Emotional hang-ups

[ddsack]

OK, you've outdone me. I have yet to get emotionally attached to any dry seeds!
But I have never trashed or composted a seedling. Anything I can't give away and have no room for, or is too runty or sickly gets shallowly dug in at the edge of the woods and forgotten. Live or die, it's up to them. Normally the deer take them out if any survive to produce tomatoes. But at least I'm not the murderer!

[sirtanon]

I guess I fall sort of in-between.

I won't kill any tomato seedlings that look even the least bit capable of growing, and even the ones that seem a bit... 'special'.. will still go into a spot somewhere just to see what they are capable of.

As far as seeds go, unless a variety has proven itself to be a complete waste, I don't like to toss it. Case in point - when I'm sorting seeds, saving seeds, etc.. if I have some that fall on the floor, I pick them up when I'm done and put them in a packet marked "miscellaneous, leftover, and orphan." Once in a rare while, I'll pull a seed out of that pack and surprise myself

[tjg911]

i'm kind of nutty along these lines too, i hate killing healthy seedlings but when you have 6 and need just 1 plant of that variety there's no choice. i always plant more seeds than plants i need to insure i get whatever the minimum i need for the garden. for any given tomato variety it is usually just 1 plant, for broccoli it is 4, for cabbage it can be 4 or 8 etc, but i hate tossing perfectly good seedlings. this is how i have 4 fatali pepper plants under a shop light right now! i seeded 10 for a germination test, 8 came up, i transplanted the best 6 to monitor how they grow and then i had 6 plants that needed to be transplanted or tossed! i kept the best 4 and hope to put them out memorial day but that's 5 3/4 months from now!

tom

[sirtanon]

I tend to start much more than needed for the same reason, especially with older seeds. I'm pretty lucky though - my parents live about 15 miles from me and so I bring a couple plants to them, and they also live in a gated retirement community, so my dad posts an email I send him on an email group they have, in which i list how many of each variety I have left... within 2 days, they're usually all gone. Oh, and many of the recipients end up sharing fruit from their plants, so it works out well

[Sun City Linda]

As has been mentioned in other threads and forums, some of us give away unwanted seedling with no trouble by 1) taking them to church 2) sending them to work with others 2) thrift stores. If all else fails put them in a box on a street corner and write "free seedlings" on it! Then, walk away and don't look back LOL! Linda

[kath]

Originally Posted by Sun City Linda

As has been mentioned in other threads and forums, some of us give away unwanted seedling with no trouble by 1) taking them to church 2) sending them to work with others 2) thrift stores. If all else fails put them in a box on a street corner and write "free seedlings" on it! Then, walk away and don't look back LOL! Linda

Sometimes folks at local food pantries will take plants, too and there may be community gardens for low-income families in your area that will gladly take plants and seeds that you might want to pass on.

[Neohippie]

I don't like throwing away seeds either. I just finished using up my packet of Bloody Butcher, even though I thought it sucked. When I grow a variety I don't like, I put it on a "do not save seed" list, but don't throw the rest of the packet away, I go ahead and use it up.

Though sometimes I can get rid of those through online seed trades. I always keep in mind that it might work better for someone else living in a different climate or with different taste in tomatoes.

I like the idea someone had about planting seedlings out in the woods. I have a vacant lot right across the street from my house. That might be an ok place for me to stick some seedlings out to fend for themselves! If nothing else, the deer might appreciate it.

But I usually try to find people to give them away to. The problem is I don't have a lot of gardening friends. Last year I gave some extra seedlings to my in-laws and one friend who had just bought a house and was putting in a garden, but neither of them had room for much.

I just found out the local Catholic church has a community garden behind it. Maybe next spring I'll dump my extras there.

[dice]

Seeds not worth keeping or trading: bird food.

[ddsack]

Or mouse food.


I used to ferment and dry my seeds out in my full-of-rips plastic greenhouse. One time I came to collect my paper plates of dry seeds, only to find most of the seeds gone, and little black calling cards left in their stead. Lesson learned.

I try to find adoptive homes for my excess seedlings. If I can't find them a new home, I rip them to pieces and then toss them. I can't stand to throw them in the trash without putting them out of their misery first.

My wife once asked why I talk more to my plants than with her.

I'm just kidding! If my addiction ever gets that bad, I will ask someone to put me out of my misery.

Ted

[SEAMSFASTER]

Originally Posted by Alpinejs

I'll add one more of my own hangups. As much as I feel like a murderer when I dispose of a seedling, I even feel badly for seeds that don't get used...

You took the words right out of my mouth - another confession I didn't think I had the courage to make. I can't tolerate even wasting seeds! And I also pick up the dropped ones and have a misc. stash of "mystery seeds" for give away or experimentation.

I don't get very far with my argument with some people that tomato seeds ought to be worth their weight in gold - but I guess that debate belongs in a politcal thread.

Maybe there is still hope for me, however - at least I have the fortitude to go ahead and chew and swallow the seeds of the tomatoes I eat!