It's May already and we're right in the midst of a very busy time in the vegetable growing calendar. There is at last the possibility of sowing beans and cucurbits under cover and soon there will be the rush to plant out tomatoes, peppers, aubergines and so on. As part of this activity, it would be excellent if there's space for thinking ahead as to which crops might be good for seed-saving.
The season so far has been kinder, at least in UK, than the last, with a mild spell recently and not the deluges we experienced in 2024. I'm hoping that the slug population is more moderate this season. So far the signs are encouraging here. For me last year several squash, for example, were nibbled to total extinction. Fingers crossed for this year. Those of us who were part of last year's richly varied Seed Circle will have had the excitement of sowing many of its wonderful varieties. It would be very good to hear more of progress and to share results and experiences.
And so to the next Seed Circle! I hope that last year's enthusiastic band will be willing and able to participate again and it would also be excellent if any new members would like to join us.
For those who haven't participated before, here's some information to help you decide if you would like to join.
The Seed Circle is open to all A4A participants; it's great to have new people join too. The group is all about setting aside a little growing space, and time, to raise some crops for seeds, keeping the group informed as to how the season is going, then at the end of the season, probably in November, sharing some growing information and your saved seeds with the group.
Each person decides what 2 or more crops they will grow and save seed from (we do inc. tubers, bulbs and cuttings, but do make sure they are well wrapped so that they don't dampen any seeds). They will then aim to save enough seed for other Circle members to grow a crop the following year. The group could be up to 12 people but is more often under 10. Recently it has numbered about 7 participants. Varieties will generally need to be heritage or open pollinated so that they will come true from seed (potato seeds won't come exactly true). If you include grown out hybrids please state this clearly.
Some vegetables are easier and more reliable than others to save seed from. But generally peas, French beans, tomatoes, perhaps potatoes and some herbs are the easiest. Chillies, sweet peppers, squash, courgette and to some extent lettuce will need isolating from other varieties to keep seed pure or hand pollinating. Parsnips, onions, leeks, beetroot, carrots, celeriac and many brassicas only go to seed in the second year and need isolation from other varieties and so are more time-consuming and a little trickier.
Real Seeds created the idea for the circles. Their site gives some great seed saving tips as well as being a great seed catalogue http://www.realseeds.co.uk/seedsavinginfo.html.
There is also a brilliant series of shortish videos on seed saving for different vegetables at: https://www.diyseeds.org/en/
For anyone interested, what we shared in 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 can be found with images and donors' notes at https://airtable.com/shryC20nRNmUcgT30. Try Gallery View.
The seeds exchanged from 2017-2019 can be found at https://seedsaverscircle.home.blog/
And for seed exchanging from 2010 to 2016 at http://seedsaverscircle.org/seed-circle/a4a-seed-saver-group-2014/
And some previous threads for the Circles:
Seed Circle 2023 https://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,83426.0.html
Seed Circle 2022 https://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,83279.0.html
Seed Circle 2021 https://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,83047.0.html
Seed Circle 2020 https://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/topic,82679.0.html
Seed Circle 2024 https://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf2.1/index.php/topic,83530.0.html
Please could a moderator pin this.
I'm in! :blob7:
Thank you Jan for the time and effort to coordinate the circle.
Yes please, thank you Jan! They are discussing a possible SPS agreement in weeks, which should be very good news for seed exchanges, if it actually happens. Otherwise the usual provisos.
Great to hear from you, juliev and Galina.
And excellent news on the SPS discussion. Good that you have your ear to the ground on that. Do keep us posted.
Thank you for organising this again Jan and count me in please :)
The Chinese Pink Celery I included last year appears to have crossed with a plant of Chinese White Celery, or accidentally mixed. I was sure they flowered at different times and the white seedhead was discarded but must have been mistaken.
Anyway, it's quite fortuitious as the seedlings are a mixture of vivid pink, pure white, pale pink, and pinky green. Selection options!
Oh and it's early days yet but I hope to gather seed from:
Lettuce
Gigant
Goldforellen
Wiener Maidivi
Gustav's Salad
Northern Queen
Loos Tennis Ball
Tomato
Jazz
Orange Jazz
Pinky
Chianti Rose
Primabella
Physalis
Schönbrunner Gold
Cucumber
Shintokiwa
Squash
Honeynut
Gelber Englischer Custard
Duobao (Chinese C. maxima for summer squash, like a vining Zapallito)
Chamomile
Bodegold
Opium poppy
Sokol
Cress
Wrinkled Crinkled Crumpled
Unnamed Leaf Radish (Looks identical to https://www.rareseeds.com/radish-china-jade (https://www.rareseeds.com/radish-china-jade))
Brassica hybrids and turnips (if they go to seed) e.g. Kizuna https://vitalseeds.co.uk/product/asian-greens-kizuna-mix-organic/
Pea
Jeyes (shelling)
Edula (snap) https://dreschflegel-shop.de/knackerbse-edula
Various French and Runner beans
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I do have many other peas that need renewing but it's getting a bit late now and the weather is unfavourable. What are your thoughts for sowing now in the hopes for a modest seed crop? - just enough to perhaps double the amount sown. Risky?
Quote from: Vetivert on May 13, 2025, 19:20:16Thank you for organising this again Jan and count me in please :)
The Chinese Pink Celery I included last year appears to have crossed with a plant of Chinese White Celery, or accidentally mixed. I was sure they flowered at different times and the white seedhead was discarded but must have been mistaken.
Anyway, it's quite fortuitious as the seedlings are a mixture of vivid pink, pure white, pale pink, and pinky green. Selection options!
I'm fairly sure my seedlings are all pink but I shall check again today.
Wow, Vetivert. That's an amazing list of possibles. There are so very many varieties there which are completely new to me and which hold such exciting promise! Good luck indeed for a good season of growth and with combating the drought which seems to be settling in for many at the moment.
On the pea question, I guess one factor is how many seeds you have of the varieties in question. If you have enough to hedge your bets and try some seeds now and keep some back, it seems worth having a go. Have you got anywhere half shady to protect against the worst of the summer heat. I imagine plentiful watering would help ward off the worst of summer mildew.
I'm thinking Galina has experience of later growing of peas and will offer a far more informed, experience-based opinion.
Vetivert and Jan, yes but it only worked here. In Rushden not so much, because of bad mildew. Here we do not get that same mildew. I know that some people have done it successfully in England for an autumn harvest with a July sowing. It is worth an experiment, but clearly not with precious peas. Good luck.
Thanks for the advice :) there's a cool(ish) slightly shaded area near some fruit trees that I should perhaps utilise and leave the more open beds for beans?. Or put the peas in pots at home, it's very shady here with some afternoon sun, they might prefer it... the allotment can get very hot. Have you experimented with sprays to keep the mildew at bay? I've read people have success with dilute peroxide and seaweed on sweet peas, apparently the mildew is intolerant of an alkaline environment, though sweet pea foliage is quite different to that of edible peas.
By 'at home' I'm assuming you mean outside at home, rather than indoors, although I've read of someone keeping a single climbing bean plant indoors, out of season, in order to get precious seeds. Personally I'd prefer the at home alternative, outdoors, where you can keep a daily eye on the plant(s).
I have no understanding at all of the likely effects of peroxide but instinctively it doesn't seem to go well with an edible plant, and so much faff!
But it's obviously a question of personal preference and convenience in your precise circumstances. Good luck. Let us know.
Rushden's slightly alkaline soil did not save the peas from extensive mildew problems. I had no sweet pea experience then and neither did I attempt to spray the edible peas against it.
A cool and moist environment is definitely a good idea, as peas can crisp up and perish in the heat of summer quite fast without it. Watering pots might be more difficult than keeping the ground moist. I find that yellow podded peas last quite a bit better in summer heat than green podded ones.
Quote from: galina on May 14, 2025, 13:46:05Vetivert and Jan, yes but it only worked here. In Rushden not so much, because of bad mildew. Here we do not get that same mildew. I know that some people have done it successfully in England for an autumn harvest with a July sowing. It is worth an experiment, but clearly not with precious peas. Good luck.
Galina, do you know what the key difference is between the two environments in terms of their effects on mildew? Temperature, humidity, other?
Humidity, definitely. Lower air moisture content in continental climate. A few small, white puffy clouds or none. Usually here we have bright sunshine, unless it actually rains, not the more usual British overcast weather without direct sun (but without rain). If you see black clouds blocking the sunlight here, take cover! One year in Britain we had six weeks of continuous cloud cover and no sunshine at all. I was tearing my hair out, because the tomatoes and squashes hated it. Britain has a maritime climate with moisture from the sea trapped by much denser cloud cover.
Quote from: JanG on May 14, 2025, 06:08:15Quote from: Vetivert on May 13, 2025, 19:20:16Thank you for organising this again Jan and count me in please :)
The Chinese Pink Celery I included last year appears to have crossed with a plant of Chinese White Celery, or accidentally mixed. I was sure they flowered at different times and the white seedhead was discarded but must have been mistaken.
Anyway, it's quite fortuitious as the seedlings are a mixture of vivid pink, pure white, pale pink, and pinky green. Selection options!
I'm fairly sure my seedlings are all pink but I shall check again today.
I was wrong! My celery seedlings have a mix. About 80% are the deep pink but, as you say, no problem.
Were you growing the excellent Redventure last year? Might they be part of the cross too?
I hope I have mixed celery too! I am planning a relaxed celery mix that I can just scatter in the beds. I have some big healthy pink/reds and greens that overwintered and are going to seed at the moment (much better than the ones I ever planted...). I might lose the bigger stalks, mixing them all that way, but I mainly use it in soups and stews so it's not a problem. Thanks again Vetivert for the seeds! Fingers crossed for your peas...
I am growing both Red Venture and Chinese Pink this year. There are still a lot of Red Venture seeds left from my last seed save, so I hope to save only Chinese Pink. Thank you for telling us that we need to select. Mine are still pretty tiny and I can't really see the different colours in the stems yet.
Quote from: JanG on May 15, 2025, 06:27:02By 'at home' I'm assuming you mean outside at home, rather than indoors, although I've read of someone keeping a single climbing bean plant indoors, out of season, in order to get precious seeds. Personally I'd prefer the at home alternative, outdoors, where you can keep a daily eye on the plant(s).
Yes, outdoors at home in a north facing courtyard. Unless the weather shifts significantly and this is projected for a long period, I agree that home is the best option. Will keep you updated!
Quote from: JanG on May 16, 2025, 05:27:11Were you growing the excellent Redventure last year? Might they be part of the cross too?
Only Chinese Pink and White, and no other celery around.
galina you'll have trouble seeing the difference on the littlest seedlings but mine here are still pretty small. As they grow and get UV exposure the colours will be more clear. I'll be potting mine on soon so will take some photos of what I've found there. I'm sure that they'll thrive in your care.
Quote from: juliev on May 16, 2025, 07:38:45I hope I have mixed celery too! I am planning a relaxed celery mix that I can just scatter in the beds. I have some big healthy pink/reds and greens that overwintered and are going to seed at the moment (much better than the ones I ever planted...). I might lose the bigger stalks, mixing them all that way, but I mainly use it in soups and stews so it's not a problem. Thanks again Vetivert for the seeds! Fingers crossed for your peas...
I'm delighted too to have celery self-seeding and coming up in all sorts of odd spots, never a nuisance as it's so upright. It's always red, probably a descendant of Redventure, although I've also had Solid Pink from HSL, which I grew for a couple of years and might have contributed.
Many years ago I fretted because the celery I grew was relatively tough and stringy and I was hoping for the kind you used to dip in salt and eat raw for Sunday tea! I'm not sure how that is achieved commercially but it's not happened for me. But like you, juliev, it's significant use is for soups and stews and very much valued for those.
A not very clear photo of my Chinese Pink seedlings before planting out. IMG_5440.jpeg[attach id=50194]IMG
They look so pretty! A fantastic addition to your celery mix, JanG!
Not sure how they do it commercially... some kind of blanching method with abundant irrigation? Definitely not happening in my garden :tongue3:
Gosh they look pretty Jan. My Red Venture was at this stage and I planted them out yesterday, but they were started a lot earlier than the Chinese Pink. Really looking forward to this.
Yes, celery is a marsh plant and if our gardens are dry and the soil is cracking, this is difficult to achieve. Has never stopped me cutting them into smaller bits and adding to salads. And there are also cooked celery recipes to try other than soups and stews. https://www.riverford.co.uk/recipes/celery-baked-in-ham-cheese?srsltid=AfmBOoohLWvmov96DpX4itqwpGyxHFuLouYgOU-A4d0xr-G2xRb0-geW
Yes, juliev, as well as plentiful watering, you've reminded me of reading in old traditional veg gardening books of very labour-intensive ways of tying up celery stalks for the blanching effect.
And interesting on the marsh plant background. I have a magnificent plant of deep red celery growing right on the edge of the side of my polytunnel which I haven't watered since last season. The soil is as dry as dust although perhaps some external water has seeped under the plastic at a deeper level. In fact, as I write, I'm deciding it's not so surprising! But I imagine it's pretty tough.
Yes, but the poly will also have rain concentrating and flowing down at the edge when it does rain, or condensation collecting on the inside of the cover and eventually running down to the edges. Maybe it's time to give a stalk a try and see. May not be that stringy after all, despite very dry soil.
Quote from: galina on May 19, 2025, 07:25:28Yes, but the poly will also have rain concentrating and flowing down at the edge when it does rain, or condensation collecting on the inside of the cover and eventually running down to the edges. Maybe it's time to give a stalk a try and see. May not be that stringy after all, despite very dry soil.
I will indeed. The first of your options is possibly unlikely as this poly has the old fashioned design of a trench where the polythene is kept firm in a trench which means it will be wet but only quite far beneath the surface. I think it's time to dig the plant up and investigate.
If all goes well, I hope to be joining the circle, fingers crossed.
I'm hoping to join in again this year too. My provisional list:
Tomatoes -
Sergeant Pepper's (red/blue medium heart)
Malachite Box (green medium)
Tiny Tim - bush red cherry
Climbing french beans for drying -
Coco Bicolour
Deb's Creek
Dwarf french beans:
Merveille de Piemonte, yellow pods with purple markings
Purple Queen, purple pods
Jacob's Cattle Gold, golden yellow version for drying
Flowers:
Tithonia (Mexican sunflower)
Nicotiana mutabilis Marshmallow
Sunflower Yellow Pygmy
Great to hear from you markfield rover and garrett, and look forward to your participation.
I have a personal reason for specially welcoming your bean offerings, Garrett, as I grew Coco Bicolor many years ago and was looking through my seeds to grow it again. They were nowhere to be found and I was frustrated to think I'd lost them somehow. And I've never grown Deb's Creek though I've read about it, so another one to look forward to.
Tomatoes and flowers great too. Tithonia is a stunner
Mangetout Born. Goodness, what a fine brute of a pea. Ok it is growing in a very fertile part of the garden, but these are huge and loaded with delish peas. Thank you MR. A great pea to have.
I agree that Born is a great mangetout variety. It's very hardy as well as productive.
I sowed it early last year - on 2nd Feb - and it was producing really good pods by the middle of May. It's one to hang onto I think.
Enigma and Valentine did great this year. Valentine started blooming much later and is still going strong with pure white flowers. Enigma started pinkish cream white and again developed red flowers later and then stopped altogether. My fault, I did not remove the developing pods. So I have cut the vines down to a foot above the ground and left no pods on the plants. Will this give me a second flush of flowers later in the year? From never having grown sweet peas to addict in two short seed circles. Thank you Vetivert.
My Enigma and Valentine (also later) have been wonderful too but like yours, Galina, are over now. Because of the drought in much of England, my plants are crispy brown and ready to harvest the seeds. Note to self not to leave them too long as sweet pea pods can eventually curl up into spirals and eject their seeds.
I've never tried cutting down to see whether a second flush could be encouraged so will be interested to hear how that goes. I have a feeling that if the pods are left till they're dry enough to harvest for seed, the plants will be spent and won't regenerate, but I'd be very happy to find out otherwise.
I also grow Matucana which is an old variety with two-tone purplish colouring nearer the wilder forms of edible pea. I'm hoping to have seeds of that variety to contribute to the Seed Circle this year. It's highly scented too.
Matucana will be a great addition Jang. Just what those birthday present obelisks have been waiting for. (But beans look just as good on them.)
Yes, the plants themselves here are still green and only the first pods were mature, but most other pods are still pliable and not ready. But after last year's seed saving, I think I have enough seeds for a while. I only took a token small amount this year.
How long do sweet pea seeds last? A few years? I also had some that shed their seeds last year, but their pods were really dry before they spiralled and dropped their seeds. Seed size was also interesting. Mine last year were mostly smaller than the original seeds, this year the seeds are much bigger. Are your seeds smaller in the drought Jang? Nevertheless, the smaller seeds from last year germinated just fine.
I think my seeds are normal size but your observations on size are interesting. I think the difference the drought made was mainly in how quickly they dried down.
I haven't tested the longevity of sweet pea seeds but think I've sown them when at least a couple of years old. My guess is that they are probably fine for longer.
I was growing a few Lathyrus belinensis, quite a rare sweet pea. It's small in all its parts and I overlooked it for a while which allowed it to dry out in a pot in the greenhouse. I gave it up for lost but to my surprise it has regenerated from near the base. So I'm guessing that your more robust Lathyrus might well also have another go at life.
I thought today I saw the first evidence of fresh sprouting, so I gave it another can full of water. In this 32C heat it is asking a lot, but if it really is trying, that would be good.
Congratulations on getting the Belinensis to come back to life. Now that is a rare sweet pea, but should still make a metre or 4ft. Hope it does well for you.
Apparently it is endemic only on one 2km square in Turkey and has only relatively recently been grown by a few growers outside that region (https://janemming.com/2018/05/06/why-is-this-sweet-pea-so-rare-a-brief-encounter-with-lathyrus-belinensis-of-turkey/)
Before I neglected it and allowed the top growth to die, it managed one delicate flower
Talking sweet peas, my carefully curated collection gave up the ghost on the other hand, the bung it in a corner wild sweet pea Pink Tangier ( Lathyrus Tingitanus) flourished, I have plenty of seed for the circle , it is very restrained unlike Ipomoea Tutu which is a riot and looks like plenty of seed on the way ,also viola Brush Stokes , definitely noisy in appearance.
Meanwhile the edibles are 'progressing' cress Grandpa's is almost ready , great taste.
That sounds like some very interesting contributions, MR, and great to have another sweet pea, especially a species one.
I looked up,Ipomoea 'Tutu'. It looks as if it was only introduced a couple of years ago so you're very quick off the mark, Markfield. It will be interesting to see whether it comes true from seed. I grow the standard Ipomoea purpurea most years; it will be good to have a pink one for contrast.
And I love violas but quite difficult to capture the seeds. I hope you manage a good haul. Another very striking one.
What kind of cress is your cress? Is it a land cress? Exciting times!
Grandpa's cress is a land cress , it's from HSL , it's very easy to grow with a great flavour I will now grow it instead of rocket. I think viola plants see me coming , ripe seeds ... now you see them now you don't ... but I have plenty to share . Ipomoea Tutu, the first few flowers are the standard sort but as the plant grows the show begins, fingers crossed they come true .
I shall for one be very happy to receive your land cress seeds. I was just this week reflecting on the fact that for a few years I'd relied on land cress to self-seed but that it now seems to have finally died out, and all my saved seed is old now.
And the Ipomoea and Viola much looked forward to too.
This is the isolated/handpollinated Golden Marbre that I cut up earlier this year. It was grown last year, but too late for the seed circle. It is producing true offspring from a few seeds I used this year to verify that handpollination. A candidate for the seed circle.
Here is the Early Prolific Straightneck Squash also growing this year. This fruit is isolated/handpollinated and I hope its seeds will be ready in time for the circle distribution.
Just noticed that RealSeeds retail this too, but a different strain of it. Mine were from Denali Seeds in Alaska, bought when getting seeds from the USA was still widely possible some twenty years ago. This strain has the number 353, but its history also goes back nearly 90 years.
Here are both urls, first RealSeeds
https://www.realseeds.co.uk/courgettes.html
then Denali, my source of seeds
https://www.bestcoolseeds.com/collections/squash/products/squash-summer-early-prolific-straightneck-353
It will be great to have your Golden Marbre squash, Galina. I've become more and more of a fan of pattypan squash over the last two or three years. One cuts up and roasts so easily for two or three people as an accompaniment for summer vegetables.
It seems to take a lot of application in the UK to catch any cucurbits for hand pollination,so that I'm lucky if I succeed with more than one or two a year. This year I have one large hand pollinated courgette from your Hungarian zucchini, galina, which I think I successfully hand pollinated. It's a courgette I value for being early and productive, so I hope to have those seeds ready in time to contribute.
Yes, it is less of a struggle here, I will freely admit. But I managed to keep almost all of my varieties going in Rushden too, at times resorting to growing them in the greenhouse. So I sympathise. Most parts of Britain are at the edge of what squashes love in terms of growing conditions.
This was my rationale when I bought these Straightneck squash seeds from an Alaskan seed company. If they succeed there, surely they also do in Rushden! And they did. So I hope all will go well with this fruit. It has changed shape, put on at least another 2 inches in length and is now getting fatter at the bottom, more club shaped.
Congratulations on getting the Hungarian to work for you, Jang. It is so frustrating to have several male flowers and waiting for a female, or when we have a heatwave, it is the opposite, the plants develop female flowers, but there are no males. it is nice when it all comes together.
By the way, that Golden Marbre Squash was still perfectly edible in March, when I harvested the seeds. I cut it into wedges along the bumps and fried them. Almost like winter squash, - patty pans do tend to keep reasonably well.
Two of the Golden Marbre plants growing from the seeds of the mature one in the photo above.
Is anybody interested in Buttercup squash? Got a couple of handpollinated ones and several more just for eating. We normally cut these open after Christmas, as they keep so well, but these early handpollinated ones look pretty full sized now, so by the time the seed circle comes around, the seeds should be ready.
I'd be very interested in seeds of 'Buttercup'. It's a squash variety which has eluded me for some time. Quite an old standard I believe. It's one of the parents of the landrace Juliev contributed last year.
Given the greater difficulty, at least for me, of hand pollinating Cucurbita in UK, your squash successes are particularly welcome, Galina.
And your Golden Marbre looks beautifully prolific.
Quote from: JanG on August 14, 2025, 07:54:36One cuts up and roasts so easily for two or three people as an accompaniment for summer vegetables.
Your quote actually made me think of it for the circle, although Buttercup is a pretty standard commercial squash. Different flavour and texture to Golden Marbre, very dry and quite sweet flesh, that goes well with other things. Bakes and fries beautifully and stores well. Some can turn quite colourful in storage, with a reddish hue that looks very decorative.
We have Galina, Auntie Madge, Ambrosia Gold, Bosque Bumblebee, Stupice (and Papa Gary, one I am developing) all picked in the last hour. Thanks chaps for this seed circle bounty, (not all from last year). Tomato salad tonight :sunny:
And there are potatoes to dig up. This time it was Pink Dog, bred by the originator of this seed circle, Jayb. Pink Dog is doing well with really nice salad spuds and the harvest was big. Most of the tubers are long, hinting at their ancestry of the famous salad potato, Pink Fir Apple. Such a useful shape for slicing into 'pennies' for potato salad. But occasionally we get crazy shapes, like one of the potatoes in the photo!
Pink Fir Apple itself is not good with late blight, but Jayb managed to cross them with the very blight resistant Sarpo Kifli, and as a result her potatoes are doing well with late blight.
However this year Pink Dog surprised me - it made berries for the first time. This has never happened in all the years I have grown them. Would you like some of these tps for the circle?
The other photo is of one of the handpollinated buttercups.
I always enjoy growing some potatoes from seed, so your tps from Pink Dog would be very welcome.
This year I'm growing on the potatoes I grew last year from your Pink Fir Apple x Inky Squid seed which was another Jayb cross. I called it Inky Fir Apple at first but I rather like the sound of inky Fir Squid. I had some very dark blue and some slightly lighter ones. They made surprisingly vigorous plants for their first year and I dug them up quite late by which time they had got a little chewed but yielded plenty of seed potatoes for this year. I'm looking forward to digging them up soon but of course the drought has affected all potatoes so the crop might be small. I'd like to keep it going though.
This would be another very interesting cross with Pink Fir Apple, valuable for its blight resistance. I believe Jayb also did one or two other crosses with Sarpo Kifli? IMG_0745.jpeg
And likewise very appreciative of several tomato varieties from the Seed Circle. In my case, Boxcar Willie, Silvery Fir Tree, Blue Beauty, Fruity Yellow, Borgo Celano, Ambrosia Rose UBX, Ron's Carbon Copy, Mango Lassi, Sunfired Flare.
Ambrosia Rose UBX was from the 2022 circle. I'm growing two plants. One has small cherry tomatoes and one larger slicing size. They both have the same smoky pink colour. I'm wondering whether anyone else has had a variation in size.
I had an Ambrosia Red that was the wrong size, way larger than a cherry, which we ate and enjoyed, but did not continue with.
Yes, I wish Jayb was still visiting to see what has become of her seed circle under the dedicated admin of JanG. I think she would be rightly proud.
And it is good to be able to continue with her potato creations with seeds. Sadly the lovely Snookie is no more here, but has been replaced by various Snookie derived similar varieties, all grown from Snookie tps. Snookie tps number 4 (sorry I haven't given it a proper name, but I grew 4 plants from tps the last year in Rushden), has itself produced a berry this year, so her creations live on in many new but similar varieties. I am glad that the last tps contribution did so well for you, Jang, and hope that despite drought will produce decently this year too.
Quote from: galina on August 21, 2025, 10:19:20I had an Ambrosia Red that was the wrong size, way larger than a cherry, which we ate and enjoyed, but did not continue with.
Are you thinking they're not fully stable varieties?
Either that or a pesky bee, no way to tell really.
With new varieties it is always possible that a late not to type plant shows itself. The six generations from a cross is really only a guideline, some crosses need far longer to become fully stable. When growing OP seeds, rogueing out not standard ones is always on the cards. Only F1 hybrids are really uniform.
Sometimes the non standard ones are also really interesting and can be taken as the basis of another new variety. I had a green, very long, spindle shaped tomato from circle tomato Matt's Hornet, which I am following up, as it is such an attractive shape, but that is far from stable yet. Of three plants, I have two green spindles and one beefsteak!
This is Green Spindle that I am following up. Nice flavour and very pretty. Early too.
Quote from: galina on August 22, 2025, 07:06:28Either that or a pesky bee, no way to tell really.
With new varieties it is always possible that a late not to type plant shows itself. The six generations from a cross is really only a guideline, some crosses need far longer to become fully stable. When growing OP seeds, rogueing out not standard ones is always on the cards. Only F1 hybrids are really uniform.
Sometimes the non standard ones are also really interesting and can be taken as the basis of another new variety. I had a green, very long, spindle shaped tomato from circle tomato Matt's Hornet, which I am following up, as it is such an attractive shape, but that is far from stable yet. Of three plants, I have two green spindles and one beefsteak!
I rather like my large Ambrosia Rose UBX too so could possibly follow up.
Your Green Spindle is certainly unusual and worth trying to stabilise. I would think it's unique. Are you aware of any comparable varieties in circulation?
No I am not aware of any similar varieties, but I am certainly not an expert. And there are so many tomato varieties 'out there', it is difficult to be across all or even most of them.
I love the various Sosulka, aka Icicle tomatoes and this green one fits right in with them.
If you get that same intense flavour in a larger salad tomato, Jang, it is definitely worth following up.
The Early Prolific Straightneck has definitely reached its final size and has changed colour to a dark yellow orange. So it came in to post harvest mature its seeds.
So far tomato wise I have Glacier and First in the Field , which it certainly was . I have checked as I thought Rose de Berne had been recently offered but I can't find any reference, please let me know if I am repeating a circle seed. I am a little giddy as I have just harvested my first ever melon! Cheers.
Great news on the melon. Rose de Berne sounds a very tasty addition. Thank you MR.
Rose De Berne tomato has certainly never been offered during my time with the seed circle so it would be lovely to receive those seeds.
I'm beginning to harvest bean seeds and will have good supplies of Resilient Cherokee Wax and Grumbliai. More to follow I hope.
On past varieties, a special mention for Georgian #22 from Galina which I love for its large flat tender beans and the obliging way it dries down and shells so easily. I failed with it entirely last year but it has prospered this year and is a winner!
And I'm particularly enjoying Sunfired Flare tomato from Juliev. I really like the beauty of the shape, size and colouring.
IMG_6230.jpegIMG_6174.jpeg
Enjoying Sunfried Flare too, very handsome. From the circle's archive I always grow Jen's Tangerine, I will be saving seed for our local seed swap ,it really does need to be out there .
Climbing French bean , Box is looking promising.
Pea Twelve Acre looking good too !
Quote from: markfield rover on August 29, 2025, 15:45:00Pea Twelve Acre looking good too !
A new one on me. Great! What's it like? Sweet for podding? Or other?
I'm aiming to emerge from my podding in the next day or so and post one or two which are looking good here too.
Twelve Acre (HSL) was the best preforming (tall) pea this year , not too phased by the heat , I only ate them raw , too delicious to cook!
I'm planning to contribute a broad bean called Black Isle. I bought it from a fairly new company, Seeds of Scotland, because it has black flowers rather than the more common black and white.They say that it was developed on the Black Isle in Scotland by a local,seed-saving legend, Agric.
IMG_7651.jpeg
I've been a little more successful in bagging pepper flowers for seed-saving this year. I should be able to find enough seeds of
Lima Market Amarillo
Aji Ahuachapau (CAP220)
CAP1242
Purple Tiger
Fish
The first three of these came from a small set up called South Lincs Chilli Boys, which is unfortunately not in operation any more. I came across them in 2019 and was excited as they were so local, but I found when I contacted them that they had already ceased trading. They offered me several free packets though and these three varieties are what I received with a couple more.
Two of them have accession numbers from the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research in Gatersleben, Germany. CAP stands for Capsicum Accession Passport.
The other two varieties, Fish and Purple Tiger, are both distinctive for their foliage, Fish have cream variegation and Purple Tiger purplish foliage. I'll post some photos and a few more details a bit later.
2 tomatoes are doing rather well this year. Orange Bourgoin and Delicate.
Orange Bourgoin is an indeterminate orange yellow tomato of standard salad tomato size with very good flavour. Definitely not the 'mild' flavour that some yellow tomatoes have.
Delicate is a larger indeterminate globe tomato, with some beefsteak tomato shoulders, but more round than beefsteak shaped. Both seeds come from France, Ferme de St Marthe, but Delicate appears to be originally from Russia. Both are early but not quite as early as say, Stupice. There is nothing delicate about the big red tomatoes of Delicate, but the French word can also mean delicious and that certainly applies.
https://www.tomatofifou.com/en/produit/delicate/
https://www.fermedesaintemarthe.com/products/tomate-orange-bourgoin-ab?_pos=4&_psq=orange&_ss=e&_v=1.0
Looking forward to these peppers, Jan. How hot are they would you say? I heard that fish is definitely on the fiery side.
This is my rocket. Originally from a packet of Italian salading mix, bought in the mists of time - an unnamed cultivated rocket. It survived -16C winter temperatures in Rushden unprotected outside and survives here in the greenhouse too, where it can get colder for much longer. I took the dried plants indoors to save seeds a while ago, but some seeds must have already shed on the greenhouse floor and have just started producing again.
If allowed to seed, it is almost self perpetuating, but doesn't take away much space from the tomatoes and cucumbers. Great for salad additions in autumn and spring.
Another photo of Orange Bourgoin, on the plant. The leaves show the first signs of blight, but the fruits are not affected.
Quote from: galina on September 03, 2025, 12:17:372 tomatoes are doing rather well this year. Orange Bourgoin and Delicate.
Orange Bourgoin is an indeterminate orange yellow tomato of standard salad tomato size with very good flavour. Definitely not the 'mild' flavour that some yellow tomatoes have.
Delicate is a larger indeterminate globe tomato, with some beefsteak tomato shoulders, but more round than beefsteak shaped. Both seeds come from France, Ferme de St Marthe, but Delicate appears to be originally from Russia. Both are early but not quite as early as say, Stupice. There is nothing delicate about the big red tomatoes of Delicate, but the French word can also mean delicious and that certainly applies.
https://www.tomatofifou.com/en/produit/delicate/
https://www.fermedesaintemarthe.com/products/tomate-orange-bourgoin-ab?_pos=4&_psq=orange&_ss=e&_v=1.0
These tomatoes look wonderful. I haven't come across the Ferme de St Marthe company. They have a great selection of tomatoes.
And the salad rocket looks a good one. I have wild rocket self-seeding but it's only good at certain times and suffers badly from flea beetle. This looks a very useful addition.
Quote from: galina on September 03, 2025, 12:48:19Looking forward to these peppers, Jan. How hot are they would you say? I heard that fish is definitely on the fiery side.
I'm not sure about the heat. It seems rather variable. When I've tried it. it's been moderate but I wouldn't guarantee it!
I tried to take some photos yesterday. Not easy to take good photos of plants in the midst of a jungle! But here are a few.
IMG_7683.JPGIMG_7692.JPGIMG_7699.JPGIMG_7695.JPG
These are indeed flower bed 'look at me!' pepper varieties Jan, so pretty. Looking forward to them. And Ahuachapau and Lima Market too.
Quote from: JanG on August 23, 2025, 07:09:52Your Green Spindle is certainly unusual and worth trying to stabilise. I would think it's unique. Are you aware of any comparable varieties in circulation?
Spotted this one yesterday in somebody's display of their tomatoes and asked for a name. It is not quite the same shape as Green Spindle, but a similar looking tomato - Artisan Green Tiger. Bred by Fred Hempel.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/PREMIER-VEGETABLE-ARTISAN-Artisan-Seeds/dp/B0CZF1QPNP/ref=asc_df_B0CZF1QPNP?mcid=2693315bcb563821b1de4ff6b7aabcc8&hvocijid=16072212756358868238-B0CZF1QPNP-&hvexpln=74&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=696285193871&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=16072212756358868238&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9180614&hvtargid=pla-2281435176658&gad_source=1&th=1
I'd say not anywhere as unusual a shape as your Green Spindle - I love the name too.
The Artisan Green Tiger reminds me of the shape and striping of one I'm growing this year.i hope to be able to contribute seeds of this one too. It's called Shimmer
IMG_6422.jpeg
I'm also growing a completely different but interestingly shaped one, also hopefully for the Circle, called Mila Orange.
IMG_7666.jpeg
Are you thinking of contributing seeds of Green Spindle, Galina, or are you wanting to stabilise it further? We could have a mini- collection of unusual shapes!
I can contribute some Green Spindle seeds if this is of interest and will gladly do so. What I can't give is a purity guarantee. Both Shimmer and Mila Orange are definitely on the very unusual shape spectrum, lovely additions to our (already very eclectic!) tomato gardens. Thank you Jan.
Hello everyone,
sorry I have been quiet but reading the thread regularly.
Getting to the end of the tomato seed saving. It's been intense! Mango Lassi, Ron's Carbon Copy, Black from Tula, Boxcar Willie and Pamplemousse du Grand-père have done really well. I'm pleased you enjoyed Sunfire Flare. It is indeed a pretty tomato!
I have also harvested some purple potatoes from Jan's TPS (left in the ground last year). It even produced a fruit.
There are pots, trays, plates and bags on every surface. I'm sure I'm not the only one...
I haven't got all the variety names handy (I'll get a detailed list ready) but I'm hoping to contribute:
peas
beans
naked-seed pumpkin
tomatoes
chillies
golden flax
poppy
Happy harvest season everyone!
Yes same here , as the season started with window sills covered it ends that way too , cleaning the cress seed took me three episodes of Desert Island Discs (fabulous) with Carol Klein's episode being particularly apposite !
Now that is dedication MR, thank you. Glad Carol Klein helped too :sunny:
Yes, little pots of drying seeds waiting to be sorted on every available surface! The floor of our little spare bedroom is also full of white buckets of bigger stalks upside down waiting to be threshed - lettuce, coriander etc. and brown paper bags with bean pods.
I'm not close to a final list for the seed circle either but the next month should clarify things a bit.
Thank you for your good range of crops, juliev. Looking forward to variety names when you're ready. I'm growing Kakai this year by way of naked seed pumpkin but alas, no successful hand pollination. Perhaps yours is Kakai? I'm looking forward to harvesting your Desert Spirit Landrace. In my squash jungle with one or two new varieties I'm unsure of, it's difficult to see exactly what will emerge but I think there are a couple of beauties.
And I, for one, Galina, would enjoy growing on Green Spindle to see what happens.
More seeds of Green Spindle are fermenting as I write this Jan.
And I have washed the debris off the Early Prolific Straightneck squash seeds and the seeds are now drying.
Green Spindle would be of interest thank you Galina . Next season I want to explore green tomatoes more .
Green tomatoes have a different flavour, sweet and almost spicy, very sophisticated, Markfield Rover. We love them, ever since that iconic tomato of Tom Wagner's, the Green Zebra, took the tomato world by storm, now over 40 years ago.
I have a small offering of watermelon seeds. Small because only the first fruit is currently ready, called Golden Midget. Really small, looks more like a grapefruit on the ground. Correspondingly, there are not that many seeds. I didn't bag it, but there were no other watermelons around. It should be early enough for UK, even if summer isn't as blazing as in parts this year. Sorry I didn't take a photo.
This was my source of seeds and their description: "Golden Midget has been on the market since 1959 and originates from America. This variety was developed by Elwyn Meader and Albert Yeager at the University of New Hampshire. This small watermelon, weighing about 1.5 kilos, is very suitable for our climate due to its small size (and thus short growing period). 'Golden Midget' is a golden-yellow melon with juicy and sweet pinkish-red flesh. Compared to other varieties, the plant has a relatively compact growth habit, making it suitable for growing in pots or containers.
With most watermelons, it's difficult to determine when the fruit is ripe. With Golden Midget, it's somewhat easier. You can actually see it. The fruit changes color from green to yellow. Once the fruit has turned completely yellow, it's ripe."
https://www.jansenzaden.nl/products/citrullus-lanatus-watermeloen-golden-midget-47340?_pos=1&_psq=golden+mid&_ss=e&_v=1.0&variant=46390648570112
Looks like you all have some very exciting seeds in the pipeline!
It's been some time since I grew early prolific straightneck but I distinctly recall being impressed by the flavour, so looking forward to growing it again!
Peas were a flop this year, the early season heat was just too much for them.
Shintokiwa cucumber ripening :toothy10:
20250914_225959.jpg
Quote from: Vetivert on September 15, 2025, 18:08:19Looks like you all have some very exciting seeds in the pipeline!
It's been some time since I grew early prolific straightneck but I distinctly recall being impressed by the flavour, so looking forward to growing it again!
Peas were a flop this year, the early season heat was just too much for them. [/i]
My peas also had quite a lot of failures. They are always a bit of a fight against pigeons who love nibbling them when they're at ground level and love sitting on them when they're tall making a solid cushion and nibbling freely. Netting over the whole lot is the only solution I've found.
This year though I lost some varieties I was growing on for seed. Unusually I went away for two to three weeks in August to fit with school holidays. By the time I returned all the drying pods had completely disappeared. I'm sure small rodents are keener than ever to make the vegetable garden their home.
I hadn't heard of the Shintokiwa cucumber but it looks very good going by Vital Seeds' description. Did you find it exceptionally sweet as they claim, Vetivert?
Looking forward to the watermelon, Galina. A short season variety sounds very promising.
Shintokiwa looks like it has a very smooth skin too. I doubt it would need peeling. A very different cucumber from any we are familiar with and I hadn't heard about it either.
There are so many really nice and useful seeds to look forward to again. Have just googled Grandpa's cress and that also looks so unusual and different than the feathery cress we are more familiar with.
It's true, Shintokiwa is very sweet, the sweetest cucumber I've ever eaten.
Larger fruits are smooth but the smaller ones, picked 15-20cm have a grooved, prickly appearance. Perfectly edible though, never found it necessary to peel them.
They're still producing despite being quite heavily coated in powdery mildew for most of the season. Perhaps in years like this they would be better off outdoors. I'd like to compare them to Saiko, which is allegedly PM resistant. Though I think they'd be hard to beat for flavour.
Thank you for that additional info Vetivert. Looking forward to them.
And I have also processed the buttercup squash seeds which are now drying too. Oh that delicious melon smell as you cut into it!
I have also grown lettuce Stoke from HSL again this year. This is a miniature cos lettuce that is suited to survive winters in the South of England with minimal protection. It is certainly excellent as a follow on vegetable after an early crop is out, as it grows quite quickly and stands cold weather later in the year very well. Leaves are nice and crisp.
I got my original seeds from HSL, as did Adaptive Seeds, who describe it very well. https://www.adaptiveseeds.com/product/vegetables/lettuce/lettuce-stoke-organic/
So excited to be back after so long!
It's been 20+ years since my last allotment, but in January this year, after 5+ years on the waiting list, I finally got a plot and it's been a growing season of clearing overgrowth, lots of weeding etc and getting some plants in!
I sowed some Viola Cornetti (from Galina)saved from the 2016 seed circle.
Germination was poor but I managed to collect a decent amount of seed
Also sowed some peas from the same seed circle and lost the label 🙈 so will put those in too.
My contribution will be...
Viola Cornetti C.F.B
Peas (u/k variety)
Gazza Yellow Egg tomato- very productive, sweet variety
San Marzano Italian cooking tomato
Deb 🌻
Welcome to the seed circle, Debs, and thank you for your proposed donations. And well done for getting a new allotment up and running.
Could you give a little more information about your peas? What was their approximate height? Were they for podding or mangetout type? Were they sweet or more like soup peas? Green podded?
I'm guessing that most of us would probably not need unnamed peas but Juliev is collecting broader groupings of lots of crops and might well appreciate a donation. She and/or others might say differently, but it might be that just one packet of those, rather than seven, will be needed.
So we are now a group of eight enthusiastic growers which means of course that as we package seeds we need to be making up seven packets of each:
Galina
Vetivert
Markfield Rover
Juliev
Ruud
Garrett
Debs
JanG
Both Vetivert and Garrett gave lists early in the season of varieties they were hoping to contribute, both wonderfully rich and varied. No doubt they will both give progress reports before too long.
Galina has given regular, much appreciated progress reports and I have indicated a few contributions on a fairly random fashion as I see what's doing well.
I look forward to hearing of more possibilities as rich harvesting is hopefully progressing well for all of us.
Welcome Debs :icon_cheers: congrats on the new allotment!
Jan I'm mostly, kinda, on track with the list. As you know, peas were a failure, harvested about as much as was sown. :(
Lettuce... we'll see, terrible caterpillar problem again, with them devouring the seed heads. Awful pest.
Tomatoes have done well, as have the cucumbers.
Cress has plenty of seed heads, I just need to find out how and when to harvest it!
Radish seed already harvested and packed away, as well as some dwarf beans.
Flower-wise should have plenty of nice tall Tagetes 'Hot Stuff' and Papaver rhoeas 'Amazing Grey'.
Salvia 'Oxford Blue' is on the cards but have to check whether the seeds are still on the plants!
Sounds good Vetivert. Yes each gardening year has its challenges. Knowing how much peas matter to you and how much you like them, it is particularly disappointing that they failed for you.
However, that wonderful packet of various seeds from George McLaughlin, which you shared is still giving more joy and pleasure here. I may (still crossing everything) have got his old timey cornfield pumpkin to work finally, with the last of the seeds, selfing for pure seeds, but it is so very late and needs a long season. Seeds are definitely not ready in time for this circle.
On the other hand his bean, Childers Cutshort, is relatively early and I saved seeds for the circle. George says, he is thrilled that his seeds (even very rare within the USA!) are seeing wider circulation and growth and I can definitely recommend this variety. It is typically Appalachian, in that it has a strong string, which must be removed, and as the pod grows, the beans inside also develop. A wonderful green bean with 'content'. And with Childers you don't need that many beans, as the seeds are quite big. It is a climbing French bean, but not too rampant in its foliage. I have taken off mature dry pods, but that has not slowed down flowering or the production of more pods in the slightest. I guess these beans will go on to the end of the season.
This variety may (or not) be identical with Tennessee cutshort and this is how George tells its story and how he obtained those seeds. https://seedsavingnetwork.proboards.com/thread/162/tennessee-cutshort-pole-bean?q=childers
A couple of photos.
Sorry that first photo is sideways, trying again.
Since the peas were from that same seed circle, maybe Debs you could go back and look at what was shared that year (reference on first page of this year's circle). May trigger recollection of the name.
Otherwise a description please. Flower colour, height. Also, shelling, mangetout or snap, we had all three that year. Also credit the tomato to its donor please, it was shared in the same circle, and check its spelling!
We would love a few photos for the airbase database too and your growing reports.
Quote from: Vetivert on September 23, 2025, 13:41:06Welcome Debs :icon_cheers: congrats on the new allotment!
Jan I'm mostly, kinda, on track with the list. As you know, peas were a failure, harvested about as much as was sown. :(
Lettuce... we'll see, terrible caterpillar problem again, with them devouring the seed heads. Awful pest.
Tomatoes have done well, as have the cucumbers.
Cress has plenty of seed heads, I just need to find out how and when to harvest it!
Radish seed already harvested and packed away, as well as some dwarf beans.
Flower-wise should have plenty of nice tall Tagetes 'Hot Stuff' and Papaver rhoeas 'Amazing Grey'.
Salvia 'Oxford Blue' is on the cards but have to check whether the seeds are still on the plants!
Great to hear that most things are on track, Vetivert. My commiserations too on the peas. I similarly had a bad year with peas, losing some varieties by taking two weeks away at the wrong time and returning to find all the pods I hadn't been able to harvest before I went had been demolished by rodents.
Fingers crossed for the lettuces. I wonder what particular caterpillar that is which is attacking your seed heads. I luckily haven't experienced that before.But otherwise it sounds like some great harvesting under way. Great stuff!
Quote from: galina on September 23, 2025, 19:22:49Since the peas were from that same seed circle, maybe Debs you could go back and look at what was shared that year (reference on first page of this year's circle). May trigger recollection of the name.
Otherwise a description please. Flower colour, height. Also, shelling, mangetout or snap, we had all three that year. Also credit the tomato to its donor please, it was shared in the same circle, and check its spelling!
We would love a few photos for the airbase database too and your growing reports.
That's great, Galina. Very helpful to have all the Childers Cutshort information brought together here. I did grow it a couple of years ago from the wonderful George package but didn't fully appreciate its virtues in the hurly-burly. Looking forward to growing it again.
And fingers crossed for your squash seeds later in the year.
Quote from: JanG on September 24, 2025, 08:07:02Fingers crossed for the lettuces. I wonder what particular caterpillar that is which is attacking your seed heads. I luckily haven't experienced that before.But otherwise it sounds like some great harvesting under way. Great stuff!
In Rushden I used to get a few short white quarter inch maggots, a bit like rice grains on drying lettuce seeds, which died quickly and turned red, so were easy to spot and remove. But never in any quantities and they fortunately did not reduce seed yield either. I think they must live on fresh material, because they perished as soon as the seeds dried and they could not move out of the seed containers either. Is this what you are getting Vetivert?
Quote from: galina on September 26, 2025, 05:08:14Quote from: JanG on September 24, 2025, 08:07:02Fingers crossed for the lettuces. I wonder what particular caterpillar that is which is attacking your seed heads. I luckily haven't experienced that before.But otherwise it sounds like some great harvesting under way. Great stuff!
In Rushden I used to get a few short white quarter inch maggots, a bit like rice grains on drying lettuce seeds, which died quickly and turned red, so were easy to spot and remove. But never in any quantities and they fortunately did not reduce seed yield either. I think they must live on fresh material, because they perished as soon as the seeds dried and they could not move out of the seed containers either. Is this what you are getting Vetivert?
Actually, that rings a bell with me too. Very few and dead by the time I've sorted. Perhaps they thrive in much greater numbers in southern climes.
Pretty sure they are cabbage moth Mamestra brassicae
https://www.wildlifeinsight.com/british-moths/cabbage-moth-mamestra-brassicae/ (https://www.wildlifeinsight.com/british-moths/cabbage-moth-mamestra-brassicae/)
Oh dear. It looks like the only guard would be yet more mesh/netting. To use mesh on lettuces going to seed would be very hard to satisfactorily arrange.
The proportion of veg safely growing fully out in the open is shrinking!
Indeed... :(
They've wiped out the seeds of Loos Tennis Ball.
I do wonder where the eggs are laid. If its on the leaves of the lettuce then removing the uppermost leaves on the bolting spike and installing a mini grease band around the centre could prevent them reaching the flowers.
Unfortunately I suspect that the eggs are laid directly on the flower buds as the number of caterpillars up there is extraordinary.
It is quite bizzare as the lettuce heads themselves are untouched by caterpillars. I don't know why they have a taste for lettuce seeds, as if there isn't an abundance of other things to eat, like my tomatoes which they chomp holes in on the regular :BangHead:
I am so sorry about such a devastation. You had bad luck with the peas and now also with the lettuces. I have 2024 seeds of Loos, if you are short, please say and I can add some for you to try again.
"This variety may (or not) be identical with Tennessee cutshort and this is how George tells its story and how he obtained those seeds. https://seedsavingnetwork.proboards.com/thread/162/tennessee-cutshort-pole-bean?q=childers"
I don't partake in the seed saving circle, but often dip into it out of interest. I followed up your reference to George's story - quite fascinating, that you Galina!
Quote from: Vetivert on September 27, 2025, 18:31:59Indeed... :(
They've wiped out the seeds of Loos Tennis Ball.
I do wonder where the eggs are laid. If its on the leaves of the lettuce then removing the uppermost leaves on the bolting spike and installing a mini grease band around the centre could prevent them reaching the flowers.
Unfortunately I suspect that the eggs are laid directly on the flower buds as the number of caterpillars up there is extraordinary.
It is quite bizzare as the lettuce heads themselves are untouched by caterpillars. I don't know why they have a taste for lettuce seeds, as if there isn't an abundance of other things to eat, like my tomatoes which they chomp holes in on the regular :BangHead:
If this is looking likely to be a recurring event, and if the moths are laying directly on the buds and also if you were able to catch it at the right time, could you try tying a piece of thin fleece round the developing lettuce head quite late on but before the buds are formed. I'm imagining tying it round the stalk once the stalk has got to a certain height? It all depends upon what stage the eggs are laid at of course.
Obviously rather an undertaking but worth trying on one head per precious variety perhaps?
Last one (I think) is a bean from Bohnenatlas called Draculas Eye. Origin is Transsylvania in Romania, grown here and by a Danish seed saver in the past. This hopefully means that they will grow well in UK also, despite hailing from much further South.
This is a truly wonderful bean that is useful at all stages. My yield was very heavy. The pods are quite fat, stringless and excellent as green beans. When the seeds inside the pods have matured, a red hue appears, then they can be shelled. Large seeds, up to six per pod, are great for adding to soups, stews and more. Really useful for freezing freshly shelled beans without drying for winter use without the faff of soaking first. Of course they can equally be used as dry beans.
https://www.bohnen-atlas.de/sorten/d/2356-draculas-eye