Most of us have a seed cache in our prep stocks (I hope so).
However, if you've never gardened, you may find this article useful.
It explains how to plant for seed, and how to calculate how much seed to plant, based on expected yields.
http://www.prep-blog.com/2017/03/05/use-a-grow-out-to-increase-seeds-for-your-crops/Warning, if your crop fails, for whatever reason, it is good planning to have held a portion of your seed over for either a late planting or next season (if you can survive that long).
1) Planting for seed production means that you must also do a separate, or additional, planting for food production. Needless to say, plan accordingly.
2) The article gives somewhat optimist numbers for expected yields.... Plan on less, plant more than you need for seed production and hope that the excess will be available for food or new planting.
3) DO have a plan on what you expect to grow IN YOUR AREA. Local seed is more likely to be successful.
4) If you are just starting to stock seed, DO ask for local seed from your source, whether that is a garden shop or a local grower.
5) Rotate your saved seed. Most seed will lose vitality (lower sprouting rate) with each year of storage. If you don't use it the first year, then buy more (if you can), up to 50 percent replacement. I would NOT through away older seed, but do increase the planting rate (seeds per area) based on the tested sprouting rate.
You can test for sprouting rate by pulling a representative sample of your seed (not just a random handful off the top of the container) and sprouting it indoors before the start of planting season. DO THIS every year.
If you are careful, you can even replant your test sprouted seeds into the garden Waste not, want not...
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