Welcome back to Reads Allotment Retreat. It's a sunny; though wet and windy, wintery morning. There's no hope whatsoever of me getting to the plot today, manly due to continued poor health, but also due to the fact the ground will be saturated following the last 36 hours ish of rain we've had. And, it's still raining! Yesterday afternoon i finally started to sort out our seed storage boxes, the pic shows the allotment box on the left, and the Reads Retreat box on the right. I've been putting this job off for an age, but finally started. The first job was to write a handwritten list of opened and unopened packets. Some seed is surely too old to be viable, but the majority should be good for the next couple of seasons. Those that are too old will be offered to fellow readers around the world ( please - just pay the postage via Paypal) before being put in the bin. It's possible that someone should want them. Take a look at the list and let me know if anything takes your fancy! Email & payment please to oktarine@hotmail.com. After 4 weeks, all surplus seeds will be binned! The generated list - complete with Sow by dates - looks like this:Unopened Packs:
Chervil(v.Simple) SB2012
Cabbage(v. Golden Acre/Primo) SB2011
***Swede(v.Ruby) SB2008***
Carrot(v.Chantenay Red Cored 2) SB2012
Parsnip(v.White Gem) SB 2012
Kale(v.Nero di Toscana) SB2012
Courgette(v.AstiaF1) SB2012
Beetroot(v.Solo F1) SB2010
Sprouting Broccoli(v.Early Purple) SB2011
Onion(v.Bedfordshire Champion) SB2012
Spring Onion(v.Toga) SB2011
Tomato(v.Garden Pearl) SB2012
Kale(v.Dwarf Green Curled) SB2011
Marrow(v.Tiger Cross) SB2010
Parsnip(v.Tender and True) SB2010
Cabbage(v.Red Acre) SB2010
Carrot(v.Jaune du Doubs) SB2010
Cabbage(v.Mammoth Red Rock) SB2010
Carrot(v.Early Nantes) SB 2012
From this list, the Swede seeds will be replaced with fresh stock, so if you want these, let me know!
And now the "Opened" packs, incl. seed count where possible:
Borlottii (v. Lingua di Fuoco-Firtongue x 25 seeds) SB2009
Climbing Purple Bean(v. A Cosse Violette x 10 seeds) SB2010
French Bean(v.Dwarf Yellow x 8 seeds) SB2010
Calendula (v.Fiesta Mix x 30 seeds) SB2009
Winter Squash(v.Burgess Buttercup x 8 seeds) SB2010
Sweetcorn(v.Swift Early x 5 seeds) SB2009
Butternut Squash(v.Hunter x 5 seeds) SB2010
Beetroot(v.Chioggia x 150 seeds) SB2010
Onion(v.Bedfordshire Champion) SB2010
Leek(v.Autumn Mammoth 2 / Snowstar) SB2011
Peas(v.Victorian Climbing x 50 seeds) SB2010
Peas(v.Kelvedon Wonder x 50 seeds) SB2008
Squash(v.Summer Crookneck x 25 seeds) SB2009
Sweetcorn(v.Extra Early Sweet x 12 seeds) SB2010
Courgette(v.Zucchini Yellow x 2 seeds) SB2010
Kale(v.Frosty F1) SB2009
Tomato(v.Moneymaker x 10 seeds) SB2009
Cauliflower(v.All year round) SB2009
Cabbage(v.January King 3 /Savoy x 50 seeds) SB2009
Turnip(v.Golden Ball x 100 seeds) SB2008
Swiss Chard(v.Zilver x 10 seeds) SB2009
Spinach Beet(v.Perpetual x 30 seeds) SB2010
Parsnip(v.Hollow Crown x 30 seeds) SB2011
Courgette(v.All Green Bush x 10 seeds) SB2012
Chili Pepper(v.Cayenne x 10 seeds) SB2011
Leek(v.Musselburgh x 20 seeds) SB2009
Brussel Sprouts(v.Red Delicious x 20 seeds) SB2008
Kale(v.Dwarf Green Curled x 50 seeds) SB2011
Parsnip(v.Hollow Crown x 20 seeds) SB2010
Cabbage(v.Golden Acre/Primo x 200 seeds) SB2009
Fennel(v.Florence x 200 seeds) SB2010
Carrot(v.Autumn King2 x 1000 seeds) SB2012
As if that wasn't enough, we are also drying & storing our own "saved" seeds from:
Runner Beans (v.Unknown - Grandad's mix)
Dwarf Yellow French Beans
Climbing Purple French Beans
Blue Lake Climbing french beans.
And finally (!), we grew a couple of Squash (v.Turks Turban) that didn't grow very big - I'm toying with the idea of saving the seeds from these and trying again next year!
So as you can see, we have a lot to work with. We just need to now work out what we are going to grow, buy more seed as required, and get rid of the older / less viable seeds! We'll put together a list from these 2 lists of what we're getting rid of, and then it's a first come / first served basis if you want to save any from the bin.
Pop back soon for another update from RAR.
TTFN
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10 comments:
Hi may I suggest that if after four weeks you still have unwanted seeds, instead of binning them you could try donating them to a local school with a gardening club or even freecycle the unwanted seed, I'm sure will then go in the blink of an eye.
Hi there - with regard to saving squash seeds, did you grow any other curcabits near-by as they are very promiscuous and the seeds may not grow true to the parent. I once grew a lovely mumpkin (or pumparrow) on the compost heap. Other times the result is less than tasty!!
Did you get very battered by the recent bad weather?
Rosie x
Hi Rosie,
Thanks for your visit & comments.
Interesting about the cucurbits - i didn't know that and will therefore source new seed - thank you.
The weather has largely unaffected us, just lots of standing water everywhere.
Take care,
TTFN
Hi Kella,
Thanks for your visit and comments.
A great idea, freecycle may be the way to go!
Take care,
TTFN.
Excellent idea with the seeds. I finally got all of mine put away for the year but still have to work out what will be needed for next season. Gardening never relly ends does it.:)
I'm curious, as your climate is similar to ours in North America, what beans perform the best for you, is there one type in particular that really does well? Hope you get to feeling better really soon.
Hi Mr H !
Thanks for your blog visit and your comments. Always nice to get another visitor from across the pond!
In terms of beans, we do pretty well with Climbing French Beans (v.Blue Lake) though we may try a new variety this year, and Dwarf French Beans have yielded huge crops this year. (I have saved some seed from this crop - let me know if you'd like some). Next year we plan to grow the climbing variety of yellow french beans as well as the dwarf varieties. A company in the UK called Dobies have them in next years catalogue. Finally, we had a great first harvest with Borlotti "Firetongue", and will def grow these again. Hope that helps. If you have any trouble getting seeds - get in touch!
As for your fantastic blog - well done. I've added you to my blog list. Sun roots - what a beautiful and fitting mname.
Take care now
TTFN
I really need to sort my seeds out, I've got far more than I will ever use and yet I still buy more and more. There's an award for you on my blog, I hope you will accept it.
Wow..this is thorough...I have bought seeds and plenty of them but have no idea (or inclination) to find out exactly what...I will just grow what I have next season.
Great idea of Kellas about donating the seeds to schools!!
Hi Jo,
THANK YOU for my award. Its an honour to receive it and i'm grateful that you think i deserve it !
Watch for an award update with the list of 15 new nominations!
TTFN
Hi Tanya,
Thanks for your comments.
I always used to buy, buy,buy, but what's the point. Money is too precious / scarce to simply throw away! My grandad would not be too impressed !
I'd rather spend the extra pennies on my family!
Catch up soon,
TTFN
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