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« Last post by JanG on Today at 22:06:27 »
I'm delighted that lso many of last year's participants are keen to join again. It would be great if Galina and Ruud could find a way of also participating but in the meantime it's excellent news that we have a good viable circle of at least five!
Congratulations on doubling your allotment holding, Juliev, and good luck with your sulky seedlings, Markfield Rover. Hopefully there will be a big move forward now that things have at last got somewhat warmer and brighter.
Just today I planted out in my polytunnel several varieties of tomato from last year's Circle. I've just done a count and found that we had 25 varieties in last year's exchange! I've sown many of them but not quite all. I'm hoping to squeeze as many as possible into my polytunnel without creating too much of a chaotic jungle. I'm also immersed in bean seed sowing and trying to grow as many of the 30 varieties of French beans possible. All very exciting! I look forward to hearing from any of you as to how you're dealing with so many rich possibilities!
I'm confident we'll have another excellent exchange and look forward to hearing how last year's contributions are doing and how things are looking for this year's seed collecting.
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« Last post by juliev on Today at 10:01:08 »
Count me in! I've taken on another plot at the allotment as I had too many things to grow! I'm not sure another round of Seed Circle will help... I might need a field in a few years time  I can't wait to see how the season progresses. Happy growing everyone!
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« Last post by garrett on Yesterday at 21:30:28 »
I'll be joining in again. I have some new cherry tomatoes, beans, sweet pepper and some flowers if they come true again this year.
I'll update later with variety names and give growing updates throughout the season.
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« Last post by Vetivert on Yesterday at 15:27:01 »
Hi everyone! The sun is shining and the beans are sprouting - count me in! 
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I am going into the greenhouse to read the riot act to all my sulking seedlings , this year as Terry-Thomas would say are a “Right Shower” so I am tentatively throwing my hat into the circle.
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« Last post by JanG on May 14, 2024, 07:08:19 »
Thanks for this interesting and useful information, Vinlander. I haven’t quite understood the full implications. You’re saying that the whole plant will die, including roots? So your method for removing roots is simply to clear the ground ready for planting something else?
I believe you’re also saying that all Phyllostachys nigra will flower, whatever their age. A fascinating phenomenon if so, weird as you say. I shall inspect mine with interest.
Presumably the flowering and seed-setting will take some weeks or months. I’m not too keen on an explosion of rats and I’m wondering whether it’s possible to keep removing any flowers and whether that would keep the plant alive indefinitely. No mean task; mine is well above my height.
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« Last post by Vinlander on May 13, 2024, 11:02:58 »
This is the black Phyllostachys nigra species.
I'm posting this here because it's technically edible - the shoots aren't my favourite for flavour but that's all down to taste.
It's a weird thing how this happens every 40 years or so - it flowers, producing masses of seeds (loved by rats to the extent of causing a population explosion). I will try some once they are ripe. I don't think this 40yr timescale applies to the whole genus, but I can't find any info I can trust - other genera do have different timings - some take 100 years.
DON'T BUY THIS SPECIES NOW - NO MATTER HOW MUCH THEY REDUCE THE PRICE!
You can find all this on t'web - but it means that lots of people will need to cut all the canes down and use a rat-proof way to store the seeds.
That's a big job and can be risky with saws etc. Bamboo sap is also very bad on the skin - especially in sunlight.
I find the ideal tool is an angle grinder with a stone cutter disk - a medium 3-4mm one works well, and can also be used to remove the root system (only a few cm down) by cutting downwards easily through rhizome mats, soil & stones. Once you separate the mat into squares (a bit wider than your spade) they can be levered out really easily.
it's actually the perfect method to remove the running types and it's also possible to cut new plants from the (friendlier) clumping genera - like Fargesia.
Personally I'm looking forward to living without it - it's often sold as non-running - that's high BS - it just isn't the fastest. Despite finding the ideal way to control it, it's still an annual task once it gets past 2m wide - and worse when it starts going under paths, walls and ponds.
It will take years to grow the new version from seed, and 2 more years before you can judge how black and how shiny each seedling is. Can't be bothered.
I'm going to buy something from the proper clumping species once I've got mine out (hopefully better-tasting shoots too - but that info is very hard to find) - but I'll still keep it well away from paths and walls this time.
Cheers.
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« Last post by galina on May 11, 2024, 11:47:46 »
And I would like to add that help will be given to all who would like to have a go. Yes, there are vegetables that you can just let go to seed and collect, others need isolation and handpollination, and some are really demanding, take two years to come to seed fruition and then also need minimum numbers. But there are plenty in the easy or relatively easy category. I hope that somebody will read this who is new to seed saving and will want to give it a try. For years I wondered whether my own seeds were 'good enough'. Home saved seeds are usually way more than adequate and grow away better than commercial ones. Of course mistakes can and do happen but we all learn from mistakes. No big deal. Give it a go.
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« Last post by JanG on May 11, 2024, 06:30:39 »
Thank you, Galina, for clarifying your situation. It would be wonderful if these, like so many other, difficulties in the way of international co-operation, can be moderated before too long. I’m really sorry that you, and presumably Ruud, are unable, at the moment, to guarantee participation in the Circle to which you have contributed so much over so many years.
Let us hope for better things to come, and soon.
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« Last post by galina on May 10, 2024, 08:59:47 »
Thank you for offering to do the admin again for the A4A seed circle, Jan. It is quite a bit of work as I remember from years ago, but also very satisfying. And so many delicious and lovely plants are testimony to our seed saving efforts and your efficient hosting and distribution. Now that Britain has started to implement import checking, this unfortunately also affects seeds and cuttings or other plant parts. After participating in this seed circle from the beginning and doing the distribution for some years, sadly I can no longer promise with any certainty that I can still participate from outside Britain. Not by regular means anyway. The faff of phytosanitary certification etc is a real problem for a small box of mixed seeds for the circle. I would love to still participate this year, but there is no way I can actually promise to get seeds to UK. Well, the chap who is likely to be the next PM, does talk about standards alignment and the like, so this difficulty participating may hopefully not persist for too long. 
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