Topic: Seed Saving Circle 2023

[galina]

Here are a few photos.  A bean to add to my offer.  This one is also in the flat, long category.  I got my first seed from the huge packet of different beans from Georgia that Jaap Vlaming was gifted and shared with us.  This is Georgian bean Number 22.  None of these Georgian beans were named, so Jaap named them after their packet numbers.  Plants are tall and need support. 

Has done very well this year.  The beans that were harvested for seed are fully dry already and the second generation on the same plants is now producing more for the kitchen.  They are stringless, but in dry weather the pods can get a little woody, if left too long.  Then they are best as shelling beans. 

On top of my garden book are second generation pods of Geo # 22 and tiny Herrenböhnli pods (that we got last year from Jang, thank you) for comparison. 

Then we have the Betimes MacBeth cherry toms, determinate, 'betimes' as in early and 'MacBeth' as in blood red.

The third photo shows Broad Ripple Yellow Currant, tiny yellow pop in the mouth tomatoes, which are so good.  There are hundreds of them on each plant.  This is from the Heritage Seed Library collection.  A bit more info in this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RHjg7snUbE

PS I don't know why the thumbnails are sideways, but the photos open the right way up. :)

[galina]

Really appreciated the Airtable database today.  Looking at Ambrosia Pink in the greenhouse and wondering whether this can be right, as there is a definite orange hue on the fruits.  Exceptionally sweet delicious tomatoes.  Airtable to the rescue, where they are described as apricot pink.  That fits.  So all is well.  Delicious addition to our tomato list. 

[Vetivert]

Hi all, looks like the gardens are growing well and I hope you're all in good health and high spirits.
Difficult season for me this year, and not just because of the weather. But, I believe the few plants that are flourishing may provide a useful contribution to the seed circle.
Hoping that the following will yield in good time:

Tomato
Ivory Tears (white pear/grape tomato)

Pepper
Jimmy Nardello (C. annuum - long Italian American sweet frying pepper. Family heirloom)
Sugar Rush Stripey (C. baccatum - peach with red stripes, mutant of Sugar Rush Peach. Breeding of Fatalii and Chris Fowler)
Habanada (C. chinensis - heatless Habanero. A maybe because it is completely covered in flowers but no fruit yet. Bred by Cornell prof. Michael Mazourek)

Dwarf Bean
Bis
Galopka
Tytania
Wstęga
(these are all Polish wax beans)

Others TBC

[JanG]

Very good to hear from you, Vetivert, in the midst of what is clearly a difficult season for you. It will be great to have your contributions and I hope the next few weeks go as smoothly as possible.

Like you, Galina, I was puzzled just yesterday by Ambrosia Pink. Mine seem to be decidedly yellowish-orange, rather than even apricot-tinged pink, not at all like the photo from J and L reproduced on the Airtable base.

Will be interested to compare with any others. Not fully stable, perhaps?

[galina]

Ambrosia Pink here.  Top right hand side is the most mature fruit and has the most developed pink hue.  I think ours match quite well Jang, my not quite ripe fruits on the plants are the same colour as yours.  The pink seems to develop with maturity. 

Pink tinged apricot, rather than apricot tinged pink would be a better description perhaps. 

 

[Vetivert]

Galina's 'Ambrosia Pink' look just like what I harvested last year, slightly oval and should taste very sweet. I suspect what I have distributed are an offtype or the line is still segregating.
Yours still have some way to go JanG - they should get a pinkish hue once they're fully ripe, but before that they develop from yellow to orange to shades of apricot.

[JanG]

Very interesting colouring. Unusual perhaps to develop from a yellowish colour to a pinkish colour but I shall certainly wait with anticipation for further colouring to develop. Thanks, both, for the clarification of the full range of stages.

[galina]

About a third of the seed heads of carrot Solvita are now harvested and drying off indoors in the basket.  I think we will get enough seed for the circle 

[InfraDig]

I have lots of empty Benecol containers, basically small plastic bottles with a plastic lid. Can anyone tell me if these would be any good for storing small seeds?
Thanks.

Infradig

[galina]

They are suitable, providing the seed is really dry before you put it in as they have nice tight fitting lids.  They should be stored in cool and dry conditions, not in a garden shed etc.  If you have any of the tiny silica gel sachets that come with Covid testing kits or with new shoes and bags, you can add one into each Benecol container with the seeds for extra assurance that the seed stays dry and viable.  I have actually asked at a local shoe shop to save me the silica gel sachets and they did.  I also use fizzy drink vitamin tablet tubes for seeds, which have an inbuilt drying agent in their lids.     

[InfraDig]

Thanks very much!

Infradig

[markfield rover]

I’ve grown cosmos Apricotta my favourite cosmos  to date , almost luminous , I have plenty of seed if anyone is interested? Veg wise just waiting for Blaby tomatoes.

[galina]

I’ve grown cosmos Apricotta my favourite cosmos  to date , almost luminous , I have plenty of seed if anyone is interested?

Yes please, they sound delightful.

[JanG]

And another yes for Cosmos Apricotta, please.

I also grow Cosmos sulphureus, which is a different species from Cosmos bipinnatus which has the pinkish shades. Cosmos sulphurous has, as the name suggests, yellow shades, although in my case, just orange. I love them. They’re quite delicate spots of colour through a border, say, but, at the same time, make quite an impact. Original seed from Seed Co-operative. If I start letting some seed develop we can have a bit of a cosmos theme.

[galina]

Tomato Velmozha  . Oh WOW!   

[tricia]

Beats my heaviest 583g Brandywine by some margin galina! Enormous crop here this year and most of the fruit weighing in at over 300g each - and still no sign of blight  .

Tricia 

[galina]

That's good going for Brandyvine Tricia.  Congratulations. 

These are not 'supposed' to be much over a pound, but clearly nobody told this particular fruit.  It is by far the largest I have ever grown for sure. 

Long may the dreaded B word stay away.  I have been removing some leaves, but we nevertheless are getting a good harvest here too. 

[JanG]

The Velmozha fruit is certainly very Wow! I ran out of space to grow it this year but looks like a definite for next year.
No blight to speak of here either, which seems rather surprising given the wet July. But it has been very dry again for much of August. Particularly fortunate as the tomatoes were so late to start ripening. .

[galina]

I have enough seeds for the circle from lettuce Liller.  Originally from HSL.  This is a large green soft lettuce, outer leaves slightly tinged with red.  HSL description: 
A huge, cabbage-headed lettuce that can weigh anything up to 500g. The unusual pink tinge on leaf margins is temperature-dependent, apparent on planting out the young plants in the spring but disappearing as they start to mature. Leaves are large, full and smooth, ideal for adding to a sandwich.  https://oldhsl.gardenorganic.org.uk/seedlist?page=4

[galina]

Also just harvested seeds from French bean Juanita Smith.  These also have the very beautiful 'frosted' seeds we talked about last year.  The pods were a surprise, as they are so very similar to Cherokee Trail of Tears, maybe an inch shorter give or take.  They start off green, then get a purple hue and finally they turn entirely purple.  Flavour is outstandingly 'beany' eaten as a green bean.  Just like CH T o T they have a string, or should that be called a 'wire'  .  However, because the string is so strong, it is very easy to remove.  Seeds originally from Belle Epoque Meise, my seed donor was Vetivert, thank you.  https://belleepoquemeise.be/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Bonenlijst-2023.pdf