Allotments 4 All

First lot of peas cleared from bed and hung up to dry...some seeds on it's way soon... ;D

Count me in please

I already have available
Daniels Defiance (Runner)
Lazy Housewife (climing French)
Brightstone (French)
BridgeWater (French)

One of the last 2 is dwarf the other climbing - but I can never remember which is which without looking it up.

I may have Broad Bean Crimson Flowered, I'm waiting to see how they crop - growing for seed only. I'm sure I've got another heritage pea or bean in but can't remember what right now.
I may also end up with a limited supply of purple podded peas.

Yes, please.  What a great idea for a swap.  hopefully will have several by the end of the growing season.

Looks like we are going to have an amazing number of peas and beans.  I have not got any ready to dry yet, I am still planting out the climbing beans. 

Oh...they've been growing in GH..early crop.. ;) Outside peas have only just started flowering.. ::)

I think a bean and pea swap is a very good idea but whoever organises it could be in for a lot of postage given that the seeds are so bulky. 

I imagine the packs could go second class 'large letter' but I expect their weight would be over 100g but less than 250g.  The postage for this size of letter is 81p.
See: http://www.royalmail.com/portal/rm/content1?mediaId=51000697&catId=400030

When we send seeds in for the swap, would it not make sense if we all put in a large, stamped, self-addressed envelope to whoever is organising it?  We must also ensure that the letter enclosing the envelope and our own seeds for the swap has adequate postage on it. 

Good idea Pauline. Someone with organization skills, so it's not me ::).

definitely a good idea Pauline - for the squash swap that ChrisCross organised I had to guess at what would be returned to figure the postage out, but luckily my guess was fine!

Got plenty here already for the swap, have some largish packs of peas and beans... May be a  stupid question, but should they be split in to smaller amounts? have some seed envelopes and can do lables for details etc.. or do we all just add a large pack and people take what they want?

If I should split them up, whats a reasonable amount per envelope please ;)


Thanks,
Isleworth

...second lot ready to hung up to dry... ;D

How many per person depends on what they are and how many seeds you have. Some of my rarities will have to be divided into lots of a dozen or so, as I won't have much to go round. If it's a common variety and you have lots, then bigger packets would probably be appropriate.

Please count me in.  Still have some 09 home saved seed left and there will be lots more from the 2010 plants.

..3 lots of peas cleared from the GH..I can get rest of toms in now.. ::)...most of the peas shelled and bit more drying to do... ;)
..And hopefully later on load of more peas and beans from outside.. ;D..if the sparrows just leave my plants alone..again..they are taking really unhealthy interest to my peas... >:( ::)

You could tell them to pea off :o ;).

 ;D ;D ;D

Just been going through the seed collection and I have the following available for the swap...

Climbing French Bean

• Limka

Dwarf French Bean

• Masterpiece
• The Prince
• Safari
• Opera

Runner Bean

• Streamline

Pea

• PeaWee 65
• Hurst Greenshaft

;) Isleworth

I should be able to put in quitre a few shelling beans:

Climbers

Box
Polish Climbing
Egyptian Pea-Bean
Bridgewater
Minnesota Purple Mennonite Stripe
Blue Lake
Marvel of Venice
Birds Egg
Borlotti
Giganda (Giant butter bean but it's not the same species)

Dwarf
Soldier Bean
Yin -Yang
Ernies Big-Eye Bean
Arranesco

plus the green beans
Cobra and Speedie..... might not have many of the Speedie so don't count on it.

Don't envy you the counting out job BTW, it might make sense if we all pre-split them into tens?

chrisc

I have 25 varieties and most are doing well but very few flowers at the moments, so I do not know what I will have on offer.

Last year I had 8 plants of one variety and ended up with 400 seed peas (and I ate loads), and another started with 25 beans and only managed to increase that to 50 good sized beans and a few smaller ones. 

I am rather hoping that everyone will packet up their offerings.  I think sorting out the packets will be enough of a challenge.  I would suggest a minumum 10 or 12 to a packet. 

My idea is that everyone will send their list of offerings hopefully on a spreadsheet together with a description of the beans.  Growing habit, height, pod size and shape, Uses for beans (green, fresh shelling, dried), taste.  My one criticism of HSL is that you do not get enough information about what you are growing.  Then everyone will be able to make choices from the list.   

There is going to be some problems because there will possibly be more interest in some of the more unusual varieties. 

I do not just want to send round the packet because that means that some people get a much better selection than others and people at the beginning of the list do not see the offerings of those at the end of the list and vice versa.  Each person will have to post their beans and provide a stamped addressed envelope for return.  I am sorry that this adds to the cost becuase you have to pay twice, but hopefully everyone will get a better selection. 

I did one of the pass the parcel seed swaps last year and some people ended up with a very poor selection, and its was possible to take out a great deal more than they put in.   Several people had only a very minimal rather scruffy selection.

I also hope that those with more unusual varieties will be generous and be prepared to accept some commercially available offerings.   While not all the unusual varieties will be available to everyone. 

My only confirmed offering so far is salmon flowered peas.  A pretty oddity but certainly would not recommends as a serious growing opportunity.  Now if they could cross with something and give huge plants of large salmon pink flowers with great tasting peas now that would be worth growing.

Please ensure that all peas and beans are dried well before depodding.  Please germinated a small batch on kitchen roll to ensure viablility particularly if you are new to seed saving.  If they are go at all mouldy then they need to be left longer in the pod to dry.  If necessary put the pods on a radiator or windowsill.   Pick all pods before the first frost. 

Thanks for organising this Digeroo, and the extra reminders about how to dry the seeds. Everything you have suggested sounds sensible and practical to me

1066  :)

Digeroo

you wrote:  Now if they could cross with something and give huge plants of large salmon pink flowers with great tasting peas now that would be worth growing.

I have a mangetout pea variety from Switzerland, called Weggiser, and a few years ago one plant suddenly developed pink flowers.  Otherwise the same as usual.  The flowers in further generations have stayed pink, the mutation appears stable.  Yield is the same as other Weggiser plant.  The plants are not exactly huge, around 5ft.