My vegetable garden provides me with great enjoyment. I feel immense satisfaction from planting a seed, watching it grow, and produce. I wonder if God feels that way about us?
I also like knowing my family is eating healthy food, untouched by chemicals, and who knows what else on its way to the store. Plus, I get to harvest my food at its peak for best taste and freshness.
It’s a lot of work. Doing most things from the ground up is. But it’s worth it.
Right now is the perfect time to order your seeds if you don’t already seed save. Heirloom seeds are seeds left as God made them, untouched by the hand of science. This means you can save the seed from the plant and it will grow the following year. Money in your pocket and independence from the stores.
When going through seed catalogs you may run across the term open-pollination. Open-pollinated, also known as heirloom or standard, are plant varieties that have stable traits from one generation to the next. Plants that open-pollinate will be pollinated from other plants within a mile radius via the wind and insects.
So, if you don’t want your plant to pollinate with the neighbors, then you might have a problem. But, you can always cull the plants that start to drift from the “original” or you might end up liking the cross better. And you will still be able to save the seed, as hybrids don’t cross-pollinate and are sterile.
Beans, lettuce, peas, and tomatoes are self-pollinating so you don’t have to worry about these.
I’ve always used heirloom tarheel green beans, but this year, I’m going all heirloom. If you haven’t entered, I’m giving away a packet of my seed to get you started here.
I’m ordering my heirloom seeds from Territorial and Abundant Life Seeds. They are both based in Oregon, which has a similar growing season to the Washington coast. Burpee seeds also have a great catalog, just be sure to read the description to see if it’s a hybrid or heirloom. (I don’t get an endorsement from these companies, but if any reps are reading, I wouldn’t mind a free packet of seed) 
Many times, you can find small local farms that sell heirloom starts that are acclimated for your area.
Do you have any tips for heirloom gardening or seed saving? What’s your favorite vegetable, the one you can’t wait for it to ripen and bite into, juices dripping down your chin?
My husband’s is corn on the cob, but I love a good fresh tomato.
This is featured on The Prairie Homesteader Blog Hop. Click on over for lots of other great pioneering posts.
