Free Garden Catalogs

free seeds for vegetable/herb/spices?

Does anyone know where I can find some sites or companies that offer free seeds for vegetables, herbs and spices? My husband's hours have been cut drastically, and they also implemented a 10% across the board pay cut- so we're between a rock and a hard place. I don't have the money to buy much this year, and we usually rely on our garden during the summer for a good deal of our produce. Anything info would be greatly appreciated- thank you! (We're in NE Ohio if that makes a difference) *** I'm an avid gardener; i've been organic gardening for years; i make most of my own fertilizer and compost. While I appreciate the thought anyone has to offer on harvesting seeds, we've already exhausted that option. Because our finances have been cut, and produce is so costly (one of the main reasons we've always grown ours), we've only been able to collect a small amount of seeds from groceries- mainly b/c we haven't had much money to buy them. If anyone has any info regarding actual companies or places, I would greatly appreciate your help- thanks

Public Comments

1. Gather seeds from vegetables and fruits such as tomatoes and strawberries as well as from flowers. Put the seeds into a nylon stocking which is cut off to make a small bag for the seeds. Wash the seeds in water until the seeds are free of the juices and pulp of the parent fruit or vegetable. This will also take away germs which would harm the seeds when they begin sprouting. Put the seeds in small containers such as egg cartons with non-soil gardening material which is free of germs.
2. Hello. Sorry to hear about you being down on your luck. But things usually perk up sooner or later. But about seeds, I'm not aware of any places that give away free seeds, but I know you can buy them really cheap off places like ebay (who have a massive collection of seeds). But I'd just recommend collecting them from things you buy in the shops, or design a weeks menu so you'll have to buy things that have seeds in them. Vegis can make cheap meals. Make a pumpkin soup for dinner, and keep the seeds. Make a potato and leek soup, and buy a potato or two more and keep them in the cupboard to root. I'm not sure if you have them in the states, but in Australia, we have hydroponic herbs in the supermarket, which have been left in the pot, so you can use what you want, then separate the basil (or whatever herb you want), and plant it in the garden. They've grown quickly, so sometimes they'll need support, but they'll take over soon enough.
3. Try davesgarden.com There might be a forum there for you. You might also try your local food bank. Talk to your friends and neighbors about saving their seeds and maybe having a community garden if they are in the same situation as you.
4. wintersown.org gives you a choice of 30 or more tomatoes. you pick 6 and 4 alternates. they send 6 or 10 if you send a $5 donation and a sase you can join several yahoo groups for seed/plant exchanges. many members send for free. some ask for a sase. http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/fiftyplusandkids/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cnyplantcycle/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/farmer_rons_tomato_patch/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PlantandSeedRescue/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/PlantSwap/ http://groups.yahoo.com/group/swapseeds/ (all ones i am a member of) i got all the seeds for my garden this way. the yahoo groups also offer tips, you can ask questions etc you can try davesgarden.com for tips and info too. free for basic membership. have to pay to get full use of the site. also make sure you join your local freecycle group on yahoo to get gardening supplies and more. it's a great way to ask for peoples leftover gardening things... and anything else you might need
5. I'm a small grower in NE OH - and believe me, I can sympathize with your financial issues. The country is struggling, but this area is one of the hardest hit for job losses and such. Over the last couple of years, I've had more and more of my customers coming to me for advice on growing some of their own crops to save on money. I'm always happy to help others become more self-sufficient. You need to practice seed saving from your own crops, and also look for varieties that will self-seed, as well as perennial herbs and such. Also, avoid the big nursery chains in the area - they have a nice selection, but some of the prices are high. For reliable self-seeding herbs, try cilantro, dill, fennel and calendula. Some good perennials for our area are sage, thyme, chives. Long season plants, such as parsley, kale, collards and cabbages can extend your harvest. Tomatoes are also very easy to save seeds from - a couple of good plants can keep you in tomato crops for years. I grow and sell commercially and haven't purchased a tomato plant or seed pack in years! I would also recommend contacting the OSU extension office for information on canning, freezing and preserving. You can store and use your crops throughout the year by canning, freezing, blanching or even cold storage for certain root vegetables and cabbage. Do you have a garden club where you live? Often, they will have reduced cost seeds and plants for sale for club fundraisers. I've also done very well getting young tree starts and shrubs from the Soil and Water Conservation Dept. Their spring plant sale is very reasonable. For free seeds, you can consider gathering some friends and other avid gardeners for a seed trading. For a family garden, most seed packets contain more seeds than you have a need for. Consider buying about $5.00 worth of seed packs and have some friends do the same. Split the packs and share them with your friends and neighbors in trade for what they've purchased. I do this regularly and it is very cost effective, especially if you only want a couple of plants of a variety. You can even pot up the seed trays together and consider trading labor at each other's gardens at the start of the season. And I'm not sure where in NE OH you're at, but I'm at many of the local farmers markets throughout the growing season. Please feel free to email me, as I often have extra seeds and plants that I would be happy to share or trade for, and I also give educational presentations regarding local farming, organic growing methods and self-sufficiency. I'd be happy to talk to you more!
6. They will not be free seeds, but you can get very inexpensive seeds at places like wal-mart. I just bought all of my seeds there and they were only 20 cents a pack. There are not as many seeds in each pack as in the more expensive packages, but for a small family garden there is more than enough. They also had more than enough choices and varieties to pick from. I do not think that it is a sale price since the price is printed right on the package and not discounted. We also have other small local agriculture stores that sell them at similiar prices. It may be worth looking around or calling the stores to see if you can get some at similiar prices. Hope this helps!