Recently, I asked on Facebook the question: “As a homesteader, what would you love to find in your stocking come Christmas morning?” The most common thing requested? The gift of seeds! I was very surprised. To be honest, I never considered gifting seeds to people because I figured everyone has different preferences and are in different locations but out of the responses posted to the writing of this post, seeds were in the number one spot!
A fellow blogger friend who lives in New Jersey has a Seed of the Month Club. I had heard about them but never really looked into it because A) Living in Alaska, I need seeds that do better here, and that usually means special varieties, and B) I figured a person’s garden was a personal thing and they knew what they wanted to grow already and went out and got them. Turns out, I was wrong on both accounts! The more I read about it, the more I began to see how AWESOME this really is!
They source their seeds from the United States and every person/farm they deal with has signed the Safe Seed Pledge. The food you grow from these seeds will have viable seeds in them that you can save and replant. Also, the seeds you buy from them (so long as they are stored properly) will last you for years! As they put it on their FAQ page, “Seeds do not expire like milk. What happens is their germination rates start to decline over time. Most seeds germination rates will start to decline in 2 to 5 years.”
Of course, another one of the first questions is “Do I get to pick the seeds sent?” and the quick answer is “no.” Before you roll your eyes, close the page and move on, WAIT! There is an opportunity here you are missing! The reason you do not get to pick the seeds sent is because Mother Nature is a fickle lady and she has her own schedule that we have to respect. There is a general timeline but things beyond their control can make certain seeds unavailable. That makes sense to me! Here’s the opportunity presented: you will not only be exposed to new and exciting things to grow, any seeds you get that you don’t want can be taken to a seed exchange, given as a gift to someone else, or donated to one of the many urban farms for the homeless that are popping up everywhere. Don’t forget the schools and after school programs out there!
There are options for how long you will get the seeds for: you can sign up for 3 months, 6 months, and either one or two years. They will even ship internationally! The prices are incredibly reasonable to me, especially when you consider that you are getting guaranteed non GMO, heirloom seeds that will provide you with more seed every year. It is a way to true self sufficiency or a great way to take the worry of getting seed before its all gone every year. Plus, it makes a really unique gift and have a “check here if this is a gift” box that I thought was good attention to detail on their part. Still not convinced? Watch this YouTube video where NBC highlights Mike the Gardener and the Seed Club!
Want to know more or start getting your shopping list worked on already? Click the pic below to learn more and sign up!
