But realistically, is it a good idea to store seeds for future use? As someone who is always planing for the worse and hoping for the best, I say yes! Another fear pushing the sales of these survivalist seed banks is genetic engineering of our plants. Many claim that ‘the forces that be’ are creating plants that produce sterile seed.

These people claim these companies are producing such plants in order to make more money and control the citizens. Whether you believe that or not is up to you.

If you do decide to store you own seeds, don’t blow your hard earned money on these ads. You can put your own seeds back in your own waterproof container and save a bunch of money in the process. Just like food storage, all it takes is a little planning and a little creativity.

What I do is buy only heirloom seeds. I then find a nice water proof container to store the seeds in. You can use a 2 to 3 foot section of 4 inch PVC pipe and then seal both ends with a cap. Just make sure you use good glue and get a complete seal.

A friend of mine spends extra money and gets plastic ammo cans from sporting goods retailers like Cabelas. These come with a waterproof seal around the perimeter of the lid. He goes one step further and uses silicone to seal the lid and then puts them back for storage.

Before putting your seeds in these containers, some folks will put them in plastic bags and vacuum pack the package, locking in the seeds. This is just another effort to keep the seeds dry. So if you’ve been thinking of buying a survival seed bank, you might want to try making one yourself first!

Image by …Rachel J…

 Recently, I’ve wanted to make some changes in my life.Slow myself down.  Stop and smell the roses, if you will.Things are so chaotic at work right now that I want my home (aka my apartment) to be the tranquil, comforting spot I return to each night. 

When I said, “Stop and smell the roses” earlier, I meant that literally.  I am very jealous of those people who have enough room in their yards for an outstanding flower garden.   This started me wondering why I can’t have it all.  Living in the city and tending to a flower garden. 

What to do, what to do!?  Then it came to me.  I could create my own flower garden out on the balcony of my apartment.  Don’t laugh!  This is do-able!  I just needed to do a little research, get some help to convert my balcony into my Garden of Eden.   

Now, I’m like many other single people today, who carefully budget their income, and I understood what an investment transforming my balcony would be.I wanted to find flower pots and seeds that were inexpensive yet flower pots and seeds that added beauty to my balcony.  I did a lot of scientific research to find the best flowers for the climate I live in, that would grow in the blazing sun of morning and shade in the afternoon, and would re-flower each spring … oh who am I kidding?  I picked flowers, first off, because I liked their colors.  The Purple Coneflowers and Foxgloves both have beautiful shades of purple.  I made sure they both grow all summer and even into the early fall.  Luckily, they are easy to care for (the Coneflowers are even drought resistant).  After all, I don’t have a well developed “green thumb” yet.  I am just getting started. 

I found some really cool wrought iron planter brackets to place my pots into.  My balcony is also made of wrought iron and these brackets can be hung right off of it.  There is room for about five pots in it or space to just plant the seeds directly into the planter.  There are adjustable flowerpot mounts available if I ever decide to place some additional single pots in them or some hanging baskets that I could suspend. 

There are so many choices out there!  I am thrilled it is springtime and I can get started on my new “garden” soon.