Seed Sharing Circle 2012

[Debs]

Dear Jayb,


T H A N K Y O U ! ! !

[Debs]

[Nigel B]

Now I'm excited!

Come on postie!

Blimey! I haven't felt like this since for ages!

JayB. Fair doos. You're doing an excellent job lass. :-)

[goodlife]

OH NO!...what a disaster! ....the seed parcel just arrived!
And there was me rushing around trying to get all 'urgent' little jobs done before the treasure arrives so that I can sit down in my leasure time with a bucketfull of tea and start playing
Now I cannot get nothing done! I though I could put the envelope aside and look inside later...BUT...its opened now.. ..I've only put my nose in it to look..nothing been touched yet.
Bah....who needs clean house anyway...off to put that kettle on



THANK YOU JAYB!!!!!!!!!!!!XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX..and hug too
edit to add (after tipping it all on table...couldn't wait anymore): THANK YOU FOR EVERYBODY!...WHAT A PARCEL!!!!!!! WHOAAAA SOME SEEDS TO GROW INDEED! ..and yes, I'm shouting because I'm bit hyper now for the excitement  So many beauuuutiful seeds and the sun is shining..day could not be any better 

[galina]

Postie has been here too!!!!!!!! 

No cups of anything yet!  Way too excited. 

Have been laying the packets out on the floor.  The seed envelope art is superb.  Not just every type of seed packet that could be used, but real art - painted, with ladybirds, with photos, with ............  absolutely amazing to look at.  and dream ............

Thank you everybody! Thank you JayB!   

Send some of your sun please GL    here it is just the freezing fog that we have been having for weeks now - the type that will make sure the snow stays on the ground.

But today ................... it just doesn't matter.  There is so much    going on in the lounge.

THANK YOU ALL

[goodlife]

I must grow MOOOOOORE seeds now...MUCH MORE!! ..and looks like I've got something inside the parcel to grow for everybody..  

[aj]

Wow.

That is all.



Oh, thanks Jayb!!! For all the hard work sorting it all out. 

[Jayb]

Yayyyyy glad they have started arriving

[markfield rover]

Thank you so much Jayb and the circle , as you will see my contribution is really poor .
I am saving the parcel for a quiet time later this evening , I was given a Shaker style box at Christmas so all your lovely seeds have a special place as well the plot.
Thanks again.

[galina]

Jayb, could you please give your germination instructions for Bay tree?  Do we crack the berries open or leave them whole.  Do we cold stratify or soak or start off in the propagator?  What would you recommend?

[pumkinlover]

What a fantastic parcel arrived today, Thank you so much everyone, and especially Jayb for your hard work.
the art work is also superb

[Nigel B]

...Up late today..... Still yawning when something caught my eye....

A card....

A card from the Postie.....


Nnnnoooooo!!

'Wassup?' Asks daughter #2.

'My seeds!... My seeds!...They'll spend the night in the..... and its going to freeze! Hard!'.....


'Hang on' Says daughter #2... ' I'm sure I just....'....
Snatches card out of my hand and streaks out of the back door. Straight down the path and across the road just as postie's van appears leaving the school opposite....

'Holy smokes!'  'She's going to make it!' Says Mrs Nig..


'Is she?' Chirps I..


'Naah' Says Mrs Nig....



'Oooh!'  'Wait a minute'..

:cheers:

'Oh,  good one our Vicky.' Says I.

And you.

And you.


And JayB and anyone else connected with this whole seed-swap idea.

Thanks folks. This is fantastic!

[goodlife]

  ...can we have that running documentary on video please...

[Jayb]

Jayb, could you please give your germination instructions for Bay tree?  Do we crack the berries open or leave them whole.  Do we cold stratify or soak or start off in the propagator?  What would you recommend?

Lol, I'm afraid I'm a novice with sowing them too. Although I think they are best sown now in a pot and kept outside, they'll get a good dose of winter weather. I'm not sure if it was the right thing to do but I've put in a mix of this autumn's berries and last springs berries. I believe they are left whole.  I think I found some good info on RHS site but would have to look it up again. Afraid I've not had a chance to add info to the circle doc. yet. I don't know how hardy they they will be in other parts of the country but here they have sailed through the last couple of cold winters.

[Jayb]

Have to agree there were so many great ways of wrapping seeds, it really was a pleasure to open each parcel arriving. All unique and special all for very different reasons, the care in folding and making, art work, painting, hand written label, pretty coloured envelopes and the reuse of paper,  fab. Loved them. But I have to say my favourites were Markfield rover's, so pretty and I think all hand painted? I was amazed that each and everyone was an individual work of art, just slightly different from the next, really beautiful thank you.

[goodlife]

I came across this info about bay tree seeds...
"Growing Bay Trees
Not the easiest to grow from seed as it needs to be kept at a temperature of around 21°C (65°F). Sow the seeds on the surface of a seed tray or straight into pots. Germination can take from between 10 days - to 6 months or more! Ensure that the compost is not too wet as the seeds will rot."

After reading that info..it reminded me that some years ago I bought some bay seedlings from nursery...there must been 12 in 2" pot...and when I took the rootball apart to plant each seedling individually..the old seed coat was still attached to the stem and it was very close to surface. So that would tally with the info above.

[aj]

Markfield Rover definitely gets top marks for seed packet design. Gorgeous!

[pumkinlover]

Love the story Nigel. Especially the streaking daughter!

[Jayb]

Oops best ignore me  . Thanks for that Goodlife and from RHS site "Bay can be propagated from seed collected in the autumn. Remove the fleshy outer casing and sow as soon as possible. If seed has dried or is bought, soak in warm water for 24 hours before sowing. Plants may be male or female so seed is only likely to form on female specimens"  http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/Profile.aspx?pid=251

Edit to add, thinking back, perhaps not the best year to have included these as many less berries than usual, hope it's not an omen.

[goodlife]

Edit to add, thinking back, perhaps not the best year to have included these as many less berries than usual, hope it's not an omen.

Definately not omen..
I've never grown bay from seeds and I love to try different things...so they were GOOD thing to have included 
I've got big bay on the garden...but it has never ever flowered or produced any sort of part that I could say what sex the tree is, and I have been around it with magnifying glass ..don't know if there is non-flowering sort..sterile is the word I was looking for.
I would love to grow another one..or two from seed, just to see what they 'sex bits' look like 

[galina]

I came across this info about bay tree seeds...
"Growing Bay Trees
Not the easiest to grow from seed as it needs to be kept at a temperature of around 21°C (65°F). Sow the seeds on the surface of a seed tray or straight into pots. Germination can take from between 10 days - to 6 months or more! Ensure that the compost is not too wet as the seeds will rot."

After reading that info..it reminded me that some years ago I bought some bay seedlings from nursery...there must been 12 in 2" pot...and when I took the rootball apart to plant each seedling individually..the old seed coat was still attached to the stem and it was very close to surface. So that would tally with the info above.

Thank you very much both.  Yes I had found conflicting advice on Google, so I thought I'd ask.  I could try both methods and see what works.

Thank you for adding a variety that stretches the gardener a bit    Really looking forward to growing our own bay, as we don't have one, but use it in cooking a lot.

A delightful surprise in the packet!  This is one of the wonders of the seed circle.  Gets us to grow and love things we would not usually try.