Topic: Seed Sharing Circle

[Jayb]

So intresting reading how everyones crops have fared and the different experiences and tips. Really useful one for me re; colander and raddish seeds , thanks Galina. My top tip, best not to winow seeds in gusty wind without an old sheet to catch mistakes!

Well the original idea was for each person to save seeds from two varieties and then share these with each member of the group. From the super updates it looks like many have grown 2+. If people would like to share more than two that is great, though there is no obligation or expectation. With some extra varieties there may not be enough for everyone so perhaps we can have a swapping/spares list. I know I've got quite a few different varieties of tomatoes, peas and beans saved.

I think it might be best to do one list rather than several post which may detract from the original idea, so if you have anything you want to spare/swap, pm me your list, say if they are spare or for swapping and roughly how many portions. I’ll put together a list together and then folks can pm each other if they fancy anything. Ps if anyone else would like to organise this list......pleeeeease say

I hope there is something of interest for everyone, so far what I have set aside for the group;
Shimonita bunching onions are all harvested and ready to go, I love them, they look a little more like a leek than spring onion, really thick and lovely onion taste.
Queensland Blue Squash, in the Greenhouse maturing! Not tasted yet but looks handsome!

I also have enough of the following for everyone which I’m happy to share
Winterkefe mangetout peas, tall growing tasty and fairly early.
Di Chioggia beetroot, particularly good grated raw (these were not netted and to the best of my knowledge no crops nearby, no close neighbours)
Parcel – leaf celery, I really like this herb, lovely in soups and omelettes.
Mexican Honey tomatoes, red cherries really sweet and scrummy, don’t know much about them other than Mexican in origin according to Tatiana’s tomato site.

If there is anything anyone does not want either pm me or include a note when you send your seeds in.

I agree with the sugestions that it will be better for the seeds to be 'processed' centrally. I think if everyone sends their seeds to me as soon as they are ready, I’ll sort them into individual parcels. I would hope to have it all done and posted out in November but to be more realistic aim for the 1st week in December.

So what to do ; when your 2 (or more) varieties of seeds are good and dry, divide each variety into 15.  Label them in individual zippy bags, remember to keep one for yourself. Send your seeds to me along with a medium sized addressed padded envelope, or very strong envelope. Postage cost wise, we have some beans and peas, it may be packet size rather than a large letter, but until the parcels are put together ? Perhaps if everyone puts in a selection of stamps to cover postage and any unused will be returned. If anyone has other ideas how to simplify it let us know.

Ruud I know you can’t do stamps so just send yours to me, I’ll post it back with your selection. I may even have a couple of tomatoes to interest you!

I think it is possible we may have lost a member or two along the way; I’ll try and contact the people who haven’t given an update so we have a better idea. It may be someone else is able to step in to take their place if we have a space free?!
If you haven't posted for a while now is the time ;D

[1066]

great to read all the updates.
I'll update you all properly tomorrow (at work at the mo), but basically I will have enough for everyone of scrummy lettuce, florence fennel, black cherry tomato  ;D  Still waiting on a few other bits and a dry autumn.....

And guess what - there's loads planned for next year (including the kale and peppers originally planned for this year  ::) ).
My new mantra is "next year......" actually that mantra isn't that new !  :D

[markfield rover]

I know I have plenty of Blaby Special tom seeds for everyone also Green Grape  really outstanding this year
I also have a few Mr Brookes  Blue  dfb I will see if I have enough to make it worthwhile for people unless a few are better than none I will send anyway.Will also check Kew Blue.

[1066]

Been having a bit of a think, and if there are for e.g. varieties of toms that need a greenhouse, count me out. I wouldn't want to waste some precious seeds  ;)

Also been honing my technique for getting lettuce seed - have decided the best method so far is a chopping board with a piece of white paper on it, and a liberal use of a rolling pin ......  :D

[ruud]

Hi everyone,here a update from the other side of the pond.I am still collecting and drying seeds.I have till now the following vegetables to share;white beetroot albino,doesnot look nice on a plate but the flavour makes everything right so sweet.Beans i have a purple all use polebean it is a cross who just made it special.I have an american drybean called dogbean great for making a stew.Than i have a lot of new toms but that will be my surprise,i promise there are some tasty ones.Then there are some veggies i have to wait for to get enough seed from.Wenn i have everything i will send it too jayb.

[aj]

JayB...I'd suggest a label or 2 with home addresses on it, plus put both real name and A4A name on the envelope so that the seeds donated/given back don't get confused...

[Jayb]

I grew Green Grape for the first time this year yummm! I liked it very much, but I did slightly prefer Green Doctor, I thought a little more depth, but perhaps its my sweet tooth  ;D

Sounds like good advice Aj, thank you. I'm hoping to have a large zippy bag ready for everyone and everytime I receive a parcel deal seeds into them. Thats the thought at the moment  ::) But having Self addressed envelopes and both names etc will defo be a help.

[Jayb]

Yayyyyyy, I've started to pack my first seeds for the group. I now have 14 zippy bags complete with labels for Winterkefe ;D
I've grabed a nice box too and have 15 large zippy bags waiting to be filled, soooooooooooo exciting  ;D

[earlypea]

Just reporting in on my promised seeds

HSL beans

Coloured Dwarf French
Ice/Crystal Wax - heaps of at final airing stage
Gauk - heaps of at final airing stage

Climbing French
Kew Blue - final airing, not too many though - around 15 seeds each
Major Cook's - Still on the plot, first few papery pods just bought home, a couple more weeks needed outside I reckon.  Likely similar quantities to Kew Blue unless they turn to mush.

Anyone for mouse melons?

[galina]

Yayyyyyy, I've started to pack my first seeds for the group. I now have 14 zippy bags complete with labels for Winterkefe ;D
I've grabed a nice box too and have 15 large zippy bags waiting to be filled, soooooooooooo exciting  ;D

Thank you for doing the collating JayB.  You have a good system going there.  Rather than ziplock little seed baggies, I use paper ones that I make myself.  Paper lets the seeds inside breathe a bit, just in case they weren't absolutely bone dry when I packed them. 

Glad you found the colander method useful.  Depending on the amount of seed pods, you can crush them by putting them (fully dry) in a muck bucket and treading before using the colander.

Yes a rolling pin is a useful tool for seed saving too.  I use my rolling pin for leek seed.  Lettuce I handpick, mulch with my hands when fully dry,sieve and then winnow (with care)  -  however, there are some weird vegetables germinating in the grass where I have been winnowing on a windy day!

[1066]

I haven't dared winow outdoors - just too many potential things to go wrong for me  :) And after all my efforts (and failures) I couldn't cope with something going wrong at the last hurdle!!

Still drying beans, and waiting for the fennel......

[Jayb]

Just reporting in on my promised seeds

HSL beans

Coloured Dwarf French
Ice/Crystal Wax - heaps of at final airing stage
Gauk - heaps of at final airing stage

Climbing French
Kew Blue - final airing, not too many though - around 15 seeds each
Major Cook's - Still on the plot, first few papery pods just bought home, a couple more weeks needed outside I reckon.  Likely similar quantities to Kew Blue unless they turn to mush.

Anyone for mouse melons?

Lovely selections of beans, 15 seeds sounds fine. Its more than ample for people to have some to grow and if they like them, enough to save seed  ;D
I looked this year for my Mexican gerkin seeds but couldn't find them anywhere so a couple Mouse melon would be lovely thank you  :)

Galina, I was being a little lazy with my envelopes :o But sensible advice, I lost some corriander seed a couple of years ago which I hadn't fully dried, a lovely mouldy package, started from the middle and by the time I noticed too late!
I'll keep the muck bucket in mind for next time. I improvised with an old pillow-case I filled and used with a combined action of stomping and whacking, seemed to work but glad no one was about to see me!

I haven't dared winow outdoors - just too many potential things to go wrong for me  :) And after all my efforts (and failures) I couldn't cope with something going wrong at the last hurdle!!

I think it needs a bit of practice and some skill, I'm defo not there yet  ;D

[1066]

I really believe I'm sitting at the back of this class, trying to keep up with everyone else, sometimes I'm there and I get it, other times I'm lagging right behind, standing around by myself pondering "well what was all that about" and "what does that mean for me"

Joining this seed saving circle has been a great experience for me - focused my attention on what and how to grow - and taken it to another level. But my oh my do I have a few more levels to go to!!

There am I busy harvesting and saving my Lettuce Sylvesta , some French Beans - Ying Yang , Black Cherry Tomato and some Little Gem Squash   (avoided the imploding pox) and waiting for the Florence Fennel - 'Mantovano. And yes waiting .... and waiting..... Watching the flower heads develop.... then wondering about the wet weather and drying them out.....Anyway so I started to look up about saving seed from Florence Fennel, and yup guess what it's a "Biennial" so won't set seed until next year. Slaps forehead emoticon inserted here please. So read Florence Fennel and Kale for NEXT YEAR's seed saving

Sorry for the length of this, but blimey there's times I've been and will no doubt continue to be confused.......

1066  :)

[markfield rover]

I think I will join you 1066, others on here know far more than me but we  have to start somewhere in the case of my 'Blue Kew' one bean at a time! Tomatoes  have come up trumps this year so fingers crossed.

[Jayb]

Awww 1066, don't be thinking you are lagging behind, I think you have been doing a tremendous job  :)
I mean wow, look at what you have learnt and achieved over the season and when things have not been going too well you've changed to accommodate the situation. Good on you I say and thank you for sharing it with us all.

Sorry I didn't click about the fennel and I'm sorry you have felt on your own at times, this is about sharing experiences as much as it seeds.

For me it is lots of learning, somethings I think I know, but it may not be the best way. Others I'm totally out of depth and am glad for any tips and hints. To top of the learning curve there is the weather, pests, mould, slugs, mice, gosh the list goes on, perhaps the real benifit of a circle is helping each other, and spreading the load so we all have something to share. To me it is not so much what you know but what you do with that knowledge and in my book you are doing great.

Good news is you know what you are growing for next year  ;D

[1066]

So it's me and Markfield Rover at the back of the class, at least I'll have someone to swap notes with  :D

Don't worry Jayb, it has been a great experience, just thought I'd off-load a little! And the support on here and A4A is fabytastic!

Good news is you know what you are growing for next year  ;D

 ::)  ::)  ::)  ;D

[galina]

No back of the class here!  We are where we are and none of us can do all we wish to do.  Next year ..... is really a big motto.  It means that we will try again and with a lot of learning under our belt will succeed a little better.  There often is no best way just ways that work and why they work.  It is actually not that easy to grow seeds in this country reliably with late frosts, cold, droughts, beasties, deluges and that is long before the human error factor plays its part. 

As Jayb said, it is about sharing seeds and even more about sharing experiences.  This is a great group  :)

[markfield rover]

I have learnt that  preparing tom seeds using the jam jar fermenting  method works for me and is  a lot cleaner.

Well 1066 I think we can be the milk monitors now!

[1066]

Well 1066 I think we can be the milk monitors now!

Oooooo PROMOTION  8)  :D

[angle shades]

well here I am after a kick up the backside by Jayb ;D

I've been tooooooooo embarrassed to post ....usually giving bags of beans away..this year growing them for the SSC .. rubbish.. only eaten them once, and grew 5 different varieties :-[ :( will try in a different spot next year.. maybe too dry at top end of lottie

tomatoes on the other hand, outside and in absolutely fantastic,also the chillies.. so will have seeds from these if that's ok??

can I also be a milk monitor?!! :D/ shades x