I didn't think you could save seeds from heirlooms? Maybe I am wrong..?

Heirloom seeds are not inherently difficult to grow. People have been growing them for hundreds of years after all. You seemed to do well with them the first season you tried. Probably the reason for your problems the second season had more to do with bad weather, viruses, diseases, and other cultural problems. You know, normal Florida gardening:)

Brute,

Did you take the time to soak your seeds in a 5 to 10% food grade hydrogen peroxide solution for 10 minutes to get rid of any pathogens prior to storing them? Not properly making your seeds ready for storage may be your problem. Also where did you store your seeds? I seal the packets and store my seeds in my freezer and they will stay viable way past my lifetime. I get at least 80% germination using my seed care. Unprepared seeds left out in heat and humidity on a shelf where fungus can attack them will insure your seeds not to grow well even if they do sprout at all.

Lou

I planted the heirloom tomato, Goose Creek and had very good success with it. Originally, someone on here swapped me a small plant. The following year I planted seeds from that plant. Set them in large containers with good soil, peat, etc. and fertilized with the Miracle Gro type. Had so many maters had to freeze some.

Sheri

So many variables, it's hard to tell exactly what the problem might've been - the way seeds are prepped & stored can be a major factor.

& if you planted the same things in the same spot, that could be a reason as well; melons & squash are heavy feeders & many veggies wind up w/ pests & diseases @ the end of the season that can remain long after the plants are gone.

I've grown & saved seed from a number of heirlooms & the problems I've had could mostly be traced to culture.

Brute,

I just thought of one more thing that could be affecting your heirloom second generation seeds you saved. If you grow more than one type of the same kind of plant close together you could unwittingly be making hybrids through cross pollination and the seeds you save from the fruit are no longer genetic heirlooms, but are now hybrid crosses resulting in some sort of degradation. The people that make hybrids work long and hard to bring out the good features of the parent plants.

EXAMPLE: You may have unwittingly crossed a 'horse' and 'donkey' and developed a 'mule' which is sterile.

Lou

Hey Lou, thanks for the storage tips. I had no idea!
Maybe I'll do things right from now on, and give heirlooms another chance.

Forgot to address the 2nd question - I buy most of my seeds from Pinetree in ME - they have a number of heirloom varieties, & Southern Exposure Seed Exchange specializes in heirlooms for the South.

Southern Exposure is a great seed source for Heirloom/Open-pollinated veggies. I used to buy from other sources like Seed Savers Exchange which has a great selection but they didn't seem to be right for our growing conditions and I had little success with the varieties they offer. Southern Exposure has lots of varieties with good disease resistance and heat tolerance.

This link has some good info on seed saving, what will cross with what, and how to prevent inbreeding problems which is important if you don't want to buy seeds again.

Here is a link that might be useful: Basic Seed Saving

I just bought a large garden kit from Bakers Creek and planted several seeds indoors. I've been sowing seeds indoors for several years but this year decided to use heirloom seeds... For some reason, my results are varied! A few of my plants are large and healthy, but MOST of them are still tiny and wilting. Same light, same soil, same seed packet... Any idea why and what I should do?