LIFE HACK: Save your produce seeds!

I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner. In Maine, our outdoor growing season window is much smaller than warmer climates. However, I usually grow a little container garden of tomatoes, herbs, odds and ends along my walkway. This summer I grew a handful of white onions and enough green onion/scallions to feed my family and some of my neighbors all summer so far— all from one bunch of green onion that I bought at the grocery store. First, we chopped and ate the green onion— but when chopping I left the little white end that has the roots attached and stuck them in a cup with a tiny bit of water. They grew SO QUICKLY that I even started using them while they were still on my countertop, snipping bits of green onion as needed. When the weather warmed enough to put them outside, I put them in a part of soil and we have grown the most ginormous green onions I have ever seen all summer! I have one that is about 3 feet tall, with a giant seed pod at the top! I’ll be drying that seed pod for next year. Additionally, I never realized that green onions if you let them grow long enough produce white onions.

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I had green onion all summer and still do, and when I’m ready, I now have a handful of white onions to harvest!

You can do similar things with the fresh herbs you purchased in the grocery store! I bought a pot of basil in soil at my local grocery this spring and replanted it at home. We have had basil all summer and now I’ve let it go to seed so I can keep the seed for next year! You can also purchase the fresh herb clippings and what you do not use immediately place in propagation containers and root them to plant them in soil.

I’ve taken it a step further in the last week or two by saving the seeds from any bell peppers and jalapeños we have purchased. I now have a small collection of seeds tucked away for planting season for myself and my best friends garden.

I could sit here all day and list the positives to this practice. Planting things is good for the environment, it’s good for you and your mental health, you’re saving money by turning one vegetable into many, you’re controlling where the food comes from that you feed your family. Times are tough for many right now, and we are moving from an age of consumerism into a time of consciousness. We vote with our dollars too, and I would prefer my dollars stay with me and not in the pockets of big corporations. The owners don’t need my money, but I certainly do! Gardening, even my tiny little urban container garden makes me so happy all spring, summer and fall. The winters here in Maine can be brutal. By the time planting season rolls around, I’m desperate for sunshine and to have my hands in the soil!

What other produce items do you think we could do this with? What are some other ways you like to live sustainably and thoughtfully? I really would love to read your comments so I can put some of your ideas into play in my life! Give these tips a try! It really works!

#sustainability #growyourfood #gardening #money #knowwhereyourfoodcomesfrom #lemon8challenge #groceryhaul #summerdiary #lemon8contest Old Town