Seed Circle Swap 1 2010-2011

[jackyspratty]

Did the business with 3 trombos at yesterday so fingers crossed. I just hope they grow enough to beat the weather. Had bad luck with squashes, especially courgettes, cucumbers, pumpkins, toms too, beans eaten befre they began (the ones in the garden have done a meagre display!).

I have come to the conclusion that the only thing I can grow successfully is beetroot!!! I will start to look at varieties to do next year!!!

[SarzWix]

I have 17 little glassine envelopes of Auntie Madge's tomato seeds ready to go They're open in a big envelope with a sachet of silica gel to make sure they're properly dry.

Just waiting to see if the Tarbais beans manage to grow fast enough to beat the frost now because at the moment it looks like we'll all get one bean each Still, plenty of Bridgewater to go around instead/as well.

[zazen999]

I'll hopefully be getting all the seeds sent here in November and will send them all out batched up in December; ready for post winter solstice sowing of leeks etc etc.

Instructions will follow; but will include 3 large letter stamps and 3 address labels each if I can wing it into 2 then I'll pop the additional stamp back in the packet. It all depends on the volume of seeds we all grow!

I've not told Mr Z about the expected influx yet...not that he would notice - the amount of seeds that we have around the place.

p.s....one bean each is enough to grow one plant for next year

[Flummery]

I have an elegant sufficiency of Magnum Bonum peas saved - enough for mebbe 15 - 20 each. Currently the Bird's Egg beans are still on the vine and looking robust. They look like a firetongue borlotti but I gather they are an old English cultivar. I hope to gather them in to dry indoors in another few weeks time. Might as well let them continue to swell while the going's good.

[poly]

Soooo exciting catching up with this thread and reading how others have been doing

Mange tout-Winterkefe, are now dried, podded and awaiting bagging. Crop was early, tasty and very productive, tall growing. I'm going to try a few in the polytunnel this winter and see how they do.

Root Parsley-Halflange Fakir, choose some lovely looking roots to flower. Seeds have been dried and harvested, I did lose quite a few in a gust of wind when I was attempting the old winowing trick Still plenty to go around.

Beetroot-Chioggia, super crop and lots of seeds all dried. Zazen I'm not sure we want to double up on this one? If you have loads I can offer it elsewhere and or maybe the other circle here would like it. Perhaps I can substitute it for a variety of tomatoes or perhaps some Parcel? What do you think?

Raddish-Hilds blauer Herbst und Winter, harvested but I hate podding them. I'm going to try them in a pillowcase and whacking with a stick. If that doesn't work you may just get a couple each!

Lettuce-Black Seeded Simpson, crop has been super but the weather has conspired some what and mould has been a problem earlier on when seed has been setting. I've got another lot ripening but I'm not very hopeful as time is getting on.

[zazen999]

Beetroot chioggia - well, if I have too much i'll give it to HSL so don't worry!


It's all very very exciting!!!!!

[jackyspratty]

Exciting but embarressing!!!
After a failed bean and potimarron crop, one of the hand pollinated trombocinos is now looking decidely limp! Ill take a photo tomorrow if weather is good.
So only have 2 defo pollinated ones. Have one bagged ready to do but its getting pretty cold here now.

.....goes off to eat a stash of sarzs ginger biscuits made earlier in the day.....

[Incy]

How many lots of seeds do we need to send? 15 or 16?

[zazen999]

15 chuck....as there is 16 of us [keep one for yourself......]

[Incy]

Ok. I have 15 little envelopes of seeds ready to go

[zazen999]

Cool; you may as well send it now then - I am just getting the listings together for mine so I'll PM you my address. The sooner the better then I can get all the batches packed up as we go. I feel this will need a spreadsheet

Instructions will be in the PM....

Anyone else ready, PM me and I'll forward the instructions to you....

[jackyspratty]

2 out of three hand pollinated trombocinos have now gone yellow and limp. Have done another one today but not hopeful, due to weather.

Actually, one problem Ive had with all my squashes this year is either lots of females but hardly any male flowers. or vice versa, toomany males and hardly any female fruit. In this case its the former, so getting an opening flower at the same time as a male flower is there has been problematic!

Either way it results in a low harvest so its been a frustrating time squash wise. Plus of couse the mystery squash muncher.

Sorry to have let you all down!

[jackyspratty]

p.s....one bean each is enough to grow one plant for next year

In my case, that may not be enough!

[SarzWix]

These things happen, don't worry about it Next year one or more of us might fail to save whatever we're trying to do, and then the other seeds from the circle fill in the gaps, so to speak. That's the bonus of there being so many of us

And it's all a learning experience... I've learned that Purple Ukraine are a bl**dy awful tomato, and I wouldn't foist it onto any of you good people so haven't saved a single seed!

[FROSTYFRECKLE]

Sarz, Purple Calabash is another tom you don't want to taste, so I've not seed saved and if truth be told I put the plants on the compost bin after the first taste Not as foul tasting as Huckleberries which taste like Benylin that is well past it's use by date. I've seed saved Southern Nights tomato, which is darker than Black Sea Man but taste sort of (ish) like Black Krim. Haven't decided what else but will PM for Zazen's address next week.