Allotments 4 All

Flowers

"Canary creeper, Tropaeolum peregrinum, is a pretty climber with deeply divided palm-shaped leaves and masses of yellow flowers in summer".

This is such an easy climber to grow. I direct sow seeds outside at the base of my tomato plants and let them scramble up and around. Very attractive to bees.

Morning Glory - "Ipomoea purpurea 'Grandpa Ott' is an heirloom variety hailing from Bavaria. Its flowers are an intense violet-blue, with a pinkish throat and star-shaped veining, up to 7cm across".

I start seeds off in pots indoors in early May, around 4 seeds to a 9cm pot, planting outside in early June. This variety is known for doing particularly well in the UK and continues to flower throughout the afternoon.

Cerinthe - "Cerinthe major, called honeywort along with other members of its genus, is an annual species of flowering plant in the genus Cerinthe, native to the Mediterranean region".

I sow seeds indoors in winter to get an early start. They're surprisingly hardy and ready to be planted out by early April.

Black and Brown Boar tomato:

"The Black and Brown Boar tomato is a productive, indeterminate tomato variety developed by Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms, based on a mutation of the Green Zebra tomato. It produces medium-sized (3-4 oz) fruits with a unique striped appearance of reddish-brown, bronze, and green. The flavor is rich, sweet, and earthy, with a mild acidity that makes it versatile for cooking".


Very nice. It's sweet like the Green Zebra tomato and grew well for me outside. No disease issues.

Tiny Tim dwarf tomato:

"The Tiny Tim tomato originated in the USA after being developed at the University of New Hampshire in 1945. It was created by crossing the 'Red Currant' and 'Window Box' tomato varieties and was first offered to the public in 1945".

Bushy plant which grows to approx 30cms.

Malachite Box tomato description:

"Named after the lovely green boxes that are made from this mineral that comes from the Ural mountains and other areas. This early, light-to-olive green, medium-sized tomato has succulent bright green flesh that is very flavorful and tasty. Plants are productive even in the north, as this variety was developed at Svetlana Farm in Russia, and it has been tested in Siberia! Our grower likes to make a unique green ketchup from this variety. 70-85 days".

It was impressive to have such an early beefsteak tomato ripen so early outside, but I found the texture better for cooking than eating fresh.

Sgt Pepper's tomato description:

"Mid season, Regular leaf, Indeterminate with Antho/Pink heart shaped fruit between 6oz and 12oz (170g and 340g)

Sgt. Pepper's' is a very beautiful creation made by Jason Haynes from a cross made between 'German Red Strawberry' and 'OSU Blue' tomato. Tall growing with wispy leaves and an excellent yield of beautiful pink heart-shaped fruit with dark, antho splash on the smooth shoulder. Delicious, sweet tomato flavour, very meaty and dense flesh".

Merveille de Piemonte dwarf french bean:

"Mottled pod turning yellow when cooked. A meaty French bean, stringless and juicy. Piemonte is in the Alpine North of Italy".

Very tasty bean, grown mainly for their pods but can also be dried. Beautiful flavour.

Coco Bicolour climbing french bean. They are cream on one side and speckled on the other. I haven't been able to find any detailed information about their origin. Seeds originally came from Beans & Herbs. Prolific, ready to harvest from mid August and dry very well.

Jacob's Cattle Gold dwarf french bean description:

"Jacob's Cattle Gold Beans are a cross between Jacob's Cattle and Paint beans. These big beans are sturdy, and hold their shape with long cooking. They tend to soak up the flavors of the food they're cooked with. Great for soups, stews, and baked bean".

I like these because they are beautiful and prolific. They also dry extremely well and there are rarely any tarnished beans that have to be tossed. I direct sow them outside in late May/early June and they are ready for harvesting by mid August. Highly recommended.

I've sorted out and bagged up my seeds today and here is the final list:

Tomato -
Sgt Pepper's
Malachite Box
Black and Brown Boar
Tiny Tim

Climbing french beans -
Coco Bicolour (dry)

Dwarf french beans -
Merveille de Piemonte (pod)
Jacob's Cattle Gold (dry)

Flowers -
Canary Creeper (vine)
Ipomoea Grandpa Ott (morning glory vine)
Cerinthe

The flowers I'd planned to include didn't produce viable seed, it has been such a soggy autumn here so I've replaced with some of my favourite reliable flowers. Also the Deb's Creek bean didn't come true again, about 20% were a grey borlotti cross so I'm going to try again next year.

Preview of forthcoming attractions:

Quote from: Vetivert on November 07, 2025, 15:18:15Hi Debs,

I had a look back at the record for the SSC 2016 and found that the description for 'Sharpe's Liberty' matches your unknown peas; the donor states they are "perfectly round with a black hilum spot".

However, what was shared as 'Sharpe's Liberty' in the circle and by the HSL is without a doubt not actually the real variety, to which the seed bears no resemblance, as evidenced by reliable descriptions:
 

QuoteFoliage dense, very dark blue green, not whitened, with non-characteristic leaflets in 6s and much larger, deeply clasping, sharp-tipped, stipules, finely serrate to above the middle; pods start at the 15th node, on long very heavy stalks, singly or in pairs, the longest of any described for the Ne Plus Ultra group, usually 4 1/4 to 4 1/2 inches, occasionally 3 3/4 or almost 5 inches, tending to curve slightly, but otherwise of the Ne Plus Ultra type, very dark in colour with heavy bloom; peas 5 to 7 or more, also very dark green, smooth, round and not indented, oval in vertical section and smaller than most of those in the group; seeds of medium size, dimpled to coarsely wrinked, largely cream in colour.

Peas of New York, 1928

It was also included in RHS Wisley trials 1939, under 'Seeds Wrinkled':

QuoteHaulm 4 feet, dark grey green; pods mostly in pairs, pointed, straight, 4 1/2 inches long; peas large, bright dark green, of good flavour, 8 or 10 in a pod. Crop good. Ready Aug 10.

For whatever reason the HSL does not appear to make use of historical references to identify their pea varieties accurately, unfortunately I've found numerous errors and varieties be touted as something they are not, still to this day.

Of course this is absolutely no fault of your own and thank you for offering the variety, whatever it may be! A black hilum on a pale pea is uncommon. However, I just want it to be known that while it was traded as 'Sharpe's Liberty' this is a mistake and steps should be taken to prevent its further dispersal under that name. I feared it would have inevitably been 'misidentified' again, based on the past circle reference, if I didn't comment :)

Thank you, Vetivert, for your continuing campaign for accuracy in nomenclature. I know you have brought the attention of HSL to naming mistakes on multiple varieties, to no avail. Given their position in the country as the leading organisation on distributing preserved seed from a small library and involving a small number of loyal volunteers, it's a great pity that they don't research the accuracy of their naming more rigorously. But great work from you. Thank you again.