Topic: Seed Saving Circle 2023

[galina]

Here is a photo of it.  The whole plant is just over a foot tall. 

[JanG]

Interesting, and an interesting article. I have to doubt my original Fish seeds as I’ve not had a striped fruit like that when I’ve grown it before.
I’m growing Purple Tiger too, with seed originally received from you, Galina, which has lovely variegated foliage too but purple rather than variegated fruit. I wonder if there are many other variegated pepper varieties.

[JanG]

From last year’s seed circle, I’m growing Panther dwarf French bean. Interestingly I have three plants with yellow wax pods and two plants with green pods. Both are delicious filet type. Is anyone else growing it, and finding a mix of yellow and bean pods?
It’s marketed by Nikitovka as a yellow bean so either I’ve mixed up seeds are perhaps some crossing has happened.
https://nikitovka.com/en/bean/298-bush-bean-panther-4823094015073.html

[ruud]

That bean i added to the circle,maybe it is a cross.Or i have mixed some seeds.The main reason is that you enjoy eating them.

[JanG]

Yes indeed they are delicious. Thank you. I’ll just save seed from the yellow ones and see if they all come yellow from that seed. And maybe someone else will say if they have any green podded plants.

[markfield rover]

I had a sneaky taste of the Black Valentine dfb as they are so prolific, although the beans were possibly past the optimum picking point they were certainly tasty and not stringy.

[JanG]

Definitely one to look forward to! I’ve grown it once before and remember how prolific it was. It will be great to have some fresh seed.

You also mentioned Yugoslavian No 4 which is a completely new name to me. How’s it going? I’d be interested to know your source and any other information you might have.

[markfield rover]

In haste .. source HSL  I am away from the plot for a few days but will report back.

[galina]

Ruud, these things can happen to all of us. I have tall and short plants too.  The beans are all delicious.  Only the short ones are going to be used for saving our own seeds.  Thanks for the explanation. 

[galina]

Green Beauty.  Have just been shelling seeds.  Several pods with 9 seeds, no wonder they are such a mighty long mangetout pea.  Tasted great too.  Looking forward to growing them again. 

[JanG]

Glad you enjoyed Green Beauty, Galina.

I hope seed saving is well under way for everyone in spite of rather strange weather, in England at least. For me, peas reached a rather early end with fewer pods setting than usual because of the extremely hot dry June. Now also, quite a lot of beans, especially the dwarf ones, have rust, which badly discolours the pods. I think this might be a result of the very wet cool July. Other things, like brassicas, are very much enjoying the constant rain but polytunnel crops are very slow, with tomatoes quite reluctant to ripen. Ah well, these are minor peculiarities compared with areas elsewhere.

Time to take stock a little. Our small but busily productive group is, I believe:

Galina
Garrett
JanG
juliev
Markfield Rover
Ruud
Vetivert

The end of November deadline has worked well for the last couple of years. I’d like to repeat that this year if possible but do let me know if any particular factors make that difficult.

As we save seeds through the next couple of months, it would be good to share here what becomes available, as some of us have already. I have just harvested seeds of Black Spanish Round radish, dill and coriander, peas - Roi de Carouby from HSL and Winterkefe from Brown Envelope seeds - and lettuce - Arctic King, possibly Brighton (Vital Seeds) and hopefully one or two more.

I'll start to get together a list of what you've all so far said that you hope to contribute, but of course this is very provisional and might well change as the season develops further.

Happy growing - and harvesting!

[galina]

Thank you Jan, so far safely gathered in, peas Pink Flowered Golden sweet,  Auralia, Norli.  Lettuces are coming along.  The first heads of the carrots are finally getting near maturity for harvesting, others have only just started flowering.  It will be a protracted seed harvest, but there should be plenty of time for a portion for everybody. 
Tomatoes, determinate cherry from Tom Wagner Betimes Macbeth was indeed early here, so seed will be saved too, but I haven't fermented any yet.  The fruits are very red, you could say blood red as the name implies, cherry tomatoes with thick walls and extremely shiny skin.  They will last without spoiling for several weeks, but all achieved with normal breeding methods, not with genetic modification.  Thank you Jayb for the seeds a few years back.  Broad Ripple Yellow Currant from HSL is also ready, a yellow currant tomato said to have grown out of a crack of a concreted yard in the USA.   
And - UK has for the fifth time delayed import controls.  Should still be possible to get seeds to you without issues by late November. 

[JanG]

Thank goodness for UK inefficiency!
The tomatoes sound great. I've come across references to Betimes Macbeth online, been intrigued by it, and love the name together with your description of the fruit. Especially looking forward to that one.

[garrett]

I thought I'd take a photo as I was saving seed from the Girl Girl's Weird Thing tomato.

"Originally discovered around 2010 as a variant of 'Green Zebra' by Jessica Hughes in Canada, she ended up naming it 'Girl Girl's Weird Thing' after her dog "Girl Girl" who would steal tomatoes and eat them." Olive green/brown tomato with red stripes, indeterminate with regular leaves.

[JanG]

That’s a remarkable looking tomato,Garrett. Somewhat larger than Green Zebra? Does it taste good?

Are you still growing all your tomatoes outdoors? My only ripe outdoor tomatoes so far are Sungold.

The Ciliegia Cerise which you contributed is also early and has so far given us our other small cherry tomatoes. But the season is very slow here in Lincolnshire.

[garrett]

I have to admit that I wasn't blown away with Girl Girl's Weird Thing, it tasted fine but I wasn't wowed. Given the unusual weather this year maybe that's unfair though, I don't think the wet and cool July has been great for our tomatoes.

That said, I am still growing all my tomatoes outside and I've had at least one or two ripe fruit from everything except the Tumbling Tom Red which usually gives me my earliest fruit. A lot of green fruit remaining on everything else though.

Last weekend I went out and topped all the indeterminate tomato plants to hopefully focus on ripening all the stubborn green fruit.

[galina]

Finally the first seeds of lettuce Rossio, that took its time!  And other lettuces are also coming in.  I have started taking off the first seed heads of the carrot.  Not quite sure at what stage to take them off.  Some of the seeds in the seed heads are very brown, others light brown.  Did they get dark brown because they got rained on for several days?  Very much experimenting here.  Anyway, they are being fully dried off indoors, before the seeds get rubbed off.  From memory, a long time ago when I last saved my own carrot seeds, this is a bit hard on the lungs, but left over Covid masks will come to the rescue. 

[JanG]

My lettuces are also taking their time to get their fluffy seed heads, except for one early variety.

Very exciting to be experimenting with the carrots. I have one unexpected carrot seed head, from a carrot accidentally left in the ground. I’m not sure at all what variety it is, but I’m inclined to gather seeds just for my own interest and as a practice run for a more managed procedure!

I hope your Solvita proves not too difficult or harsh on the lungs.

[JanG]

Update:
These are the seeds which so far members of the Circle have said they hope to contribute. It's already a very rich and varied collection

Garrett

Tomato Piglet Willie's French Black (medium dark red/brown)
Tomato Girl Girl's Weird Thing (large red/brown/green)
Tomato Reinhard's Purple Sugar (purple cherry)
Tomato Jaune Flamme (small orange)
Sweet Pepper Jimmy Nardello (small red horn)
Chilli Pepper Basque (Piment d'Espelette)
Bean Tresnjevac (dry shelling bean)
Bean Melbourne's Mini (short green pod)
Bean Selma Zebra (mottled purple/green pod)

Galina

Carrot Solvita
Lettuce Rossia
Mangetout pea Norli
Lambs lettuce
Rocket Unnamed
Mangetout Pink Flowered Golden Sweet
Pea Auralia
Tomato Bedtimes Macbeth
Tomato Broad Ripple Yellow Currant


Juliev

Climbing French bean Madera Marroon
Climbing French bean Borlotti
Dwarf French bean Bobis d'Albenga
Dwarf French bean Jersey Beef Grex
Aubergine Czech Early


Markfield Rover

Tomato Blaby Special
Tomato Seattle Best of All
Tomato Salt Spring Sunrise
Tomato Imur Prior Beta
Tomato Pigeon Egg
Runner bean Gramp Nicholls 
Pea Tincture A Fleur Blanc 
Pea Stokesley
Pea Espoir de Gembloux 
Mangetout Born
Dwarf French bean Black Valentine
Dwarf French bean Yugoslavian No 4 
Dwarf French bean Borlotti
Climbing French bean Gramma Walters.
Possibly some dahlias

And so far I've collected seeds from the following peas and lettuce but hope also to collect bean and tomato seeds before too long
Pea - Frühe Heinrich, Roi de Carouby, Winterkefe, Spring Blush
Lettuce - Arctic King
Coriander


Obviously these lists are very provisional, so do adjust as and when. Ruud and Vetivert will I'm sure give us tasters of what they may have been growing as the season goes on. In the meantime I hope harvesting is very successful and enjoyable for everyone!

[markfield rover]

A quick update , three of the five tomatoes are in , peas and beans too except runner . Black Valentine dfb has yielded so many seeds , the beans are delicious !