Allotments 4 All

Juliev , luckily not a true mint !

yes, dark beans when dry for Reina Mora. There are some dark pods in french beans, runners and peas. Favas have the genetic variation to create dark flowers and seeds, surely a dark pod is also a possibility?

I need to cover the whole garden in fine netting. They have also discovered they can eat soft fruit through enviromesh... I need a giant cage!

Markfield Rover, I've never grown mint from seed but I'm looking forward to having a go.

Mr Hong's Vietnamese mustard Early, HSL tasty leaf grows well outside with a large leaf . Huacatay -Black Mint , Real Seeds , looks like a French marigold having a strong flavour certainly puts hairs on one's chest . Superior Korean Mint ( liquorice mint)Real Seeds ,  great flavour , sweet liquorice and lifts a salad no end will definitely grow again!

My pigeon defences!

Quote from: juliev on July 02, 2026, 13:29:17How exciting! Jan, I can't believe you already have chillies and peppers!

Seeds have started coming in here too.

Dark purple broad bean Reina Mora, only variety grown at home.

Mangetout Frieda Welten. I had to resow several times and fight mice and pigeons but I should have enough seeds for the circle (still a few pods on the plants). Unfortunately, it's the only pea variety I'll be able to contribute. Broad beans and peas have been a struggle. I have enough seeds to start again next year but it's frustrating...

On the other hand, the direct-sown squashes are loving life! I need to get a hand-pollinating list ready as some have started flowering already.

A dark purple broad bean sounds wonderful.I assume that's bean rather than pod. (Has there ever been a coloured pod in broad bean?)

Commiserations over your mice and pigeon battles. I have big problems with pigeons on peas too. I've found the only way to keep them off is to cover the whole lot with debris netting. Fortunately someone gave me a lot of imperfect netting from a building site and it works for that. The downside is that you have to more or less crawl underneath to pick and it's more difficult to see what's going on. In the next day or so, I'll see what dried seeds I've got and can offer.

Quote from: markfield rover on July 02, 2026, 10:19:22Hopefully Huacatay and Superior Licorice Mint to follow .

Great names but could you elaborate a little! 🙏

How exciting! Jan, I can't believe you already have chillies and peppers!

Seeds have started coming in here too.

Dark purple broad bean Reina Mora, only variety grown at home.

Mangetout Frieda Welten. I had to resow several times and fight mice and pigeons but I should have enough seeds for the circle (still a few pods on the plants). Unfortunately, it's the only pea variety I'll be able to contribute. Broad beans and peas have been a struggle. I have enough seeds to start again next year but it's frustrating...

On the other hand, the direct-sown squashes are loving life! I need to get a hand-pollinating list ready as some have started flowering already.

Hopefully Huacatay and Superior Licorice Mint to follow .

I have the first of Mr Hongs Vietnamese Mustard seeds in !

It's great to have some varieties already well under way for seed producing and contributing to the circle. And I continue to admire the way you successfully hand-pollinate cucurbits for true seed, Galina. Commiserations on Zloty Cepelin not being true to variety from your bought seed. 

I like Striato d'Italia. It's good to have what I think of as a classic dark green, striped courgette.I'm growing eight different varieties of courgette this year and six of them are producing 'white' courgettes. My seed of Alberello Genovese and Hungarian zucchini, which I thought I had isolated, is variable in what it produces, so presumably not successfully isolated after all. And this year, nearly all is white.

I haven't got as far as deciding what to contribute to the seed circle. But one strong possibility that I'm fascinated by is from Ruud's older seeds, so I'm particularly pleased to have 'saved' it. It's Ince Kabuk tomato. The name is Turkish for thin skin but I can't find out any more about it. It's not ripe yet but I'm intrigued by the way it's growing. The photo doesn't quite capture it but the trusses are large with spread out elongated fruit. The photo is just one section of a single, branching truss. I'm looking forward to finding out what they're like when ripe.