I'm concerned about not being able to get seed from year to year. Flavor and productivity are secondary concerns. Although some of the best tomatoes I've ever had were 'heirloom' varieties.
I'd had to not be able to get a second year of seed because they're not available for whatever reason.
Any advice you can offer on the subject is greatly appreciated.
L
Seed keeps, you know. Buy more than you need. Store it in glass jars somewhere cool and dark. Don’t freeze it. Throw a few grains of rice in the jar to keep down any moister that may have gotten in.
Seed keeps it viability longer than the seed companies would like you to believe. Small seeds; lettuce, radish, sprouts, tomatoes, peppers, etc. keep viability for up to 5 years...and then some will still sprout; your germination rate goes down, that’s all.
Larger seed like beans, peas, corn, squashes, will keep for less time.
Rule of thumb: The larger the seed, the shorter the good germination rates are.
If this really worries you, keep seed in with your Emergency Stash (or in my case, ‘Tornado/Blizzard Kit’). I don’t, but I might start doing that now. Rotate them out and into your garden each year as you do the food and water supplies. Replenish.
There are two seed banks in America. One is in some mountainside in the west and one is in Decorah, IA. There are seed banks all over the world, for that matter. Many cultures know the value of keeping seed. :)
Did that help?