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I've got Mr (or is it Mrs) purple flowered French bean, cosse violette French bean and Swiss chard. I may also grab the last of my black icicle toms....
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Hi Zelenina, I'm not keen on making it an international circle. It's just too easy to spread diseases around, even when the seeds look fine by eye. I'm a beekeeper, so I'm particularly sensitive about this; varrao is not native to the UK.
Sorry.Last edited by planetologist; 17-10-2014, 09:26 PM.Comment
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That's OK planetologist, you're in charge so you're free to make that decision. No big problem for me.
I worked as a microbiologist for a while so I'm aware of the potential for spreading diseases. For instance the new strain of late blight arrived on potatoes imported from Mexico. Whoever thought that was a good idea !!??? But that was vegetative tubers, not actual seeds.
I'm pretty sure varroa mite isn't spread on seeds. More likely to be carried on the clothes and belongings of bee keepers when they go abroad on holiday, so I hope you sterilise everything whenever you travel or return home.
To be consistent with this rule, I think you would need to check the origins of all the seeds contributed to the circle, in case they come from a variety recently swapped from abroad. And you really need to exclude all tobacco smokers, because tobacco is a huge source of plant viruses that are easily transmitted when smokers touch their plants. As you know, tobacco mostly comes from farther afield than Europe, and they are definitely not native British viruses..
You might also like to consider that you are being more strict than all the major UK seed companies, who supply many varieties that are grown abroad. I'm seeing more and more central European varieties turning up their catalogues. And more strict than the Heritage Seed Library, which accepts seeds from other countries, and has seed guardians in other countries.
The Real Seeds company is very popular with grapes and they say some of their varieties originated with donated, self-saved seeds from other countries, in particular Bulgaria, but I see Czech and Slovak varieties in their catalogue too. And the Virtual Seed Parcel here has contributions from Italy and Germany and probably other places abroad.
So if you want to be stricter than all of them, that's your choice. But I think in that case you should also make sure that none of your circle seeds are derived from any of these other dubious sources.Comment
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I'm wondering how many are still in the circle so that I can start counting out my seeds, several grapes haven't posted or visited for a while. It may be a good idea for those that are still interested to post that they are still in and what they've managed /or hoping to save.
Jackyspratty has visited since April
Stu8670 hasn't visited since Aug
KitchenGardener last visited in March
HavercroftHomegrowns last visit was in June
Judy2shoes on the 18th Sept
I presume these are all out?Comment
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I'm in with Bijou Mangetout, maybe Goldensweet MT, maybe something else!!Comment
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Was there also going to be a slightly complicated algorithm of people not all sending in packets for everyone, but rather choosing what they wanted from the list - at least that's how I read it but I may very well be wrong! I don't think I quite understand. How will this work?
Originally posted by planetologist View Posthttp://mudandgluts.com - growing fruit and veg in suburbiaComment
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That was suggested although if we only have 9 /10 grapes in the circle it may be easier to just bag up 10packs of each variety saved. You don't need huge amounts in each bag. Eg, toms, 4-6 seeds should be enoughOriginally posted by sparrow100 View PostComment
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If there are only a dozen or so of us in I'll have enough for:
Black icicle Tom
Dancing with Surfs tom
Rainbow Chard
Mexican tree Spinach
Cosse Violette/of Mr Fearns purple Flowered French BeanComment
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Thanks Scarlet, yes, let's have a roll call this week.
So far I take it Scarlet and veggiechicken will contribute the same seeds for everybody.
Sparrow100, please either offer at least 2 kinds of seeds for everybody or offer at least 28 packets of seeds for everybody to choose from. If you go the latter route, just post on here with a list, something like:
Scarlet "tomato Black icicle" 12
Scarlet "tomato Dancing with Surfs" 12
Scarlet "chard Rainbow" 12
Scarlet "Mexican tree Spinach" 12
Scarlet "French bean" 12
i.e.
sparrow100 "species + variety" "number of packets available"Comment
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I'll split my seeds so that there are some for everyone in the Circle - whether they want them or not.
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If we know how many grapes are in, it would help. The only grapes that have replied on here for quite some time is VC, Sparrow, Snakeshack, myself and Planetologist. Any others interested?Comment
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I'm still in. 'Crimson Sweet' watermelon,'Black & Brown Boar' Tomato and maybe another.Comment
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Brill Fez! I've just sent messages to PaulieB, the Cobra and Andy to see if they've managed to save anything and are still in. I'd like to know number soon so I can bag up. The others haven't been around for a while so I'm assuming there's just :
Planetologist
VC
Scarlet
Snakeshack
Sparrow
Marcofez
PauliB?
The Cobra?
Samurailord?Last edited by Scarlet; 05-11-2014, 08:14 AM.Comment
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I'm in, but my stuff is really late. My squashes and peppers are still maturing. If they aren't ready to open and dry by the end of this month I'll step out from this and probably put them in the seed parcel. Whether I end up doing seed for everyone or a selection depends on how many are in the circle.
If they are ready I will have Queensland Blue squash, Thelma Sanders squash and padron peppers. I have plenty of achocha seeds ready too, but I think that is covered by someone else?http://mudandgluts.com - growing fruit and veg in suburbiaComment
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I'm sure we can wait for your seeds to dry, I'd just like to have an idea on numbers to bag up. I think Snackshack said he had plenty of achocha - although he may well have something else yet. Everything changes. I'm hoping your Thelma Saunders dry out - I'll love to try those!Comment
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