Author Topic: Seeds  (Read 2432 times)

AnnieD

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Seeds
« on: March 22, 2017, 13:06:04 »
Where do you all get your seeds from? I'm very inexperienced and I don't want to spend a fortune when I don't know if I'll be successful or not. The allotment manager gave me a Kings members catalogue, the prices are very good but they are twice that  online. They said they order in bulk in September. So I need to get some for this year, what does everyone recommend? Thanks
Located in Royston, North Herts.

johhnyco15

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #1 on: March 22, 2017, 13:13:51 »
lidl aldi wilco all do there own version of seeds at very good prices  hope this helps kings seeds are very good i use them as my main order the rest i get from all of the above normally far too many  i think im a seedaholic
johhnyc015  may the plot be with you

Tee Gee

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #2 on: March 22, 2017, 13:36:23 »
Like Johnny I get my seeds from Kings through the Allotment Association / Leisure Gardeners.

I also get them from other sources as Kings do not sell some of the varieties I like to use.

I usually attend the Harrogate Autumn show where I get end of season seeds for £1 a packet so I usually get my expensive seeds this way.


I find this online shop very good and reasonably priced and low p&p.https://www.seedparade.co.uk/

The seeds come in snap seal transparent plastic packets so if you want any info about them you have to go on line to get it.

BTW I have no affiliation to this company I found it through their forum.

So basically shopping around is the answer.

galina

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #3 on: March 22, 2017, 14:25:11 »
Like Johnny said, seeds from Lidl and Aldi are fine.  They have to conform to the same rules of more expensive seeds.  I know of one case where the contents were not what was advertised on the packet, but they were still peas in a packet of pea seeds.  Mistakes happen with far more expensive suppliers too.  Or substitutions when one variety runs out.

Just make sure you don't sow runner and French beans too early (they are not frost hardy).  Broad beans and peas are fine with a bit of frost.  Tomatoes and peppers are best started indoors and transplanted and they also cannot be exposed to any frost,  Cucumbers, melons and squashes/courgettes are also what is called warm weather veg that cannot tolerate frost.  You could waste a lot of seeds by sowing too early and losing the plants to a late frost.  Frost dates vary around different parts of the country.  If you don't know your dates, others on the allotment will.  They can also be looked up. 

But many things can be sown now and during April.  Lettuce, peas, cabbages and other brassica, carrots, parsnips, leeks etc.

Best of luck.     :wave:

cudsey

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #4 on: March 22, 2017, 17:38:23 »
I normally get mine from Wilko they usually do an offer of 3 for price of 2 they also sell another brand which has the same offer I have not had any problems so far 
Barnsley S Yorks

Beersmith

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #5 on: March 22, 2017, 18:32:36 »
Like many others I get the majority of my seeds from Kings via the association, with the added bonus of a further 20% off the catalogue price. But like many others I get a few from other sources simply out of personal preferences that I have acquired over the years.

I'm not sure how it happened but I'm on the mailing list of almost every seed supplier and spend many a pleasant hour reading seed catalogues and comparing prices and varieties. Once I have decided what to get I look again concentrating on seed numbers and prices. The stores like Wilko, Lidl, etc etc, etc also carry some interesting varieties.

Well so far I have added nothing to what others have said, but here is my tip, look out for Franchi seeds of Italy. Now they do not seem to carry many F1 varieties but they have many standard and some more exotic types. In my experience they germinate extremely well and packet sizes are very generous often with seed numbers that put the other suppliers to shame. One pack of Romaine lettuce I bought from Franchi  is now in its third year, and I have given generous pinches of same to several adjacent plot holders.

Anyway - enjoy yourself. It is actually great fun.

PS Save any surplus. Properly stored many varieties will go for at least two years, sometimes more.

PPS Just been on line and checked Franchi packet contents, example Little Gem approximate contents 6,400 seeds per packet. Other varieties approximately 4,800 or 5,000 or 6,000 seeds per packet. That would not just cover my whole plot but probably the whole association field!!!
« Last Edit: March 22, 2017, 18:46:03 by Beersmith »
Not mad, just out to mulch!

ancellsfarmer

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #6 on: March 22, 2017, 19:40:08 »
Can support Lidl for great value, modern commercial varieties, and reliability.Adequate but not comprehensive selection.  Disadvantages; only available from Feb-March , run out quickly and the display stands are soon all mixed -up.
For a better range, my main choice is
 http://realseeds.co.uk

, good, often heirloom, open pollinated varieties...., that you can save your own seeds*. Wonderfully efficient, friendly folk who seem to do it for non-profit motives. Seed has been found to be super fresh and germination almost 100%, 60 hole modules for 60 seeds, a good test. They once sent me an apology for a pea variety that they had received adverse reports upon from others, a free packet and I had had neither problem nor complaint.! You dont get service like that from the major players.

* and they recommend that you do, and provide instructions on how to; a curious business model!
Freelance cultivator qualified within the University of Life.

Flighty

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2017, 07:29:22 »
If you only want small quantities have a look at MoreVeg - http://moreveg.co.uk/

Over half their range is only 50p per packet.   I buy most of my vegetable seeds from them, always had excellent service and I'm happy to recommend them. 
Flighty's plot,  http://flightplot.wordpress.com,  is my blog.

I support the Gardening with Disabilities Trust, http://www.gardeningwithdisabilitiestrust.org.uk

sunloving

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #8 on: March 23, 2017, 13:13:28 »
Hi Annie, I agree re lidl and aldi, but also wilkinsons own brand.sometimes pound stretcher have a good range to.  But I tend to buy seeds in October when shops are clearing out their stock to make way for Xmas. And save your own at the end of the year.
 For something's I also use ebay. Good luck finding what you need x sunloving

Silverleaf

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2017, 16:46:57 »
I want to second the recommendation for Real Seeds because I love saving my own seeds, and they sell some fantastic unusual varieties if you're looking for something a bit different.

www.beansandherbs.co.uk are also great for beans and gave me great customer service when I made a strange request (a packet of mixed runner bean varieties).

Also as others have said Wilko, Lidl and Aldi seeds are perfectly fine and usually really cheap. I did have a mislabelled packet of pea seeds from Lidl a few years ago which claimed to be a short snap pea but grew into a tall mangetout, but they still tasted good! I just had to put up emergency supports when it became clear that my plants were going to outgrow the short poles I put in... ;)

Vinlander

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #10 on: March 23, 2017, 20:12:45 »
Trust your own taste rather than seedsmen's hyperbole.  If you find a tomato or a red or orange pepper you like then save the seed for your own use. Both are sold at full maturity and are grown by the 10,000 in a greenhouse, so they have little chance of crossing with other varieties, and the result is they grow identical to their two​ identical parents.

It's true that some might be hot-climate types, but those tend to only be available in high season. At the moment and for several months hence they will be coming from greenhouses in​ Spain so they will be early types. 

I strongly recommend piccolo/piccolino cberry tomatoes. Also  "snack"/mini sweet/chiquino peppers that are small cones about 8cm long, and come in red yellow and orange - the latter are best.

Unfortunately there aren't many other good candidates in the grocers. Squash, apples, pears tend to produce wildly unpredictable offspring, most dried beans, corn etc. aren't suitable for our climate, dried peas tend to be starchy not sweet, and most of the rest of what we buy is eaten when immature. Buckwheat​ is an exception, and grows like a weed from dried groats but is only really worth growing if you bake your own bread.

Cheers.
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

Elfeda

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2017, 20:55:48 »
many of forum members have tried and tested seed varieties. if you really want a good start, list down what all veg you plan to grow and how much space you got in total, so member can suggest you or offer seeds for free or for some postage costs as long as you collect for growing .

you get all free and try them  and see what work for you and what does not before you buy any

Silverleaf

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #12 on: March 24, 2017, 16:13:25 »
many of forum members have tried and tested seed varieties. if you really want a good start, list down what all veg you plan to grow and how much space you got in total, so member can suggest you or offer seeds for free or for some postage costs as long as you collect for growing .

you get all free and try them  and see what work for you and what does not before you buy any

Yes, there are some really generous members here who love to share their favourite varieties.

Let me know if you'd like to try Telephone peas! Great tall old-fashioned climbing pea which produces well and tastes fantastic.

Vinlander

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Re: Seeds
« Reply #13 on: March 24, 2017, 19:31:13 »
Another money saving idea for tomatoes - cut out seeds altogether.

Very soon the first tomato plants will appear in garden centres - they should be £1-1.50 each. Decide how many you want and then buy 1/5 - 1/8 as many ... because you will get at least 4 good cuttings off each quite quickly, probably 6 or 8. You can take the top as a cutting but if you want a few really early fruit leave it on - they will produce plenty of good shoots anyway from the junctions (axils), and each one will root like a weed and fruit only one or two weeks after the main plant, and though they may be smaller than it they will still be bigger than anything you can grow from seeds down now. I recommend Sungold and Gardeners Delight.

Cheers.
With a microholding you always get too much or bugger-all. (I'm fed up calling it an allotment garden - it just encourages the tidy-police).

The simple/complex split is more & more important: Simple fertilisers Poor, complex ones Good. Simple (old) poisons predictable, others (new) the opposite.

 

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