For those of you who have expressed a wish for a round 2 of the EU RR, here it is :)
For those of you unaquainted with our previous RRs here are the threads.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/554216/
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/556136/
So far I have the following list of people who have previously indicated they are interested in joining in.
Philomel - France
Sorgina - Spain
DPMichael - Crete
Lixi - Greece
Saya - The Netherlands
Patbarr - Sheffield
Sueone - Dorset
Mike_G - Surrey
Baa - Hampshire
Please let me know if you are still interested or want to drop out of this one or indeed if you aren't on this list and want to join in! If you can let me know by the 29th March please.
Any questions, comments or suggestions pertaining to the RR would also be welcome here. Something we could consider is to send out two packages in opposite directions.
EU RR Round 2
Hi Baa,
I'm still in please, something to look forewards to, I love surprises popping through the letterbox...(bar bills!)
Sue
Yes..please still count me in too..Have'nt been on line so much...I 'm recovering from lungsinfection ..It is still so cold overhere..still no spring...not really...so a little sunshine through the letterbox...ooohh that makes me happy again..
Lenne
Hi Baa, Good to hear from you and Sue and Lenne. I wondered last week where everyone was and decided it was end of winter blues.
Please count me into the R.R. a new round should get us out of hibernation.
Pat
Baa
To complete the U.K. contingent - count me in!
I still haven't planted the seeds from the last RR, so I'm still happy to wait for the accumulated goodies from across Europe rather than be first on a "reverse order" list this time.
Mike
Baa, I'm happy to be in on this one too. I have plenty of seeds to share - ask Philomel! (We finally met up recently and spent a happy few hours in a French cafe going through each others enormous "seeds for swapping" boxes.)
Maggi xxxx
Hello everybody!
Yes please, I´m very interested. Love to join this RR, trade seeds and learn some more from my European neighbours!
Thanks Baa for organizing it!!!
Jeanne
Yes please, thank you;
it will be a nice excuse for some extra chat and curiosity
waiting...
Dimitri
Thanks everyone! I'll try and contact Philomel. An extra Thanks to Mike for posting the link ont he other thread!
Lixi would you be so kind as to Dmail me your address please or send me a quick Dmail and I'll give you my email address if you don't want to Dmail it.
This message was edited Apr 6, 2006 1:02 AM
Ooooooooops thanks for alerting me Baa :)
Yes, I'd love to join in again, thanks
Thanks Lixi and Philomel.
As we're coming up to the nest big holiday here I thought it might be best if we began the new RR next week. I know the post isn't as manic as Christmas over Easter but people are usually busy or away, however I can be strongarmed into starting the RR this week if you'd prefer.
Mike_G said above he's happy to wait rather than be first in a split RR going in opposite directions, is this ok with everyone else too?
I thought we'd keep the same postig order as last time although, again, if any of you think you might be away for a time or need to drop out all together, please let me know and we can rejig everything.
Philomel - France
Sorgina - Spain
DPMichael - Crete
Lixi - Greece
Saya - The Netherlands
Patbarr - Sheffield
Sueone - Dorset
Mike_G - Surrey
Baa - Hampshire
Don't forget, this time we have lots of Dimitri's seed included that he kindly sent to me beautifully packaged as usual!
Any comments, queries and suggestions are welcomed as are new members if they want to join in before it's sent out.
Any time for starting is OK with me :) Thanks for doing all the work Baa - and thanks to Dimitri for his seed!
Sorry, got a bit confused, is this going to go in both directions or just the one?
......and hi Maggi, yes, that swapping session was great fun - and all the hot chocolate ;o)
Hope we'll be able to meet up again soon
Yep, I'm happy with anything Baa, as Philomel said, thanks for doing all the work for it, very much appreciated.
Some of the seeds from my last delve into the bag of goodies, are growing away well, especially some of Dimitis seeds.I have a tub full of seeds waiting to get in the propogator, as one pot moves out, so another jumps in it's place...I love going to check each morning to see whats emerged overnight.
That sounds fine to me Baa - I'm not going anywhere this Easter - too many seeds to sow!
Maggi xxxx
We go on a short trip from 21. to 24. April, but anyway there is no post delivery in this days (Greek Easter).
So I think, there will be no delay because of me.
I´m looking forward to the RR!!
Jeanne
If anyone has morning glory seeds leftovers, please send me D-mail?
thank you
Dimitri
The list sounds good to me Baa, thanks again for going to all the trouble of organising it for us. I've sown lots of the seeds from the last R.R, but not much has germinated yet. It is a bit warmer today, so with a bit of luck things will get going. The propagator is full of tomatoes, peppers and aubergines, so everything else is under fleece in the greenhouse.
Pat, reading about fleece in the greenhouse, and living the experience of germinating seeds here in Crete, is like reading about Crusoe !!! I started outside, (no room for about 40 species x 10 - 40 mini pots for each, plus my cuttings, and my clay pots) so I started early March outside. This means watering every morning, suffering strong southern winds, birds eating the seedlings, snails grazing about, I even found a locust laying eggs in one pot this morning. Still, I keep my stubborn ideas like knowing that poppies should be started in situ, yet I placed them in mini pots and now I keep seeing them die out one by one, as the seedlings are impossible to stay in that little place, and yet I did it, to see what would happen! Yet, most of the seeds germinated; I was very sorry to see that dietes iridioides (an iris that requires no care and is considered a weed in some places), which was sent to me by Baa, has shown no sign of germination. And I will take a picture of my "greenhouse" so that you can experience a few things about Crusoe as well !!!
Philomel's haricot beans from France were planted straight into the raised beds I had prepared, they germinated, and a wild pigeon found them irresistible, so 4 were left, and the southern wind uprooted 2 of them, so now two are left, and God knows what... But all the early peas are growing fast !!!
Then I read about peroxide-assisted germination, and I bought about a dozen small jars and I am starting several things in the jars, if not working I will use the jars for marmalade.
Above all, it is great fun !!! Thank you all for giving me all these wonderful seeds
Dimitri
Hi Dimitri
Lovely to hear from you, but that does sound like a tough battle!
Have you thought of germinating in gel (eg wallpaper paste with no fungicide /insecticide added - if you can find any) or gelatine? Also a friend has suggestions on her website http://www.frogswell.com/sowingthedenoway.htm
All worth a try perhaps?
I can get you more beans - oh, and BTW I have seeds of morning glory and many that are coming up as volunteers that I'll send when I can - perhaps early next week?
Hilary
We need to be optimists to be gardeners don't we? We always sow and plant with visions of the plants to come and see the little seeds burst into life only to suffer a myriad of assaults from the weather and assorted wildlife, including my partner. While I was on holiday all my newly germinated seedlings in the propagator suffered some major trauma and the ones that are still alive look very sick. I've had to re-sow all the tomatoes, peppers and aubergines. Still, I had a good holiday.
How pleasing it is when we actually get just a few plants to reach maturity and most years the majority do well.
Thanks for the Frogswell link. I've sometimes germinated seed on wet kitchen towel with good results. You need to check it regularly though. There is some very useful info and it's always good to try different ways of growing things.
I've been using a 'magic seed sower' recently, and it made me realise how wasteful I am when I sow seed by hand. It is quite precise and saves having to thin the seedlings out. Pre-germinating on kitchen towel would also be very economical in the same way.
This message was edited Apr 14, 2006 6:29 PM
Hilary, has your friend sold their house in Ireland yet? I've often dreamt of living somewhere in Ireland and reading the descriptions of the house and garden set me off again. We've had some lovely holidays in Ireland in County Clare and the Burren - absolutely amazing for wildflowers. I think the only thing that puts me off is the high rainfall.
Pat
Yes Pat, I find that it's necessary to check seeds on kitchen towel very frequently - they root into the towel and then it's a nightmare to pot them up....
You've reminded me that I have one of those sowers sitting in the shed - must give it a go!
I think Frogswell is sold in theory, but completion is sticking at the moment - so you never know, could be back on the market. It's certainly a lovely area with orchids etc nearby, though not the enormous range that you find on the Burren. The rain can have its compensations - green is certainly appropriate as the national colour LOL. Things grow very well too, with mild winters etc.
Ah, ah, ah
A new idea made me forget my old methods - and I failed miserably. I started about 20 cucumber seeds in 10% solution of 3% peroxide in tap water. They ALL germinated to about 10mm root. And suddenly the water lost its transparency. I rinsed and put fresh solution. They are either dead and mummified, or arrested.
So, I remembered I used to germinate mung beans in a clay pot with a small hole filtered with oregano twig, and it worked unmistakably everytime. So why not use that method for other seeds? I forgot as I used to employ it to make nice salad sprouts.
And now, the DaVinci part of my brain is working saying that an aquarium can provide water circulated and oxygenated and in temeperature whatever you like, yes? And my mind is rolling again...
Dimitri
Yes, the tricky thing is often not the germination itself but keeping the new seedling going without damping off etc etc. I used to find the gel method very good as the seedling is supported and has a good level of moisture without being over the top. It's then much easier to move them to a growing medium
Yes, sprouting jars should get them going - alfalfa is my favourite for eating - but you then still have the problem of disentanglement when potting up. Very difficult not to damage thos tender stems.......
Sorry to hear about your cucumbers Dimitri. On the seed packet i have it recommends sowing direct with c6 seeds at each station about a foot apart. After 3 weeks thin down to 2, in another 3 weeks take out the weaker of the 2 to leave the very strongest. A little wasteful on seed perhaps, but might give it a go.
Where do you get your cucumber seeds from? Do you save your own? The last packet I bought only had three seeds in it, so they had better all grow never mind being thinned out!
For me here in Crete, this cucumber seed story is very funny, from a point of view, at least:
Gurus (i.e. specialists) have already the seed and the knowledge, so they are a closed cirquit that I don't have access to. British seeds to whom I have access are not good for the climate here; the seeds they sell here are mainly from Italy, and not of good quality, I should say; the most tasty cucumbers in Crete have a pale whitish skin and are eaten with the skin, and I can't find these from a respectable source; the garden centres here sell young plants without telling you if they are of this or the other cultivar, or at least if they are F1 hybrids. So I am at their mercy totally, which I don't like.
The unfortunate cucumber seeds that perished in the peroxide experiments, came from Philomel in France.
I am now growing the usual young plants from the local nursery, you know, the good tasty ones !!!!
Next year I will give it a try with seed sellers in the US; they should have something suitable for, e.g. Houston Texas, so it will grow here as well. The only drawback is I need to remember to do it a month in advance, and who will think in January that cucumber seeds will be needed by the end of February??
Et Cetera
Dimitri
Where was that from Pat??
I use the Organic Catalogue http://www.organiccatalog.com/catalog/
Kokopelli http://www.organicseedsonline.com/
and http://www.kokopelli.asso.fr/action/action-don.html though they're not overgenerous with seeds
I also use http://www.graines-baumaux.fr/
Oh bother - if I'd realised Dimitri I could have popped some in with the beans
Anyway - Baumaux above get a lot of seed from Italy - I haven't sown much yet to know quality though. Hope your plants do well. I think both Baumaux and Kokopelli do seeds suitable for your conditions. I'm trying quite a few new things that I couldn't grow in England such as Gombos (okra) and the varieties of tomatoes etc etc include ones for hot dry conditions
The cucumber seeds were from the Heritage Seed Library as part of my selection. The variety is Sigmadew. If they grow I'll let you know what they are like and hopefully save some seeds if I like them. (Optimistic or what?)
I've bought seeds from both Organic Gardening and Kokopelli but will have a look at your other link.
Moving to another country must give you a whole new challenge with growing conditions and suitable varieties. I should think local knowledge is invaluable, and a good way to get to know your neighbours.
Sorry chaps, RR is 'slightly delayed'. I now aim for Monday at the latest, not very good of me, so please accept my deepest apologies!
Dimitri
How many plant labels do you want? Also, you mentioning the cucumber with whitish skin, I see Plants of Distinction has one called Blonde and possibly another 'white' skin form, also Crystal Apple which is round. If you want any of these please let me know and I'll add it in with my next order. I see Real Seeds/Viva Verde now have a white skin cucumber http://www.realseeds.co.uk/cucumbers.html
Wonderful, wonderful, all the seed links look great here, Philomel and Baa !!!
As for the labels, for the time being I made it, using plastic A4 sheets and cutting them down to size - I think if I study these links I will order a few hundreds more; or may change interests in the way.
I have a lot of fun with the seedlings, though !!! And a lot of questions, e.g. where do I put the 300 new plants ?? Ha!
Time for the Orthodox Easter now, I am off to Athens to see the relatives, and feast on red eggs, lamb on the spit, etc.
See you soon, and many thanks to you all !!!
Dimitri
Oooh I'm green!!!!! Was on Poros for Easter one year and the whole island was covered in the blue haze of barbecues and the smell of cooking lamb was sssooooo delicious!!
Thanks very much for the Crimson broad bean seed Baa. It is flowering wonderfully!! I've adopted it as my veg with HDRA too. I'll be saving the seed for next year and have lots of people here to spread it to.
No need to apologise Baa - we're just all very grateful for you doing the RR!!
It's on it's way! Here's the new thread http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/595184/