The Early Bird Gets the Seeds?

The Early Bird Gets the Seeds?

I have finished putting together our seed order for 2021.  This is the earliest I have ever completed a seed order.  It is typically a task for the dark days of December.  Why so proactive this year?  Because I have been feeling a creeping panic that seeds, or at least the varieties I want, will be unavailable.

How realistic is it, really, to be concerned about seed shortages?  When I was filling my online shopping basket at our major seed suppliers, a few varieties were listed as out of stock.  After a brief moment of alarm, I realized that it was because this year’s seed stock has not come in yet.  Not because there wont be any in 2021.  I was just too early.  I have been checking back every few days to see if my varieties have been upgraded from “out of stock” to “back-ordered until…”

Just the right amount of panic

You may be aware that last spring, amid coronavirus concerns about the food supply combined with sheltering in place, seed packets were flying off the shelves everywhere.  In April, Johnny’s Selected Seeds had to stop taking orders from home gardeners (temporarily) so that they could continue to supply professional growers.  Seeds were selling out.

I know one grower who planted a seed garden of open-pollinated varieties this year.  If seed became unavailable, they would be able to harvest their own.  You know, in case society completely collapsed, or whatever.  Overreaction?  Or reasonable response to uncertainty?  I am constantly second guessing myself.  Am I panicking too much or not enough?

Checking in with reality…I mean Google

What do I do when I don’t know?  I ask the experts.  Or I google it.  I have seen a lot of articles about how the seed companies will be better stocked and prepared for high demand this year.  They simply got blindsided by the sudden demand last spring.  No seed panic necessary.

On the other hand, I heard from someone who heard from someone on the inside that carrot seeds will be in short supply and we had better order early.  I have heard the occasional rumbling about seed crop failures and how that will impact availability of certain varieties.  But after several searches, Google keeps coming up dry.  Either these are just rumblings, or the seed companies are playing it very close to the chest.

Why don’t we just save our own seeds?

Seed saving is great and I wouldn’t want to discourage anyone who wants to save their own seeds.  But there are several reasons we don’t do more of it.

I just checked the seed order, we grow about 100 different varieties.  Even if we wanted to save more seed, most of the varieties we grow are hybrids.  Hybrid varieties often have higher yields, better disease resistance, and are more uniform.  And while you can save seeds from hybrid varieties, what you get when you grow them out may be very different from the variety you started with.  That would be fun, but that level of uncertainty would be….challenging.

Saving seeds from tomatoes and eggplant and peppers and squash and melons is all pretty easy.  You’ve seen the seeds, they are right there in the fruit.  You just have to let the fruit mature.  But savings seeds from root vegetables means leaving them in the ground long enough to flower and mature seed.  Essentially the seed is a separate crop from the vegetable.  Carrots and beets are both biennials, meaning they need to go through the winter before they flower produce seed.  I don’t even know what a beet flower looks like.

While I wouldn’t want to have to save seed for every crop, sometimes it is worth it!  I just transplanted some Lutz beets that I hope to harvest seed from in the spring.  This variety has been hard to find in recent years, and I was told it is because the strain has become contaminated with cross-breeding.  I had some old seed that I know is the real deal, and I LOVE this beet.

Will there be a seed shortage?  Should I worry?  In summery, it’ll be fine.  Absolutely fine.  Probably.