Part of being self sufficient is growing your own, not your hair, but your veggies. Browsing around today in order to buy some vegetable seeds I suddenly had a Doh moment. We talk about Amazon quit a bit for the best place to buy books and many other things but for some obscure reason had never thought about buying seeds from them.
I honestly don’t know why. It seems odd it it never even entered my head.
Here is the link
Just be warned, some of the descriptions are a little daft. Apparently some of the broccoli seeds that are for sale are for “low carb” broccoli. How fascinating. There was me worrying about my weight if I ate too much broccoli!
What I did note was that there is a surprising amount of organic seeds for low prices. Many as low as normal seeds. This is good news as although I am no “yogurt knitter” and have no interest in knitting my own wellies I will take the organic option if it doesn’t mean having to mortgage the cottage to buy a bent carrot.
There are also plenty of cheap Organic Heirloom seeds to choose from and this is a great way to make the old veg patch a little more interesting and to also keep the chef busy thinking up new ways to display funny looking veg.
If we can keep the old heirloom varieties of seeds going then that is all for the good.
But please no comments about do they do seeds for low fat broccoli or low carb carrots.
In other news I will be making an obligatory post soon about the perfect Christmas gift for those interested in self sufficient living. What would your recommendation be? Mine would be a free house with a perfectly double dug vegetable patch and a few Cows thrown in for luck but I am guessing that not many of us will be getting that for Chrimbo.
A book seems a little more likely although now we have been brought out of the Dark Ages I really would like a Kindle Book reader as apparently they are now going to be shipped to the UK and 100 other countries. The Kindle is a great way to read books cheaply once the initial Kindle has been purchased. The only problem is that I would spill a glass of vino on it in about thirty seconds and be well and truly annoyed as well as being in the Dog house to say the least. If its the vino or a kindle I know what I will be choosing….
……………………………..A Paperback
(sigh)
For a more self sufficient future.
Wow I’d never even thought of looking on Amazon for seeds, what a great idea. It always amazes me the range of stuff they sell on there – they seem to be moving to conquer the world!
Having said that I do quite enjoy going to the local garden centre and having a browse around the seed aisles – I think the smell is quite relaxing!
I get my gardening books from Amazon but never thought to look and see if they sold seeds.
I usually order mine through one of the seed catalogs I get in the mail or go to my local garden center. I will have to see what Amazon has to offer.
Amazon never ceases to amaze me. Starting with only books they are turning into a one-stop shop for everything. I knew they sold gardening supplies, but I was not aware that they sold seeds though. Thanks for the tip. I’ll give them a try.
~Viv
Viv
I think Amazon are now the best place to buy just about everything.
Yes, its true… Amazon is price competitive on just about everything. As far as getting a Kindle goes, I bought one a few weeks ago and it allows me to simplify. All those hard copy books are gone now, and I can take it with me wherever I go… providing I don’t lose it or spill wine on it (like you!).
I’ll check out the seeds on Amazon.
My wife and I invested in all open pollinated seeds this year. We’re planning on saving seed from everything we grow so we (hopefully) never have to buy seeds again until we want to grow something new.
We bought ours from heirloom acres seeds, but there are a number of other pretty decent companies out there. Just do a search for open pollinated seed, or heirloom seed. It’s a little more expensive, but it’ll last you for as long as you keep saving seed.
The cheapest most self-sufficient place for seeds is to grow your own. Start with one variety and add another each year as you are able. Purchase your starter seed from a good source, it’s worth the extra expence! Our family grows a market garden and we are getting closer and closer to supplying all of our own seeds saving us about 2-3 hundred dollars a season.
On vino and Kindles:
While I’m not thrilled about most stuff made of plastic, I do buy a certain amount of plastic Zip-Lock bags. I use these to freeze food in, and — since I don’t use them for fresh meat — I wash and reuse them until they literally start falling apart.
Haven’t actually started keeping the shreds and making rugs to wipe my feet on at the doors yet……..that’s an idea……..but…….
If you slip your Kindle into an appropriate sized Zip-Lock bag, you can drink a glass of vino without worrying about spilling it into the mysterious inner workings of your e-reader. You can also even read while in the bath without worrying about dropping your Kindle in the water or splashing water on it.
The touch-screen still works fine through the plastic and if you slip it in “backwards” the plastic is clear without the white logo splashed across it.