Topic: Seed Sharing Circle 2013

[Jayb]

What beautiful looking corn just like jewels

The Glass Gem? I think they look lovely, I'm a sucker for different colour bean seeds too. I'm thinking I'm a shiny bead kind of person!
I'm hoping they look that good, but I've read somewhere not all the cobs are as pretty as the pictures portray 

[Nigel B]

Hi again.
After much reading, the 'fig' idea is unworkable, but, if I'm still on the list, I will have Spaghetti Marrow seeds for sure, with something else of interest I'm sure.... I'm trying to harden-off a bunch of tomatoes, just in case the sun shines.. 
Even if I don't make the updated list I can send seeds in anyway. .

[Jayb]

Hi again.
After much reading, the 'fig' idea is unworkable, but, if I'm still on the list, I will have Spaghetti Marrow seeds for sure, with something else of interest I'm sure.... I'm trying to harden-off a bunch of tomatoes, just in case the sun shines.. 
Even if I don't make the updated list I can send seeds in anyway. .

You don't get away that easily 
I'm sure whatever you do decide on sharing will be great.

[galina]

i second that - have two varieties of Nigel B's peas that are growing happily in the garden here, both around 2 foot tall at the moment.  Nice plants.  Looking forward to the flowers and pods.

[Jayb]

How's it going guys?
My Green Zebra's are coming on well, Highland kale too 

[SueK]

 In general,  running slightly late with things  but feeling hopeful!      

 Hoping to save seeds for  a mini orange pepper I  bought in Leeds market  in 2011.  Cheeringly,  the plant from last year is starting to produce  already, so hoping that this year's plants don't let me down.

[Robert_Brenchley]

Lots of peas growing away, rat-tailed radishes coming up well. Too early to tell yet with beans; my first planting of runners all rotted, and I just planted more today.

[Ian Pearson]

The celeriac roots were eaten by rabbits over the winter, so they are a no no, but I've left some of the best  Cheltenham Greentop beetroot for seed, and parsnips are already flowering. Biskopens Graaert peas are poking their red stems out of their root trainers ready to be transplanted soon. I'll try for a few other things too. Perhaps Huauzontle if it does well.

[clumsy]

How would one join your group?

[galina]

How's it going guys?
My Green Zebra's are coming on well, Highland kale too 

Great news on both! 

Here lettuce Mescher is looking good, one batch in the greenhouse to guarantee seeds even if we get a horrid summer, two batches outside (I prefer to harvest seed from lettuce outside if possible).

Have put a picture on the 2013 seed circle website of a young Mescher lettuce.  In the greenhouse they are almost green, outside they are much redder - interesting.

Thanks for the seeds goodlife - they look like they want to grow  !

[Robert_Brenchley]

I'm growing Biskopens Graart myself; it's going to be interesting to see what it turns into. I haven't seen pea seeds quite that chestnut brown colour before.

[goodlife]

My hangdown broadbeans are in full flower ..and I have seen quite few bees working on them
As my broadbeans were started early in GH..they are well ahead other allotments broadbeans so no cross pollination issues
I've been around plots and checked the flowering situation and I can safely save seeds from all the first and second 'layers' of pods
Peas are growing strongly but still long way from flowering.
Tomatoes are all 'in' and looking better than they ever did last summer...so I'm very hopeful for few seeds from some of them.

[Jayb]

How would one join your group?

Hi Clumsy, welcome to the forum 

Group is full for this year. It may not seem like many but I think it would start to become a chore and difficult for folk to produce seed if the group were bigger. It's likely we will be starting a new group at the beginning of 2014 for anyone interested. But if you are planning on saving seed this year there is the seed swap section http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/board,10.0.html
where you could list them and what you are looking for in exchange.

[Jayb]

I've skimmed through the thread and updated the list as far as I can, if I've left stuff off let me know. I know Debs was having problems locating shallots so I've left her's blank for the moment. It's not a will do list just what's being tried for and maybe included 

Looking good

Aj

Robert B, Peas /Umbellate peas, Rat-tailed Radishes, lettuces and Beans.

Goodlife, Cherokee White Corn , Hangdown Broad Beans, possibly Peas and Tomatoes.

Galina; Lettuce Mescher, Melothria scabra, aka mouse melon or Mexican Sour gherkin, Climbing beans from Austria and USA, herb 'Salad Burnet'.

Markfield rover, Runner beans from Turkey, CFB  Birds Egg,  Tomatoes - Tibet Appel , Homosa, Bijskij-zeltyi,  Stump of the World and Lemon Tree.  Pea Latvian

Jayb, Tom’s Green Zebra , Highland/Ethiopian Kale, Glass Gem Corn, Yu Choy Sum - Red Stem,

Toshofthe Wuffingas,

Ruud,

Nigel B, Spaghetti Marrow, possibly tomatoes?

Digeroo,

Green lily, purple tomatillos

SueK, mini orange pepper,

Ian Pearson, Cheltenham Greentop Beetroot, Parsnip, Biskopens Graaert peas and possibly Huauzontle.

Pumpkinlover, Climbing french -Jack Edwards and Bridgwater also lablab Yings (possible sp?).

Paulie, Lemon Drop chilli

Debs,

Elsie, yellow courgette and/or  squash, back-up plan tomatoes, or possibly peas.

Tora, Black Seeded soya beans and Bicoloured Perilla

Steveg1966, “one or two unusual ones”.

Gunnerbee, Tomatoes?

[Robert_Brenchley]

My broadies are currently about six inches high, but at least they're growing, which is more than they were doing this time last year.

[markfield rover]

So far so good! Tomatoes  Stump of the World -look strong plants and seem way ahead of the others.

[galina]

First serious problem here: the Melothria plants that should have been the source of seed for you all have turned into slug food - just saw some horrible stumps, the leaves are gone.  I am so mad.
 
Yes I am resowing as we speak, fingers crossed it isn't too late .

[goodlife]

Melothria plants that should have been the source of seed for you all have turned into slug food - just saw some horrible stumps, the leaves are gone.

Oh no!
If it makes you feel any better...same happened here with some of my squashes Found a snail in GH. It was good thing that I thought to check the GH's last night ..and what did I see..this huge single snail happily 'sitting' on top of my seedlings, already left a trail of eaten stumps. It it would had a chance to carry on all night, there wouldn't been single one left to grow.
Now I've only suffered loss of one variety ..which I'm going to re-sow today.

[galina]

Thanks for the sympathy goodlife

After all the wet, it isn't surprising.  I remove them from the greenhouse almost daily there are so many.  Time for a torchlit nighttime raid as there are still some that I missed somewhere.  Does compost routinely come with slug and snail eggs in it????????????????     or do they just crawl in????????

Next time I will bottle cloche Melothria inside the greenhouse, if it isn't too hot when the next batch get to that size, and/or put a ring of crushed eggshells around them.

Sorry you lost a variety too.  Perils of a rainy late spring   

[galina]

The celeriac roots were eaten by rabbits over the winter, so they are a no no, but I've left some of the best  Cheltenham Greentop beetroot for seed, .

Sorry about your celeriac, Ian.  I had beetroots eaten in storage by mice.  Seems like it is tricky to store crops over winter and it is tricky to leave them in the soil.

These biennial crops are quite difficult.  Does anybody know whether clamps work any better?  I would not know how to do a clamp here though, as our garden was under water for most of winter and I lost so many plants as a result. In the surrounding area there are still some shallow lakes that haven't dried out yet.

How do others store biennials without mishap?

Looking forward to the turnips.  Hope all goes well.  What is Huauzontle and how do you use it?