Topic: smuggled spuds

[Jeannine]

Hi you lot, it has been a while again.. I was in the UK briefly in December not for pleasure it was to say goodbye to my DIL who was in palliative care.

 would you believe they had my favorite spuds in a garden  centre.Charlottes. I couldn't leave them there. The rule about bringing them into Canada is they are allowed if they are sealed and wiith all details on the bag.They did.

Secretly I think that only applies if I drove into Canada from the US with them

I came through customs in Canada on the flight home on the last plane on Christmas Eve, the last flight in that day so everyone wanted to go home. The staff member wheeled me and took me to customs were I decared the 800 pound Sterling Scottish chanter I had, the customs officer who was Scottish born adored it and loving stroked the real silver engraved parts, he then handed it back, I asked him what duty I needed to pay and he said nothing, have a great Christmas. he didn't even ask me what else I had..

I planted them yesterday and I gave then a good talking too about how important they are so fingers crossed they will be OK
My peas are in, my melons,tomatos and a couple of early cukes are popping through under lights.


Miss you all more than you know XX Jeannine

[tricia]

Lovely to hear from you Jeannine and great to know you are still managing to garden!

It's still too cold here to plant out anything that I grow. My mini greenhouse is bursting at the seams with squash, courgette, tomato and celeriac plants ready and waiting for nighttime temperatures to stay above 10C. Will probably have to wait another week or two before sowing French beans and sweet corn once the greenhouse is emptied. I'm lucky to have a good friend who will help me to plant out when the time comes.

Tricia

[Tulipa]

I miss you too Jeannine and often think of you, especially when sowing and planting my sweetcorn as I always follow your advice and they always do well.  I also still grow Trail of Tears beans that originally came for you, still my favourite :)  I hope everything is going ok for you and you are enjoying gardening again, I am sorry to hear about your daughter-in-law.  Take care and come back on here to let us know how you are doing xx

[Deb P]

I remember you telling me at Barnsdale you smuggled some seeds into Canada via your bra......not sure you’d get away with it these days with body scanning!!😆

[Obelixx]

I'm afraid I find all this smuggling of plant material highly irresponsible.  Bio security is a real problem these days - just look at imported ash die back, the imported pests ravaging horse chestnuts across Europe and the UK, Dutch elm disease, the South American pathogen attacking olive trees across Europe and devastating crops and livelihoods not to mention the one doing for rhododendrons and the like and yet you indulge your desire for an ephemeral taste of a potato and put Canadian plant life at risk for a mouthful or three.

Shame on you.

[Beersmith]

I'm afraid I find all this smuggling of plant material highly irresponsible.  Bio security is a real problem these days - just look at imported ash die back, the imported pests ravaging horse chestnuts across Europe and the UK, Dutch elm disease, the South American pathogen attacking olive trees across Europe and devastating crops and livelihoods not to mention the one doing for rhododendrons and the like and yet you indulge your desire for an ephemeral taste of a potato and put Canadian plant life at risk for a mouthful or three.

Shame on you.

I fully agree. Jeannine seems a very nice person, but this is irresponsible. Having seen the havoc caused for bee colonies by Varroa, the recent entry of Asian hornets into the UK, the appaling effects of American foul brood and the possible arrival of small hive beetle, you become aware that these rules are not just made to spoil people's fun.

[lottie lou]

Lovely to hear from you Jeannine and we all miss you greatly. Sorry to hear about your daughter in law. Keep on posting and let us know how you are doing on the other side of the pond. Still growing TOT beans and your Hopi pale grey squash. Have a great growing season.

[woodypecks]

I miss you too .   Prayers for your daughter-in-law .  Debbie x

[cambourne7]

Hi Jeannine, Great to hear from you and i am not going to give you a lecture on the spuds just enjoy xx Hope your not over doing it and did enjoy some of your christmas after such an emotional visit.

Were sending lots of love xx

Cam & Harriet

[galina]

Good to hear from you again after a long time.  Hope you are well.  Spring has well and truly sprung here, today is more like summer.  Hope your plot is doing well.  Happy Easter and please don't be a stranger on here. 

Clean commercially bought, inspected, seed potatoes.  Can't think of anything horrible you could have taken back to Canada there, Jeannine.  No doubt it is correct to say that a lot of nasties can come in on unregulated plant material, but I doubt there is anything here that is not in already in Canada.  So enjoy and hope they will do well for you. 

I had a peek at Canadian seed spuds and found this company.  They sell some really super looking potatoes, including Linzer Delikatess one of my faves, but not Charlotte.  https://www.seedpotatoes.ca/

   

[Jeannine]

I should have added they were certified disease free seed potatoes, I'me a little hurt you guys should know me better , I would not even purchase any here if they didn't have the certification seal on them  and I am allowed to bring them in from the US like that so they would have been allowed. The fun part is that no one asked me what I had as they all wanted to get home as it was the last plane to land and the staff were leaving after they cleared us, I expected them to search and see what else I had but they didnt . I wasn't worried about it.. The smuggling was meant to sound like a joke because they didn't open my bags LOL.

My DIL died just 2 weeks after I got home, I was too overtired to go back again as the trip was very hard but I was very pleased I managed to get over to Holland to spemd a month with her. I took the ferry to Hull from Amsterdam and had a few days with my niece who live a little inland from Cleethorpes.

[lottie lou]

I am sorry to hear of your DIL's passing.  My condolences to her family and friends. There are a lot of new faces on this site now so don't be miffed if they don't know you like us old uns do..  Don't leave it so long before you get in touch with us again. xxx May

BTW do you ever use the trowel your friends from A4A sent all those years ago?

[galina]

May I also add my condolences to you and I am glad you had the time together that you did. 

So happy you are well enough to travel even though it takes it out of you, and to garden.  Yes there are new people and we made new forum friends, but you will never be forgotten by us.  Heck, there are still so many plants in my garden that once originated from your and Jayb's magic parcel, now several seedsaving generations on.   

As May said, don't leave it so long and don't be a stranger. 

[Jeannine]

Hi again.

  May, I ain't miffed just surprised but no worries. My trowel is used all the time but only by me.. no one else is allowed to touch it..even my Gr Grandson came running in one day to tell me Mama had  moved my"towel"..I bring it in at the end of the year and clean it and lovingly polish it till it shines like a new penny. snif snif, it still gets to me when I think of the day I opened it

Galina, you made me laugh Oh boy those were the days eh, I remeber when my seed stash was a suitcase now it would fit into a shopping bag.

I have reduced and reduced but still have tons of tomato seeds and they are getting older, . and I have no idea what to do with them (ideas welcomed). I sowed about 8 varieties this year and apart from one they were all very old but I got germination. I sowed three to a pot and got three plants from all but 1 and that was the only newish one, gotta have one Sungold and I got just one. The surplus are leaving me next week . 

 I managed to keep myself in salads,kale, beets and  carrotts etc in my greenhouse right through the winter, not huge harvests but enough.

I sowed peas atwo or three  weeks ago, the  tall ones went out all together,  planted by  a trellis, and most of them came from you so you can figure how old they are, anyway they are coming up, I won't be sure till they grow but I have the descriptions so it will be fum to figure it out, I just had wee packets left  with perhaps 5 peas in each one so they all got a chance!!  It is going to be interesting, some are purple, some are curved etc.

I will try and stay with you all, I do get a bit pesive though as it brings back gardening memories of better days when John was still here.  Nuff of that    XX Jeannine