First Seed Order placed!!

[AndyC]

I have just been through one of the most confusing experiences of my life; placing my first lottie seed order!  I ended up sticking with Dobies on the whole but with some of Kitchen Garden's reader offers to complement it.  Until I got a lottie I nver knew how many varieties of veg there are, and each one claims some particular advantage over the others (temperature tolerant, carrot fly resistant, etc etc).  I just don't know if my order is the most appropriate I could have done, but I guess that is part of the fun, all the experimenting to see what works.

Just out of interest, did any of you adopt any particular approaches to your first big orders, or did you just fly by the seat of your pants like me and hope for the best?! ;D

Andy

[AndyC]

[terrace max]

Andy, I just buy loads of seeds. I must have more seeds than Messrs Thompson & Morgan.

[undercarriage plan]

I certainly flew!! Still am most of the time! But I think you get to know which varieties work for you and your plot. Have fun and just enjoy.
Lottie

[DaveM]

I followed the advice of other plot holders in the first year and did ok....tried loads of different types of veg and varieties.

Decided to rationalise my choices in the second year and the results were great.

So thiswill be my third year and i will start to slowly introduce different types and varieties slowly and find out what does well.

I guess it's all trial and error..

Cheers

Dave

[Derekthefox]

I went into panic mode on my first order too. Our allotment association use the Kings catalogue, and the choice is numbing. I spent painstaking hours trying to reason which varieties ... often not suitable.

Only experience shows the best results, so I would suggest that beginners stick with simple (and cheaper) varieties to start with, as they get the basics of managing their plot, and then have a baseline to work from.

Derekthefox :D

[wardy]

When buying veggie seed I read the catalogue/packet description carefully as there seems to be a flavour scale, eg good, excellent, superb.  So I go for superb flavour ones first and then check that I've got the conditions for growing it successfully. 

I like to try lots of different varieties but I always try to grow courgette Sunburst as I love it.  My lotty mate grew mine for me last year and he flippin ate em all and my Uckiki squashes  ;D

I forgive him though as he gave me all my celeriac plants  :)

[AndyC]

As ever, cheers guys.  Glad to see I am not missing some vital piece of knowledge on this subject and winging it is a legitimate strategy! ;D ;D

Andy

[spacehopper]

I've tended to go for things that are easy to grow and reliable. It'll give the plants the best chance of surviving what with me being a novice!  :)

[wardy]

Why not Caz and Baz  :)  Some of our tastiest veggies are really easy to grow and taste soooooo good  :P

[Dan 2]

Good for you, I havn't placed a single order yet! i was looking over the packs of seeds I've got left form last year and thinking what i will give away and what i will use. have been flicking through a couple of seed catalogues deciding what to buy. Dan :-)

[busy_lizzie]

The more experienced you get the more discerning you get I think.  We used to just buy what  veggies plants were on offer at the Green Market in Newcastle and whatever seeds were available at the Supermarket or Wilkinsons.  Not having a car has always been a bit of a disadvantage, but now we too have discovered the joy of seed catalogues and this year have taken ages to choose different varieties.  It will be a lot  more interesting and fun next year to see how our choices turn out. busy_lizzie

[Derek]

I keep a notepad next to the computer and make notes of some of the success stories many of you post on this forum

I have a heck of a list now...going to check it out with the catalogues

Derek

[Derekthefox]

Wardy, I now do a careful balancing act between flavour and ease of growing. Eg I am moving away from Musselborough leeks in favour of giant winter ... as neighbours have grown them very successfully, and are always bigger than mine, and they have tasted brilliant in my pot ...

Derekthefox

[redimp]

My starting point is how old the variety is as I believe (rightly or wrongly I don't care) that the older varieties were desigend for small scale organic growing and the newer varieties for large scale intensive agriculture.  It is a general assumption but F1's tend to crop together so successional planting is essential whereas the older open pollinated varities tend to grow at different rates and be ready at different times.  I also, one day, want to save my own seed and open pollinated varieties are essential for this.  Then I look at flavour, yield etc.