Allotments 4 All

I think that I will grow on the tomatoes myself and save the seed again next year just to be certain, I do not want anyone to worry about using the seed. 
After I  wrote the post  a lot of the tomatoes I had brought home to ripen deteriorated very quickly and having read Poolcues post I realise   may not be a good idea. Funnily enough I planted out an assortment of toms which did not fit in the greenhouse and they all looked great the other day!! Will go tomorrow and have another look.

Just to say that I shall be bowing out gracefully too this year - just too many distractions for me, as well as a dismal summer this year - but hope that I shall see you all again next spring 
All the best,
Sue

I've been doing calculations and with 20 people in a circle and a bare minimum of six seeds each that they can themselves grow on for seed: that's 120 seeds, more than I accumulate in the normal run of things. If I have 50 spare seeds I think that's overkill. So your procedure of setting out to grow seed for the circle is the best way of going about it but it does mean a year's delay. I do have seed surplus to my requirements and I do have some 'exotics' that can be shared or swapped on a limited basis. Maybe there's an alternative for people like me.

No problem jayb time enough to do the parcels for next year

There will be less than 20 in this years circle, we'll do a final count tomorrow.

Tosh, I can quite see that coming into the circle at the last minute would be difficult for most people as it's quite a commitment to start and nurture some crops just to harvest seeds, others are easier such as tomatoes where you can eat the crop and harvest seed. Some of the crops being saved from are biannual, again quite a commitment to time and space. Perhaps starting with the new group Jan 2013 would be easier giving you a chance to plan in advance what you would like to save for the group? I know not the same as having a parcel this year, but if you let me know what type crops you are interested in I'll put a small selection together for you to get you started.

Also if it's tomatoes you are interested in take a look at A4A's tomato swap there are hundreds of varieties there and quite a few heritage ones.
Joining the Heritage seed Library or Irish Seed Savers is another great way to share in open pollinated and heritage seeds. Real Seeds are a great company to buy from and have a great selection of open pollinated vegetables as do several others there's a great thread with seed sites somewhere I'll go have a look see if I can find it.

Quote from: pumpkinlover on October 11, 2012, 20:44:31
I think that I will grow on the tomatoes myself and save the seed again next year just to be certain, I do not want anyone to worry about using the seed. 
After I  wrote the post  a lot of the tomatoes I had brought home to ripen deteriorated very quickly and having read Poolcues post I realise   may not be a good idea. Funnily enough I planted out an assortment of toms which did not fit in the greenhouse and they all looked great the other day!! Will go tomorrow and have another look.

Great that your outdoor toms are looking good still, perhaps a good intication you have some great blight resistant ones 

Quote from: Poolcue on October 06, 2012, 20:25:15
Composting: Leaves and stems of plants affected by blight can be added to your compost heap; the fungus will not survive in dead plant material. Do not compost blighted fruit, as the fungal spores can survive in seeds to grow and reproduce next spring, carrying blight onto your new crops; either bury deeply (60cm/ 2ft) or put in a dustbin. Alternatively, take all affected plants to the local recycling centre. These centres compost on a very large scale, thus generating high temperatures which will kill the disease.

I have just been on the HDR site and read the above.Surely this is incorrect.

Perhaps this makes things clearer.  It is from the Sarvari Trust:
http://sarponews.blogspot.co.uk/search?updated-min=2012-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&updated-max=2013-01-01T00:00:00-08:00&max-results=10
As a response to a question on GQT:

Potato Blight on Gardeners Question Time this week

If plot had bad blight this year, can the soil be cleaned of blight and how soon can I plant potatoes again?

Answer was: Spores wash into soil.  Wait 3 years before replanting.  Always bin or burn diseased foliage.

Hmm....
Actually, spores quickly die off in soil unless they infect a new potato tuber.  You could plant potatoes in the same plot the following year and you would not get blight.  However, if any tubers left in soil at harvest get infected then the blight can (low probability) survive and grow into the volunteer plant the following year. Replanting will  encourage any potato cyst nematodes in the soil and certain other diseases will be promoted so it is always better to rotate.

No need to bin/burn blighted foliage for same reason.  The pathogen needs a living host to survive and will not survive in the compost heap or even in foliage left to rot on the soil surface.

There are very very rare exceptions to the above that need not worry the grower.


HTH

Thanks for that advice Galina. I had been putting my potato and tomato haulms into the council green bin but I did wonder if that was necessary.

Quote
Some of the crops being saved from are biannual, again quite a commitment to time and space. Perhaps starting with the new group Jan 2013 would be easier giving you a chance to plan in advance what you would like to save for the group? I know not the same as having a parcel this year, but if you let me know what type crops you are interested in I'll put a small selection together for you to get you started.

Thanks Jayb but I won't beg anything this year but set to grow something or another for the circle next year. I have to put my thinking cap on.

  There are two distinctly different variertes of Tomatoes called Queen of Hearts.

I have tons of Queen of Hearts tomatoes....but..after some investigation after mine were not hearts either it seems the description in the HSL catalogue is not accurate, theirs were not heart shaped either so the seed if from them and not heart shaped is true.The Queen of Hearts which is heart shaped is from the breedder Stan Jackson who never gave seeds to HSL so the articles about his Queen of Hearts being given to the Queen via HSL  are also inaccurate. HSL got their original seed from a lady with US connections so it seem it is US bred and not British as was though.It was these seeds wqhich were given to the Queen. Stans tomatoes are British bred but have no connection to HSL.

I can send seed of the HSL non heart shaped one if needed.

XX Jeannine

Quote from: Toshofthe Wuffingas on October 12, 2012, 11:55:31
I've been doing calculations and with 20 people in a circle and a bare minimum of six seeds each that they can themselves grow on for seed: that's 120 seeds, more than I accumulate in the normal run of things. If I have 50 spare seeds I think that's overkill. So your procedure of setting out to grow seed for the circle is the best way of going about it but it does mean a year's delay. I do have seed surplus to my requirements and I do have some 'exotics' that can be shared or swapped on a limited basis. Maybe there's an alternative for people like me.

Tosh, yes there is an alternative.  The brilliant tomato seed swap has already been mentioned and there is a swap forum here as well.
http://www.allotments4all.co.uk/smf/index.php/board,10.0.html

I agree, taking part in the circle does take a bit of planning and a bit of extra planting and growing beyond eating requirements.  Even with planning, some things just don't succeed and we have to change plans as we go along.  It happens.  On the other hand, the seed count inside an average tomato is nearly 100, which means that gardeners can participate with modest effort. Isolated and handpollinated squashes can be eaten and produce seeds.  Lower leaves can be harvested of a lettuce that is planned for seedsaving.  It is not always a big sacrifice to produce seeds, although with many crops seedsaving means giving up much of the harvest for one year or planting extra.

Producing exotic seed varieties is not a requirement of the seed circle, only that we use non hybrid seeds that will breed true and that we do our best to prevent crossing and save seeds from good, healthy plants.

Jayb ran a virtual seed swap last year which I thought worked very well.

I have various seeds to offer but probably not enough for 20 people but also not sure I want all the seeds on offer.  The virtual swap allowed you to choose what you had so none are wasted.   I  actually had some very nice peas. 

We used to send round a bag of seeds from member to member, but it seems that some people were taking out a great deal more than they were putting in so some people got a very poor choice.  One swap completely disappeared, and some people took ages to pass it on.  So all in all Jaybs methods worked well but it must have been a lot of work.

I appear to have two pods on my wigwam of District Nurse, and the runner beans aren't very different, but there are a lot on the Bridgewater Beans. So that's one I should be able to add to the list.

Ok the group stands at 14

Ruud
Robert B
Goodlife
Poolcue
Pumpkinlover
Green lily
Galina
Markfield rover
Martinburo
Dandytown
Jayb,
Debs
Aj
Nigel B

Quote from: Jeannine on October 13, 2012, 09:42:29
  There are two distinctly different variertes of Tomatoes called Queen of Hearts.

I have tons of Queen of Hearts tomatoes....but..after some investigation after mine were not hearts either it seems the description in the HSL catalogue is not accurate, theirs were not heart shaped either so the seed if from them and not heart shaped is true.The Queen of Hearts which is heart shaped is from the breedder Stan Jackson who never gave seeds to HSL so the articles about his Queen of Hearts being given to the Queen via HSL  are also inaccurate. HSL got their original seed from a lady with US connections so it seem it is US bred and not British as was though.It was these seeds wqhich were given to the Queen. Stans tomatoes are British bred but have no connection to HSL.

I can send seed of the HSL non heart shaped one if needed.

XX Jeannine

Good to have you say it as well Jeannine, that's pretty much what I arrived at too. It does explain why Stan was so surprised they were sent to the Queen, plus the fact he said they were a hybrid he created and could only be grown from the original cross or overwintered cuttings.

Great to know they did well for you and you have spares if needed. I'm not yet sure if Markfieldrover is adding them to the Circle this year, I've saved some too which I think are consistent with HSL description which I can add to hers. If they are not being added I'll probably put my spares in the Virtual Tomato bag.

I've harvested seed from the first of the Tamra cucumbers, not a great amount of seed, I'm not sure to viability so have placed some in damp paper in the airing cupboard, fingers crossed. I've quite a few more fruit ripening, just they are not squishy enough yet to for seeds.

A good tasting cucumber, grew well this year in a poly tunnel, no health problems and a good set of fruit. Not in the same league as an F1, but still a steady flow of flowers and fruits despite the fruits being left to mature.

14 - cool. Will start bagging and be in touch once they are all packed up.

Cheers

AJ

My beetle beans (kaferbohnen) have just been picked and are drying in the shed.  They are huge beans which will be a pain postage-wise.

AG pumpkinwise I didn't manage to grow one this year so those seeds are out.

Quote from: Jayb on October 14, 2012, 10:19:32

Quote from: Jeannine on October 13, 2012, 09:42:29
  There are two distinctly different variertes of Tomatoes called Queen of Hearts.

I have tons of Queen of Hearts tomatoes....but..after some investigation after mine were not hearts either it seems the description in the HSL catalogue is not accurate, theirs were not heart shaped either so the seed if from them and not heart shaped is true.The Queen of Hearts which is heart shaped is from the breedder Stan Jackson who never gave seeds to HSL so the articles about his Queen of Hearts being given to the Queen via HSL  are also inaccurate. HSL got their original seed from a lady with US connections so it seem it is US bred and not British as was though.It was these seeds wqhich were given to the Queen. Stans tomatoes are British bred but have no connection to HSL.

I can send seed of the HSL non heart shaped one if needed.

XX Jeannine

Good to have you say it as well Jeannine, that's pretty much what I arrived at too. It does explain why Stan was so surprised they were sent to the Queen, plus the fact he said they were a hybrid he created and could only be grown from the original cross or overwintered cuttings.

Great to know they did well for you and you have spares if needed. I'm not yet sure if Markfieldrover is adding them to the Circle this year, I've saved some too which I think are consistent with HSL description which I can add to hers. If they are not being added I'll probably put my spares in the Virtual Tomato bag.

Jeannine and JayB,

I thought I add a picture of QoH tomato here - medium sized, flattened globe, with slight ridges, orangey red.  My seed source was Jeannine's big parcel - original source HSL.

Is this the same as yours?  I'm asking because there is a possibility that somebody at some time got hold of the hybrid QoH tomato and saved/distributed seeds thinking it was OP.  In that case there could be quite a variable bunch of QoHs around. :-)

Just thought I'd add the HSL description:


Queen of Hearts


Our donor, Mrs Smallwood, acquired these seeds from an elderly lady who had been given them many years ago at an RHS seminar. The person delivering the talk was American, and it was assumed that the variety was of American origin. The fruits are thin-skinned, sweet and almost heart-shaped, let us know what you think of this one.

eoq

http://www.adoptaveg.org/product_range.php?action=search_range&range_id=6

3/4 down the page

My seed came from Markfield Rover as I'd already sent mine to Jeannine. I believe her source was from HSL. I can't find the picture I'm looking for so this one will have to do, not very good I'm afraid. I think this one was from a fused flower and quite small, others were larger. But it does appear the same basic shape with slight ribbing as yours, colour too I think?
ps colour is a bit dark in this picture I think so not a fair comparison.