# Using seeds from commercial produce (sold in the stores) to plant a garden



## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

The first problem with produce bought in stores is that it is most always from hybrid plants. When the seeds are planted a few of the seeds may produce the same hybrid plants that your fruit or veggies came from, but a big majority will produce the "parent" plants upon which the hybrid was grown. 

Another problem is that the plants are treated to make the seeds unlikely to germinate so your crops will be a failure from the start.

If you accidentally get plants that are GMO then the plants you do get belong to the manufacturer who holds the patent on the plants. You can lose your garden or have to pay a fine for growing the property without permission. 

This is why it is important to use "heritage" seeds in your garden. There are no patents and there are no disappointing results with different plants growing from the seeds. 


What are your feelings on using the seeds from purchased produce to start your own garden?


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## jimb1972 (Nov 12, 2012)

I am curious how well it would work. I have had tomatoes that came up from seeds of the last years hybrids, they produced good tomatoes, just lesser quantities.


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## kevincali (Nov 15, 2012)

Some produce, especially potatoes and tubers(?) are sprayed with a anti-root compound. 

But I have used seeds from tomatoes and papayas to start plants (papayas burned as little trees and didn't survive) although the tomatoes thrived. 

If in doubt, buy organic at least. Better if non GMO. 

I'd be more worried about getting seeds from plants that aren't native to your area (citrus in Montana for instance)
And of course, everything has a certain "days to maturity" so if you buy an early tomato variety and have a short season, you're golden. Get a late variety and short season, you're screwed.


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## Dr. Prepper (Dec 20, 2012)

Here on our farm our veggie garden for household use is all heirloom. We take great care of our harvested seeds every year and always have 8 or 10 times as many seeds as we will need. Our community has a great heirloom seed exchange program and it works well. Luckily we have the acreage to rotate the garden (approx. 200 ft. square) to a newly prepared location every year. There are 4 garden plots and we plant "fertilizer" cover crops to be tilled into the soil. This has worked well for us for 12 years now.


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## CWOLDOJAX (Sep 5, 2013)

I am very new at this. 
While I am annoyed that the producers hold rights to a product I've already consumed (except the seeds), I now wonder if I can use store-bought produce in my composting pile? I know this sounds sarcastic. I apologize for the tone... being a newbie... If I buy heirloom seeds and save the seeds
or 
a cucumber "kit" (contains soil, seeds, fertilizer, instructions) and save the seeds
am I violating something?
Seems very bizarre that I could grow up in Iowa helping my grandparent maintain their garden and now I need to get legal advise to save strawberry seeds.
I will do the right thing, I promise... and I realize I may not have said anything new to you. 
Learning to be self sufficient should not make one a criminal. [insert grumpy-ness].


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## Notsoyoung (Dec 2, 2013)

We use heirloom seeds for our vegetables.


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## CWOLDOJAX (Sep 5, 2013)

PaulS said:


> The first problem with produce bought in stores is that it is most always from hybrid plants. When the seeds are planted a few of the seeds may produce the same hybrid plants that your fruit or veggies came from, but a big majority will produce the "parent" plants upon which the hybrid was grown.
> 
> Another problem is that the plants are treated to make the seeds unlikely to germinate so your crops will be a failure from the start.
> 
> ...


I am spreading the word [alarm] on this with some friends of mine on Facebook, is there a reference I can send us "un-informed" backyard gardeners? We're all newbies.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

CWOLDOJAX said:


> I am spreading the word [alarm] on this with some friends of mine on Facebook, is there a reference I can send us "un-informed" backyard gardeners? We're all newbies.


Monsanto | Why Does Monsanto Sue Farmers Who Save Seeds?

This pertains to farmers, as they profit from the product. It isn't a far leap to believe they could force gardeners to stop as well.


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## Mule13 (Dec 30, 2012)

When i was a kid my grandfather would go to the store and buy a bag of beans and a bag of blackeye peas and plant them and we'd eat beans and peas for most of the year. as stated you cant do that now because the seeds maybe patent protected. I dont think Monsanto will send someone to your house to check your backyard garden. but also as stated above they may or maynot even sprout and if they do they may not even make a fruit/vegetable. i would urge everyone to use the heirloom seed now get used to growing them and saving seeds. as for buying from the store, this year i grew sweet potatos regular potatos and ginger from cutting i did from store bought produce. i also planted some heirloom variety potatoes that i got from a farmers market. in honesty the regular potatos from th store produced alot more potatos than the heirlooms planted in the same place.also using seeds i grew black krim tomatos,purple cherokee tomatos romas and some celebrity. the celebrity made tons while the others didnt produce as well. seems to me the heirloom varoetirs dont produce as well, this is why i say start using them now so you cant select the seeds from the plants that do the best in your area. These re just my observtions 
i would also suggest anyone growing their own food look into plants like moringa,cassava, just google survival plants and see all the things that come up


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

PaulS said:


> The first problem with produce bought in stores is that it is most always from hybrid plants. When the seeds are planted a few of the seeds may produce the same hybrid plants that your fruit or veggies came from, but a big majority will produce the "parent" plants upon which the hybrid was grown.
> 
> Another problem is that the plants are treated to make the seeds unlikely to germinate so your crops will be a failure from the start.
> 
> ...


If the bees pollinate a commericial GMO plant,then go to your heritage plant,some GMO residue DNA will be left behind.
Then your garden is not yours anymore, but the manufacturer of the GMO seed,most likely Monsanto.
There is case law to support this


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Ok, there is a footnote that I should put in place here. Unlike copyright laws that protect the author from others using his product whether profit is involved or not in patent law anyone can use patented products for personal use.

For example if someone invented a new fuel injection system and patented the idea you could find the patent through a search and copy it for use on your personal car. Only when or if you sold that car with the injection system on it would you be violating the patent laws. Patents do not protect the patent holder from personal use by others - only the manufacture for sale is in violation.


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## CWOLDOJAX (Sep 5, 2013)

I can't help but wonder if this contributed to family farms in Iowa going away and corporate farming took over.
I lifted bales of hay and de-tasseled corn with some high school buddies in the `70s... those farms are gone now.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Bill Gates has been buying up a lot of farmland and converting it to corporate farming. The only reason I can see for this is to control the food supply in the same way he used to control the software market.

We can stop using the Microsoft products easily but we still have to eat.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

But Gate's intention is to actually solve world problems. He's not some evil scientist in a lair.
He wants to help the problem with world hunger, and many other large problems.
I think he even gave a TED talk on mosquito netting to curb disease, and has started a research group to make the best feeling condom in order to encourage their use in Africa, and stop the spread of HIV.
It's good to see someone doing good work with all their money and fame.


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## AquaHull (Jun 10, 2012)

Kauboy said:


> But Gate's intention is to actually solve world problems. He's not some evil scientist in a lair.
> He wants to help the problem with world hunger, and many other large problems.
> I think he even gave a TED talk on mosquito netting to curb disease, and has started a research group to make the best feeling condom in order to encourage their use in Africa, and stop the spread of HIV.
> It's good to see someone doing good work with all their money and fame.


His goal to solve the world's problems is by reducing the population


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

AquaHull said:


> His goal to solve the world's problems is by reducing the population


His work to stop malaria and HIV stands to contradict your assumption...


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## RNprepper (Apr 5, 2014)

AquaHull said:


> His goal to solve the world's problems is by reducing the population


Tha't why he's given over a billion dollars toward research, treatment, and in the area of Neglected Tropical Diseases which affect people living in extreme poverty. Sometimes called "orphan diseases", NTDs don't get the research or funding like the big ones - malaria, TB, HIV, for example. More than a billion of the world's population are affected by one or more of these diseases, and guess what????? They are coming to you! Some are already in America, and I am very thankful that someone like Bill Gates is working to develop treatments!

But back to the original topic - just keep saving seeds from the best fruit and most productive plants (of your open pollinated or heirloom plants) and you will develop your own strains of vegetables that will be adapted to your own micro-climate, soil, pests, etc. It's what people have done for thousands of years and how much of the world still survives.


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## rice paddy daddy (Jul 17, 2012)

My wife is the family farmer. She only buys heirloom seeds mail order from one or two seed companies that have been in the business for years.
When I get home I'll try to post the names and web addresses.


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## StarPD45 (Nov 13, 2012)

There was a recent story on _Off the Grid News_ that said a seed exchange program at a PA library was shut down.
Here's the link : State Bureaucrats Shut Down Heirloom Seed Exchange | Off The Grid News


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## CWOLDOJAX (Sep 5, 2013)

rice paddy daddy said:


> My wife is the family farmer. She only buys heirloom seeds mail order from one or two seed companies that have been in the business for years.
> When I get home I'll try to post the names and web addresses.


Lookin' forward to it. ::clapping::


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## Will2 (Mar 20, 2013)

Imo grow what you want. The rulings are bogus. People should not be able to deny peoples right to grow food from seed they own. That is all there is to it.

Food and water is a universal human right.

Guns can be pattented too but as long as you arn't selling them to someone else it doesnt matter.


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## Kauboy (May 12, 2014)

Will said:


> Imo grow what you want. The rulings are bogus. People should not be able to deny peoples right to grow food from seed they own. That is all there is to it.
> 
> Food and water is a universal human right.


Private property rights still can't be violated.
They own the patent on the plant DNA they engineered.
You are not entitled to benefit from that without permission.

Or... you can just buy from people who WANT you to grow your own food using their seeds.


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Patent rights do not cover the individual using the product unless the product is sold. The patent on GMO plants does not prevent an individual from growing food for the individuals consumption. It only prevents you from marketing the food without paying compensation to the patent holder.


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## Will2 (Mar 20, 2013)

Kauboy said:


> Private property rights still can't be violated.
> They own the patent on the plant DNA they engineered.
> You are not entitled to benefit from that without permission.
> 
> Or... you can just buy from people who WANT you to grow your own food using their seeds.


No its nonsense. Grow food.God made every single dna strand in that seed. IP baring personal activity is plain wrong. IP is meant to regulate fair commerce not restrict individuals freedom and survival. That is totally contrary to the principle of life liberty and pursuit of happiness.

Anything that is contrary to that violates the highest law - human rights including the right to life and personal security.

I can legally kill anyone who acts to extinguish my life including through deprivation.

The basis of duress renders the activity totally defensable.

It is legal to grow any food because one will die if they do not.

with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness...


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## PaulS (Mar 11, 2013)

Patent rights do not cover the individual using the product unless the product is sold. The patent on GMO plants does not prevent an individual from growing food for the individuals consumption. It only prevents you from marketing the food without paying compensation to the patent holder.


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