Can't stop buying seeds, have enough to populate the whole of the county now :o Last night credit card took another bash when I just had to buy those Blue Jade sweetcorn seeds and to justify P and P picked up those asparagus peas I'd been thinking about and then those brazen Painted Lady runners and so on and so on .........................
Seriously though how many varieties are needed for my plot to produce optimal outcome. For instance with the Brassica bed I want to successionally crop through the year. Anyone any idea how many different varieties of cabbage, cauli, brussels, kohl rabi and swede i need to do this! Is it possible!
Forgive first post being what possibly may be a silly question but thought it might be a good way to break the ice ( been lurking for quite sometime). And if anyone out there does have some advice on curbing the seed addiction please let me know :)
i', much the same but I see it as reseach to discover what suits the soil and my palate ....well that my excuse and I'm sticking firmly to it ;D ;D ;D ;)
In answer to your first question................ all of them
Welcome to the site Carbonel, you sound like you will fit in straight away!! ;D
Welcome to the site - plenty of fellow addicts here. I'm in a trying-to-cut-back-but-failing-miserably phase. Swapping seed doesn't cure addiction but it helps keep the cost down.
Re Sweetcorn: if you are growing several different varieties it's best to make sure they are compatible. There are early, mid-season and late varieties.
Check the harvest times of the different varieties not just the sowing times. Some are much faster growing than others. The number of brassica you sow at a time should reflect the rate at which you eat them. There are lots of varieties, even some suitable for sowing nearly all year round. Judging by this example you need 8 varieties of cabbage .... :)
http://www.moreveg.co.uk/shop/article_COLCA1/CABBAGE-LOVERS-COLLECTION.html?shop_param=cid%3D12%26aid%3DCOLCA1%26 (http://www.moreveg.co.uk/shop/article_COLCA1/CABBAGE-LOVERS-COLLECTION.html?shop_param=cid%3D12%26aid%3DCOLCA1%26)
For something with a long over-winter through to Spring harvest try some Black Kale/Nero di Toscana/Cavolo Nero. You crop by taking leaves from the bottom upwards while it keeps producing more at the top.
Quote from: Barnowl on February 20, 2009, 11:18:26
Welcome to the site - plenty of fellow addicts here. I'm in a trying-to-cut-back-but-failing-miserably phase. Swapping seed doesn't cure addiction but it helps keep the cost down.
this is so true.
what i also do is if i plan to do succession planting of specific crops i plant a different variety each time that allows me to try out 3+ varieties per season allowing me to decide which to eliminate and which to try again the following season.
Quote from: thifasmom on February 20, 2009, 12:46:58
[[color=teal
what i also do is if i plan to do succession planting of specific crops i plant a different variety each time that allows me to try out 3+ varieties per season allowing me to decide which to eliminate and which to try again the following season.[/color]
Yeah, that's my excuse too and I'm sticking to it! ;D ;D ;D
The trouble is eliminating them the next year, not so easy........ :-\
The black kale is just puting out those lovely tender side shoots this week... :)
Yeah, but when there are those special offers of 3 packs for 99p, and half price offers, and 50p per packet etc etc who can resist???
Oh yes, carbonel11, welcome to the seedaholics forum
:) :) :) :) :)
I tried 12 varieties of potato last season and liked all bar one of them - how to choose? ???
Modified: (sorry exaggerated 12 not 14)
carbonel11 welcome to addicts corner oh and a4a
Quote from: Barnowl on February 20, 2009, 14:01:42
I tried 14 varieties of potato last season and liked all bar one of them - how to choose? ???
phew i'm not mad, we have a few each of 16 varieties to try this year :-[
lbb
Quote from: Barnowl on February 20, 2009, 14:01:42
I tried 14 varieties of potato last season and liked all bar one of them - how to choose? ???
Don't plant the one you don't like....obviously! ;D
carbonel11, another welcome to the site.
You have joined an enormous number of seedaholics.
Our (my) weakness is tomatoes. Every year OH says 'we are not going to grow so many plants/varieties next year'. And I think :-* oh yes you are.
Other weaknesses are Runner Beans, Climbing French Beans, Broad Beans, Peas and Sweetcorn. Not to mention containers of carrots, spring onions, various salad leaves, etc.
That's just veg. Fruit - redcurrant, white currant and blackcurrant and blueberries. Cherries, apples, raspberries, loganberries, blackberries. (All right, the fruit is not grown from seed, but it's all part of growing your own). Which is the addictive bit.
Happy growing.
valmarg
Quote from: RobinOfTheHood on February 20, 2009, 14:11:09
Quote from: Barnowl on February 20, 2009, 14:01:42
I tried 14 varieties of potato last season and liked all bar one of them - how to choose? ???
Don't plant the one you don't like....obviously! ;D
i'm sure we can find you another to replace it ;)
How did you guess? Actually I've dropped 6 for this season but .........
........... added 4 new ones :)
Many thanks for all your warm welcomes. I am now wondering if I've got a spare smidgen of space on the lottie to squeeze black kale in !!!!!! :o........... or maybe I could put it in at home .................. Fraid you all ain't been much help on the seed addiction ;D but it's nice to know I'm in good company :)
Quote from: carbonel11 on February 20, 2009, 14:34:24
I am now wondering if I've got a spare smidgen of space on the lottie to squeeze black kale in !!!!!!
pm your address and i'll send you the seeds for it
lbb
Quote from: Deb P on February 20, 2009, 12:50:14
Quote from: thifasmom on February 20, 2009, 12:46:58
[[color=teal
what i also do is if i plan to do succession planting of specific crops i plant a different variety each time that allows me to try out 3+ varieties per season allowing me to decide which to eliminate and which to try again the following season.[/color]
Yeah, that's my excuse too and I'm sticking to it! ;D ;D ;D
The trouble is eliminating them the next year, not so easy........ :-\
oh i can eliminate what i don't like thats easy, i don't seem to have the strength to not add new varieties to the list thats my weakness :-\ :-[
I was ok until I joined this site. They really have led me astray. Well thats what I tell my Tony.lol
hiya, carbonel, welcome to the site ;D
I'm afraid you're doomed now , people on here put bargains on, 10 packs of seed for 1.99, I didn't even need any more :'( ;D
how big is your plot?
Littlebabybird and Barn Owl i have Pm'd you ( if my IT skills were up to it). Thanks for the kind offers :) :)
Manicscouser my plot would appear to be about 170 m2 measured in strides which I calculate to be about 7 poles ( is that correct). Like most of you it was pretty overgrown when i got it ( back in November) but have carved out 7 beds of about 4.5 foot by 10m . The rest when uncovered had some well established black currant and raspberry beds which I.m letting be this year to see what they do. The blackberries in the main were past it and have been dug out. I continue to battle the couch grass just today I dug out another barrow load. So as you can see it's all been ground preparation up to now and dreams of planting, filling the seed shoe boxes rather than the beds ;D
Sorry that should be seven rods ( spot the newbie), also had a near miss when the spell check tried to change my brassica bed into a brassier bed!
As Deb says; The trouble is eliminating them the next year, not so easy
The way I do it is;
Firstly let me tell you all that I order my seeds in Oct/Nov i.e. at the end of the season.
I sit down with my seed storage tins and seed catalogue and go through the catalogue in alphabetical order and ask myself a series of questions such as;
On variety X;
1) Do I need these?
2)Have I any left from last year?
3)When I last grew them were they any good?
4)If the answer is yes! it raises the question do I need more?
5)If yes I tick the box if No! I don't tick the box.
6) If the answer to Q3 was no and I have some left, I bin them!!
This stops the temptation of sowing them come sowing time [Been there have you ::) ]
Once I have been through my left overs and ticked the essentials, I then have a look at a few different varieties of things that I normally grow, and somethings that I have never grown before, and tick a few of these.
I post my order and thats it; I buy no more
This is a picture of how my seeds look at the beginning of a season i.e. Now!
(http://www.thegardenersalmanac.co.uk/Data/Seed%20sowing/Misc%20pics/DSCF3355.JPG)
I think we all tend to buy too many seeds, the pictures on the packet are just so tempting. Also I tend to plant too many plants too close together, how many courgettes can one eat, give away. Remember some seed packets have hundreds of seeds in them. Oh well, at least it isn't gambling or spending money on wine or ciggies and a packet of seeds can be cheap if you shop around. Do I really need 500 beetroot, but it is all good fun. It is a miracle really when you look at a tiny seed, just planted tomato seeds on window cill and can hardly see them, and they grow (I hope) into lovely plants. I bought the blight resistant ones, more expensive and not too many seeds but 20 plants should see me OK. Only have one allotment, with all the seeds could take over the whole site!!!!!
Welcome to the forum :)
I'm the same as you, took on the allotment in early September with no seeds, joined here and now have:
30 verieties of beans
9 corgettes
6 carrots
5 egg plants
7 onions
4 peas
9 peppers
14 squash/pumpkin
10 tomatoes
3 turnips (we never buy turnips :-\ )
and loads of other stuff 2/3 verieties of each
I have half a plot and have no idea what i am going to grow first ;D
I've just bought a small chest freezer from ebay for the shed just to make sure i have somewhere to store all the access veg :o
It's all your fault...you lot ;)
Neil
Forgot about the fruit trees/bushes: 12 trees and 10 bushes :o
And welcome from me
My name is Cleo and I`m a seedaholic-------------
Tee Gee you are far too sensible. ;D
That website link that Barnowl gave earlier is great. The company do seeds cheaply in smaller quantities ( just right for me) so you can buy more varieties and types for your money and your not overloaded with seed you don't need. Wish I'd known about it earlier but will deffo use for next year , and yes I've just seen a few more packets of things i might not be able to do without :o ;D
Thanks Barnowl :)
I am terrible for buying seeds and am tempted by the catalogues, in the shops and websites. I have far too many seeds to actually grow. I did have a sort out at the start of the year and gave a load away in a seed parcel. I can't help myself, but it doesn't really matter. Seeds are not that expensive in relation to other things and it keeps me happy.
Quote from: carbonel11 on February 20, 2009, 14:34:24
Many thanks for all your warm welcomes. I am now wondering if I've got a spare smidgen of space on the lottie to squeeze black kale in !!!!!! :o........... or maybe I could put it in at home .................. Fraid you all ain't been much help on the seed addiction ;D but it's nice to know I'm in good company :)
I'm sorry if we've not been terribly helpful with your seed buying.
The basics are, look at what space you've got. What do you like to eat.
We only have our back garden so we don't have much room. Potatoes (other than in tubs for first earlies are a no no). We don't have room for onions, much as we use them.
We have two greenhouses, a 20' x 12' and a 10' x 8'.
Believe me, I've been there. It is soo difficult.
When you look at the catalogues, they are so tempting, and I would have to be the first to confess that I succumb.
Grow what you know you like, not what seems nice.
Grow your 'tried and tested', and then get more adventurous.
valmarg
Quote from: nilly71 on February 21, 2009, 14:54:28
I've just bought a small chest freezer from ebay for the shed just to make sure i have somewhere to store all the access veg :o
Neil
That has to be the definition of an optimist !!! deinitely a glass half-full!
Oh, and welcome carbonel11 ;D
We have two large upright freezers in the shed... but still have no space. :-X
I buy them all.. it is much cheaper than Radley handbags...welcome.
XX Jeannine
.....it is not just seeds with me .....ok I,ll own up ....I bought 7 of those bargain fruit trees at the supermarket.....all my housekeeping money ! Still we can live on PANCAKES cant we ! :D Debs
Quote from: woodypecks on February 24, 2009, 11:58:40
.....it is not just seeds with me .....ok I,ll own up ....I bought 7 of those bargain fruit trees at the supermarket.....all my housekeeping money ! Still we can live on PANCAKES cant we ! :D Debs
LOL Good luck with planting the orchard ;D I must admit I've been sorely tempted myself only thing saving me is our Allotments don't allow trees. :) I did buy a couple of fig trees from wilkos for home though. What varieties have you got for your fruit bowl needs ?