Seed Saving Circle 2016?

[galina]

This is going to be another great seed circle with many lovely goodies for us to grow.   

Having discussed it with Silverleaf, I can add a few seeds each of the crimson flowering soup pea Unity which she got from the seed bank and named.  Jayb gave me 3 of these seed treasures from her stock and they have done well.  There won't be a huge amount each but hopefully enough to appreciate their beauty and utility.  The seeds themselves are different too, because they have a black eye (black hilum).  Another front garden pea. 

I noticed that the birds were taking an interest and pecking my winter radish pods, so I thanked them for indicating that the seeds inside must be ready (not!) and harvested the lot last week.  Picked off all the pods onto trays.  They dried off completely in a matter of days and yes, there are seeds inside. 

Pea Purple Lancashire Lad is already harvested and dried.  As is snap pea Sugar Magnolia, although the plants are still going.  I don't have very many seeds each, because the temptation to snack pods in the garden won out many times (slap wrist). 

I am looking at a lettuce or two, but the trouble with lettuce is always that seed yield is very weather dependent.  It is always ok in the greenhouse, but I haven't planted any there this year. 

I am struggling with hand pollination this year.  Had by now 3 failed attempts with Volunteer squash (tearing my hair out!) and the long promised Todo el An~o squash has been pollinated twice without result, whilst bee-pollinated fruits are growing merrily.  Having done hand pollination dozens of times successfully over many years,  I just don't know what's up this year with my 'skills'    No promises there either. 

And two items originally from Goodlife - Pepper Tsygansky Baron because it is so early and so pretty (also a seed circle repeat).  And hopefully seeds from her very rare multiplying leek, which is flowering at the moment.  The bees love the big purple pompoms, so hoping for plenty of seed for us.  It seems strange that a leek that specialises in multiplying should flower, but they can and as they produce fertile seeds, it makes it all the easier to share.  My first lot was a clump of baby leeks, which have grown into sizable leeks and now produced flowers.  I have yet to see them multiply here, but all the better for sharing   

That is the progress report my end so far. 

[galina]

[sunloving]

Group hug is needed I think! I'm hoping that we will have a warm and sunny autumn to help us catch up a bit. My cinnamon basil never grew much more than a few cm before dying, but I do have lots of salmon flowered pea and oldambuster broadies. Yellow pear toms have been good if anyone wants some and the Shiraz mange tout. The rest is still uncertain. Fingers crossed it gets better! I have had my first ever aubergine success with half phalange violet the, but I think this is a bit common for anyone in this circle? X sunloving

[Jayb]

Sorry you are having a mare of a year, Jayb.  But still so many candidates for the seed circle?  All sound good.

I had berries on potato Athlete, but Abbot went early with blight.  Pity, such pretty flowers. The tubers were baker sized around the pound mark!  Huge for earlies.   Athlete is definitely good with blight.  Plant still looks very good, but no further flowers here.   

Thanks Galina 

I harvested my first Athlete plant today, they need a little longer as they are still growing well, i just wanted to see what they are like, tasted good    Same here, foliage is standing up well to Late blight, all the tubers looked clean too. A keeper for me. Seems they are a good seed setter then, another bonus!

[Jayb]

Sorry to here you are having a poor year too Earlypea, it's a bit disheartening 
Those varieties all sound great for the circle, I haven't grown Winterkefe for a couple of years so it will be great to get some fresh seeds and they are a good early variety. 

[Jayb]

Lots of lovely sounding varieties Galina, can't wait 

[Jayb]

Group hug is needed I think! I'm hoping that we will have a warm and sunny autumn to help us catch up a bit. My cinnamon basil never grew much more than a few cm before dying, but I do have lots of salmon flowered pea and oldambuster broadies. Yellow pear toms have been good if anyone wants some and the Shiraz mange tout. The rest is still uncertain. Fingers crossed it gets better! I have had my first ever aubergine success with half phalange violet the, but I think this is a bit common for anyone in this circle? X sunloving

Group hug sounds good, fingers crossed for a good end to the season, though it's blooming cold, grey and very windy here at the moment! Looking forward to whatever you decide on and well done with your aubergine, perhaps that's one to save and grow again as it's enjoying kyour conditions.

[galina]

And we had better extend this group hug across the Atlantic to Jeannine.  I have just had a very welcome PM from her, but she is not having a great time in the garden either.   

".........very brief..I am OK.my computer is not, it lets me on then freezes, sometimes after 10 minutes it will ley me change page but it is useless and I have to replace it..this message could vanish ay any minute.I can't get on the forum, well I can get on one topic but it will not let me change page.

Please convey message to forum that I am in dire straits with this rotten machine and can't post ..

2016 seeds. not doing so well, this is the worst summer I hab=v ever knowm, we have had mildew on all melons cukes, courgettes almost since day one I have had 2 cougetttes of 12 assorted plants, none from the trailing galia one.

The nine star os going great, but just getting bigger and bigger and is full of holes but all the plants seem to be hanging on, ditto to the daubenton.Tomatoes have been terrible, Mr rat got my biggie for this year I was so mad.Broadies useless, every ant in the neighbourhood built nests in the broadie bed, they were on e mass of sticky green,I got quite bitten trying to pull them out. Gigantes beans are doing well though, and my family beans are doing well too

Caulis went to seeds when tiny, kale is fine,cabbages seem to be OK and brussells are hanging on  but Mr Rat got me beets again.

Better go I am pushing my luck, it keeps stopping and starting..planning on buying a new full desk top model in a few weeksas this new laptop has to go

Sorryto be so hurried but wanted to connect with at least I=one person and I hope it lets me send it,not even trying to correct mistakes...XX Jeannine"

Glad she is ok and it is her computer that's playing up not her health.  Just wanted to let you all know. 

[Jayb]

Group hug absolutely includes everyone  So sorry to hear you are having a hard time of it Jeannine, you had such lovely plans for your growing patch this year. Blooming computers, so frustrating and hope it gets sorted very quickly. Thanks for letting us all know Galina 

[sparrow]

I'm having a dire time with my squashes, and blight got to my sunrise bumblebee after the first truss (which is promised elsewhere). Slugs are eating nearly every fruit on the squashes, either before or just after pollination. And my fish chillies aren't pollinating in the net bags, though all the others are where I've just been saving for my own stocks. I'm tearing my hair out!

The magnolia blossom peas are in and drying in rice though, so there's at least that. And my sarpo axonas have large berries on. I haven't checked on the kajari melons - I almost daren't!

[Jayb]

I can add in Sunrise Bumble bee, do you need some extra seeds to share elsewhere? I'm interested to know how you rate their taste?

It seems it's a funny ol' season for many of us.

[galina]

Sorry to hear you are struggling too sparrow.  But the peas are in and safe and the tps are a great idea too.  Fingers crossed for the Kajari melons

Could you encase the whole plant/s of fish chili with a fleece dome and let them get on with it?  Just a thought and there is also flower dipping with pva glue as a seed saving method.   Good luck. 

[Silverleaf]

Joining in with group hugs!

Weeks of very wet weather followed by months of dry weather and a combination of slugs and blackbirds hasn't been very helpful here. :(

I do have Telephone peas to share this year though, and likely a mixture of summer radishes, not sure what else yet. If we hadn't had Minogue pearl onions last year I would have added them, as I have four lovely flowers on my plants, but I assume everyone has them now?

[Silverleaf]

Ooh, I can do Elisabeth peas too, which were kindly given to me by Galina a few years ago. :)

[penedesenca]

Joining the group hug too. It really has been a mere of a year.

Well my potato onions are fine and in storage but still no idea what you will get with them.

[sparrow]

I can add in Sunrise Bumble bee, do you need some extra seeds to share elsewhere? I'm interested to know how you rate their taste?

I didn't rate it at all, but then I might have left the tomatoes too long just to make sure the seeds would be fully ripe. There were 12 seeds from 7 tomatoes, so that's also spectacularly unimpressive. I might try it again next year just to be sure, after I've changed the soil in the greenhouse.

[Jayb]

I didn't rate it at all, but then I might have left the tomatoes too long just to make sure the seeds would be fully ripe. There were 12 seeds from 7 tomatoes, so that's also spectacularly unimpressive. I might try it again next year just to be sure, after I've changed the soil in the greenhouse.

Good to have a second opinion, all the Artisan tomatoes looks so lovely, but of the ones I've grown so far, all seem to lack some of the taste I love about cherries. I know many rave about them, I just wish my growing conditions gave as good results. Oh well....

I haven't checked any for seeds yet. 12 seeds, good if you don't like eating seedy tomatoes!

[sparrow]

Fingers crossed for the Kajari melons

Melons fell off :( Just suddenly stopped growing, turned yellow and fell off. All of them (there were 6). Ah well.

And there's a slug somewhere that has a taste for chillies and, more distressingly, chilli plant stem. This morning a branch of the most variegated Fish plant was lying on the floor, with the remainder all rasped. Lots of my other plants are similarly affected this year. Not had this before. Hopefully I can still get a few fruits, as they really are stunning.

[Jayb]

Shame about your melons, tuff when they were almost there 

Pretty fruit 

[Jayb]

Joining the group hug too. It really has been a mere of a year.

Well my potato onions are fine and in storage but still no idea what you will get with them.

It's definitely a year for group hugs!
Potato onions sounds great. 

Edit to add an o

[sunloving]

Big Hugs , it's a tough year . I harvested my oldambuster broadies yesterday. I'm not sure about them because they look the same colour as my valencianas. Happy to share anyway as the flowers were amazing.
My biquhino chillies have been isolated from any hot varieties and so might have some seedto share of this mild pretty chilli but they have no colour yet.
No sign of a fruit on the jelly melon and so not sure about these .

Here's to warm and dry weather and some late successes! X sunloving