Seed Saving

Let's be honest here: I have no idea what I am doing. With that said, I am not going to let that stop me from trying something new.

After Hurricane Sandy hit, my brother and I had some time to see where we stand in a state of emergency. Thankfully, I didn't get to really test out my resources, because... well, with the lack of any kind of solid financial backing in the last couple of years, I have none. My brother, on the other hand, had no power for nearly a week and found out he was pretty well equipped to hang out within his condo in relative safety. His one "weak link" in his prepping was food. He had enough to sustain himself for the short term, but had no real preparation for anything long term. He decided that he would like me to be the food expert in the family. (I'm guessing that's because I have the backyard!)

Anyway, since I have already started some of the exploration in this area and I have been wanting to bring my garden to life, I figured I better take him up on this challenge this way I have someone to cheer me on when things start going right. Also, since we starting having this conversation in December and my health is crawling back to the somewhat quasi-normal, I think there is enough time to really make this happen.

I started saving seeds. (This is where the "I have no idea what I am doing," comes in). I was watching one of those prepping shows (maybe Doomsday Preppers) and there was this family that had a really great self-sustainable garden going. The kid in the family was in charge of seeds. He saved all the seeds from anything they ate so that he could plant them the following year. A couple of things passed through my mind when I read this:

• If a kid can do it, so can I! and
• Those seeds are FREE!!

I started researching seed saving and quickly saw how easy it was. The only problem is, I am not sure what I am doing is actual legitimate seed saving, or if my seeds will actually grow. Here's my problem: I did not have a garden this year. The seeds I am saving are from store-bought produce. I don't even know if they will germinate in the Spring. Every site that I research about seed saving only discusses saving seeds from the fruits and vegetables grown in your own garden. I've tried to see if I what I am doing will work, but I have not recieved any answers. I guess only time will tell. When it is is time to plant I will probably buy seeds also, just to make sure I have some guaranteed growers, but it would be really great if I could do this for free since funds are super low!

If you have any suggestions for where I should do my research or any tips on seed saving and growing seedlings, I'd love to hear from you in the comments!!