 individual US farmers for patent infringement in connection with its genetically engineered seed.[55] The usual claim involves violation of a technology agreement that prohibits farmers from saving seed from one season's crop to plant the next, a common farming practice.[56] One farmer received an eight-month prison sentence for violating a court order to destroy seeds,[57] in addition to having to pay damages, when a Monsanto case turned into a criminal prosecution.[58]

In 2003, Monsanto sued Oakhurst Dairy in Maine for advertising that its milk products did not come from cows treated with bovine growth hormone, claiming that such advertising hurt its business. The president of Oakhurst responded by saying,

"We ought to have the right to let people know what is and is not in our milk."[59]

Monsanto specializes in production of genetically modified seeds for crops such as corn, soybeans, and cotton, and has a financial interest in securing various monopolies through patents.[60] Though Monsanto's large market share over the seed-buying market there is little choice between Monsanto or its top competitor,[51] DuPont.[61][clarification needed] Genetically engineered seeds have had many more effects than allowing companies like Monsanto to corner seed markets, such as the rise of pesticide-resistant weeds.[62]

In 1998, Monsanto's patented genes were discovered in the canola grown on Percy Schmeiser's farm. As a result, Monsanto sued Percy Schmeiser for patent infringement for growing genetically modified Roundup-resistant canola. The trial judge ruled that Schmeiser had intentionally planted the seeds, ruling that the "infringement arises not simply from occasional or limited contamination of his Roundup susceptible canola by plants that are Roundup resistant. He planted his crop for 1998 with seed that he knew or ought to have known was Roundup tolerant."[11]

This high profile case, Monsanto Canada Inc. v. Schmeiser, went to the Supreme Court level. The 1998 case was portrayed in the media as a classic David and Goliath confrontation.[citation needed]

Monsanto representative Trish Jordan commented: "This is very good news for us, Mr. Schmeiser had infringed on our patent." After years of legal wrangling, in 2004 the case was heard by the Canadian Supreme Court. The Court ruled in favor of Monsanto, rejecting Schmeiser's argument that by not using Roundup herbicide on the canola, he did not "use" the plant gene. The Court ruled that farming is an activity that requires human intervention, and so by planting the crops, Schmeiser was "using" the plant gene. However, Schmeiser also won a partial victory, with the Supreme Court disagreeing with the damages given by the trial judge. The Supreme Court stated that since Schmeiser did not gain any profit from the infringement, he did not owe Monsanto any damages. Though the amount of damages were low (C$19,382), this also meant that Schmeiser did not have to pay Monsanto's substantial legal bills.

The case did cause Monsanto's enforcement tactics to be highlighted in the media over the years it took to play out.[63]

Monsanto has asked Spanish customs officials to inspect soymeal shipments to determine if they use Monsanto's "Roundup Ready" technology. Monsanto claims that 30% of Argentina's production uses black market-purchased Roundup Ready seed. Monsanto has petitioned to change the royalty collection system so that royalties are collected at harvest rather than upon purchase of the seed.[citation needed]

[The Reaper]

Originally Posted by Peregrino

And another food source I didn't know about until this morning.

http://www.samsclub.com/sams/shop/pr...Id=prod2411209

Good concept, but if you are going to try and live an active life in the wake of a disaster on 1360 calories per day, especially if you have teenagers, you better have some seeds, gardening knowledge, and good hunting/trapping skills.

TR

[Dad]

A little clarification. You have never eaten a vegatable that was not a hybrid--never. You have eaten vegatables that were not patented and that have been around for generations, but they are all hybrids, even heirlooms. Patented varieties are new, often first generation varieties, which are probably not yet genetically stable. It takes a number of generations to reach stability (sometimes never).Patents are only good for a cerain number of years. Theoretically, they offer some improvement over what is being offered on the market. Companies spend millions of dollars developing and producing these varieties. Because of improvements in disease and insect resistance, more production and less lodging, we are able to feed the world. When you buy Monsanto,or anyone elses, genetically altered seed, you sign an agreement. You don't have to buy their seed. Personally, I have some reservations about some of this genetically altered product, but that is my opinion. But the people who breed them deserve a return on investment through the patent process like any other industry. In the issue with the dairy farm, Monsanto acted like idiots, IMO. You want to grow the best varieties of vegatables for your area, your best bet is your state extension service for suggestions. Also check for local master gardening programs. Then go down to your local garden center, feed store or whatever, and buy those varieties.

[booker]

Check places like Seed Savers Exchange (http://www.seedsavers.org/), Southern Exposure Seed Exchange (http://www.southernexposure.com/), and SMAC (http://www.heirlooms.org/).

The Saving Our Seed Project has some good how-to's for preserving seeds (http://www.savingourseed.org/)

Dad is technically correct- even heirlooms are hybrids, although the argument could be made that current hybrid seeds have been selected not for nutrition, flavor, etc., but rather for hardiness in industrial farming and for greater yield.

Some of the best "hybrid" apples I have eaten have been grafted from trees deep in the Appalachians that were once booming towns but are no longer in existence.

[Paslode]

Originally Posted by Penn

You want heirloom seeds that have no history of genetic modification.
Monsanto and several other large mega-agriculture companies have taken farmers to court for selling seeds that were not theirs/modified.
A good example is soy beans seeds, the patents are owned my Monsanto, if you sell non Monsanto, or plant non Monsanto seed they can sue.
Once that process begins, the farmer usually loses his farm due to the carrying cost for legal representation.

What IS THE TERM WHEN BUSINESS AND GOVERNMENT WORK TOGETHER TO THE DETRIMENT OF THE PEOPLE. I'm not sure, but I think we fought a war over the concept.

This falls into the same category as the Milk Police.......


From the little I have heard, read and watched on TV there are issues with GM crops cross pollinating with heirloom crops which then may infringe Monsanto's Patent rights. There is also a issue with Monsanto Roundup resistant crops.

It would appear that Monsanto would like to have a world wide monopoly on what you can and cannot not plant, grow and eat...........which might be worthy of a JiHad IMO.

[Dad]

Interesting note--I looked over the list of varieties that Illinois extension service recommends. Over half the varieties listed for the various crops are the exact same varieties I sold to home gardeners 40 years ago. Our customer base was rural and older. We sold in bulk, such as give me 2 pounds of Iochief, 3 pounds of Contender and an ounce of Red Globe. We carried these varieties because these were the tried and true varieties then and still are today. They are also cheap,

[Mr Furious]

survival seeds = SCAM!

Want to grow a garden and harvest your own food it sort of needs to be an ongoing process and not something that occurs when "SHTF"

IMO - selling "survival seeds" is BS and amounts to nothing more than preying on people's fears.

[Dusty]

Originally Posted by Mr Furious

survival seeds = SCAM!

Want to grow a garden and harvest your own food it sort of needs to be an ongoing process and not something that occurs when "SHTF"

IMO - selling "survival seeds" is BS and amounts to nothing more than preying on people's fears.

I usually buy from "Victory Seed Co." online, but I got the best corn and cukes I ever grew from one of those "scam" companies last year.

I paid about 27 bucks for 16 packs of great seeds.

The only duds were the watermelon seeds, but my Daisy sez the Jays might have dug those up...

BTW-do you grow your own vegetables? If you do, I'll send you some corn seeds that will knock your ass out!

[Mr Furious]

Originally Posted by Dusty

I usually buy from "Victory Seed Co." online, but I got the best corn and cukes I ever grew from one of those "scam" companies last year.

I paid about 27 bucks for 16 packs of great seeds.

The only duds were the watermelon seeds, but my Daisy sez the Jays might have dug those up...

BTW-do you grow your own vegetables? If you do, I'll send you some corn seeds that will knock your ass out!

Dusty I totally get that, and what you are doing is on point. You’re growing now, and enjoying the what you reap now. If you are doing it supplement and drive your food consumption costs down, good on you brother!

What I have issue with is the concept of some cataclysmic event or global upheaval and selling the idea of survival seeds: http://www.survivalseedsonline.com/
So according to the site: “Save Seeds from this year to plant next year... FOREVER!”

Sure, if you want to live off of corn and peas…FOREVER! The problem I see is that most of those veggies in the basket that the little girl in survival mode is holding happen to be biennials.

So let’s assume after this global food shortage, political upheaval and cataclysmic event that we are 1) still in a permissive environment 2) the conditions will even allow for growing your own food 3)we crack open that SHTF can o’ seeds timed perfectly right at the start of growing season:

The family feeds off of spam until the veggies grow. Then they only eat half of what grows because they need to leave the other half of the biennials in the ground to produce seeds the NEXT YEAR that they can plant the FOLLOWING YEAR. That’s also assuming that the SHTF can o’ seeds that’s been sitting on the shelf germinates the majority of what you put in the ground, and you are lucky enough to live in a temperate zone that doesn’t kill the biennial plants off in the winter. That girl in the picture will be three years older by the time she’s eating second generation veggies. In this day and age…three years of political chaos, complete global technology stoppage, food shortages and meltdown? Don’t forget that someone will need to lock and load and stand vigilant guard over the victory garden to watch the plants grow and protect them from the looters that weren’t as prepared as those with the seeds.

I’m all for home grown food, and what you are doing at home is absolutely excellent! I just think selling the concept of “survival seeds” to utilize when SHTF is a scam and is completely preying on people’s fears.