Survival Seed Vaults: Should Preppers Buy Them? 

If your seeds are “too old,” they won’t produce inferior plants as you assumed. It’s your germination rate that will be affected. In general, the older your packet of seeds, the fewer seeds that will come up at all. What you harvest from the ones that do come up will be fine. I’m enjoying your channel. Thank you!

with seeds it good not to plant the whole pack too. An early/late frost, pest (both animal and bug) and a weather, too hot cold dry and and wet or high wind and you can loose your garden.

So true, we’ve had gardens for years and we still have crops fail. Just like all things for prepping learn as much as you can before you need to use the skill.

I used this product for my entire garden this year. Seeds worked great and so far they are producing lots of food! I will for sure buy again

Great reality check/reminder. Throwing money at supplies and gear does not make one a prepper.

Remember if you want to save your seed, to plant heirloom away from hybrids of the same species so they will not cross. (Unless you want seeds that are a new variety)

People have no concept of the total square footage required (tilled and ready for planting) to grow enough food to live on for one year for one person. For a family? What percentage of the seeds in these vaults have long term storage capability? And what about grains? Are you familiar with how to seed save each type of seed? To think you have a pouch of seeds and you are prepared for an emergency garden to save you or your family from starvation is just silly.

So, the seed vault, in my opinion isn't a great choice. It does have a wide variety of seeds, but in some cases, like corn, it's going to take 3 seasons of saving it all for seed before you get any. Also, they may not be the best varieties for your location.

I was glad to hear you bring up that seeds won't last forever, some seeds are only good for the year you buy them or the following year if your saving your own seeds, spinach for one that has a very low germination rate for the second season, others like tomatoes and beans will be viable for several years, so learning about your plants you are going to be growing is important, plus learning how to store your seeds so they will have the best germination rate the next year or however long there going to be stored, and then there's learning how to properly collect your seeds, some are as easy as just scooping them out and letting them dry, others like cabbage wont seed till the second year, I'm not trying to scare anyone away from survival gardens!! it may come down to having to raising our own food, like our forefathers did, but just do your research and like he said practice even if it's just a small garden or just a few plants do your dirt time and learn everything you can. knowledge don't weigh nothing and no one can take it away from you

I have been trying to grow gardens for the last 9 years. I have likely killed gardens with every possible manner, BUT last January I finally got some plants to grow inside. First lesson is to keep trying. You will also likely make mistakes, but learn from them and do not wait until the "fecal matter hits the air mover". Remember that it is easy to overwater bucket plants, so make sure there is a drain hole or better yet multiple ones. I lost several potato plants because of over watering without a drain hole. A good way of starting your seeds is to put them in a Ziploc bag with a wet paper towel on top. This lets you see which seeds produce roots and you do not waste time waiting on failed seeds. A good idea is to put a quarter more seeds than you want to plant to make up for the dead seeds. This will also allow you to figure out if that particular seed is better with the floaters or sinkers. When you harvest, put the seeds in water and let it set. Some seeds will float and others will sink. Separate them and test which is the viable seeds. I just did this with cantaloupe (I am going to try to grow some inside during the fall) and I found the sinkers did ok as long as they remained warm. Light and darkness did not seem to affect them much. IF you are not going to have an indoor garden, this will make sure you know which will be the seeds to use in the spring.

You can create your own seed vault for a lot less by just buying 25 cent seed packets at the Dollar Tree and other places. I've had very good germination rates, they are non-gmo (mostly heirloom except corn, for reasons other commenters provided), and you can choose the varieties your family likes and what goes well in your area. IMO, the best way to store them is in a mylar bag with a zip close and NO oxygen absorber. That is important because seeds need oxygen to remain viable. Then freeze the mylar bag or store it in the coolest, driest place you have available.

Thx for your video! Another good tip is those “ survival kit seed packs “ mostly have lettuce types etc and lack more carbs like BEANS. You can’t really grow the seeds in the survival pack and survive off them. It’s supplemental food. You can store seeds in your freezer for decades

This is so helpful…thank you! I’ve always wanted to see what’s inside of these pouches.

If You grow heirloom and hybrid together, they will cross pollinate, and your saved seeds will be unpredictable.

Something else to research in colder areas: small DIY greenhouses, growing frames and hoop houses. Any of these would extend the growing season. Also, there's a lot of info on the web about how to regrow fruits and veggies from parts of an existing piece of fruit or vegetable. I've seen it done with celery, onions, garlic, avocados, pineapple, and so much more. :)

Helping the algorithm

Yeah great video and on point. If you are relying on bugging out and surviving off any seeds you may as well just stay home as it ain't going to happen imo. Start out by talking to others in your area who are accomplished gardeners or look around for things like community gardens and learn as much as you can that way or read, read, read. Where I am we would end up with absolutely nothing each year if we didn't completely enclose our growing areas. Day and night there is something waiting to eat nearly everything we grow. Also start small and simple and go from there imo. Things like potatoes and garlic can be grown from an exiting plant very simply and cheaply if they haven't been treated. Thanks for the video, very down to Earth, pun intended.

I have limited areas of full sun in my yard, so I grow a lot of my garden in buckets as well, so I understand what you mean about watering a lot. One thing I've been doing is to make a wicking bucket system using two or three buckets. The bottom bucket acts as a reservoir, so I don't have to water as often. There are plenty of good examples out on the web.

Container growth is transportable ... Harmful weather conditions allow you to move the container crop under a tarp or solid cover to avoid hail damage ... or high wind or dense rain that we see in Florida. ( ie . Hurricanes / Tropical storms.). Good product ... seeds are viable and grow well. Container growth allows for customized soil for the most desirable flavor and yield. Just a thought .... “Council with many , endures success.” Semper Fi

Mulch! yes even experienced gardeners have problems because different plants react differently with the soil and sunlight. So it needs to be tried out different ways and always improved on.

Thank you !

Very informative.

Will you put in the next video or link a data base sheet that has a base timeline on best used by or maybe discuss on how to properly store them for "Long term" and even "short term" storage? What I mean by that is, I know that somethings will not grow in certain areas of the world or that it will be very difficult. I want to know how to store them for "long term" in case SHTF and I need to use them for trade or currency. Hey, I'm just thinking long term and outside the box a bit. I would enjoyed watching that video. Hey I know this is from July, but I have been flip flopping around your videos along with watching others. I like that some of you know each other or at least link each other in the description area. I am truthful one of the New just starting out prepper. So your videos along with some of the more popular preppers are very informative. I have learned such a great deal since watching not just your video's, but other preppers. So as someone newer to this concept, thank you, thank you very much. Keep it up.

There is a lot more to gardening than plopping a seed onto the ground. Wise words.

i would recommend everyone to stock up on seeds because who wants to live off canned food that has little to no nutrients and is high in salt and sugar which is not good if you have high blood pressure or high cholesterol,

Not many 🌽 seeds. you need a lot of rows. Make sure you are saving seed from this year's crop. I buy Heirloom seeds/plants....but they are harder to get going and get to produce well. So start now...

I buy seeds all the time, got that same pack and everything germinated

Thank you

Thanky much

Gardening and farming isn’t easy. Also take note of the region you live in and how fertile the soil actually is. I live in Arizona so this isn’t the best option unless I head over to better pastures. Having said that, if you have a family, access to good soil and water, I would definitely invest it this. Not a whole lot of weight so no downside

I lost 5 blueberry bushes here in south Texas this year so far.

i would think that you would need more seeds in quantity. If there are beans, I would want a big package of seeds to make a big row or two.

If you freeze the seed package will they last longer?

Just to be clear, I enjoy your channel and the way you present important information. That being said, I have to bust your chops just a little. Using a tape measure as a size comparison to the pack of seed packets, then NOT actually MEASURING with the device had me laughing. Or was that your intention? 😂🤣😂

Good info and a belly laugh 🤣

Its a great barter item

The video wasn't bad on general advice but it wasn't helpful to know if this brand is superior to other brands.

After that Alpaca joke, I do feel sorry for you. Lol

Could you copyright Alpacalypse?

Well I got kicked out and told there were none, actually every time I try and buy anything from America the postage is to much anyway like 200 to over a thousand one time just for cloths and sheets “ I think someone hates me over there lol

I got this from Amazon for $15.

survival seeds vaults may not save you but sprouting seeds might .

I bought a couple from 4Patriots and am satisfied with how they packaged their product and how the seeds grew.

I looked it up out of interest. It takes 3,000 sq ft of land to feed one person. If you are an urban dweller, your standard 25x150 lot is 3,750 sq ft, so that means you would need to convert your entire lot into a garden to feed just one person. Furthermore how many calories will you burn tending to your garden from planting to harvest. Potatoes and squash perhaps, but how calorie dense are vegetables? Is it worth the sweat investment? If you have a homestead with land, you just might as well go down to your local hardware store and buy the cheaper packets and have a garden even before SHTF.