Seed Survey

Did a survey of our remaining seed packets. It is looking very good. Don't think we'll have to buy in a lot extra:

Roots

• 2 packs of Carrot Autumn King
• 1 pack of Carrot Amsterdam Maxi (baby carrots for containers)
• 1 pack of Beetroot Perfect 3, 275 seeds
• 1 pack of radishes, Scarlet Globe
• 1 opened pack of radishes, Saxa

Squashes

• 5 seeds of Waltham Butternut Squash
• 15 seeds of Early White Bush Scallop
• 1 single watermelon seed
• 1 pack of Courgette Zucchini, 20 seeds
• 1 bag of Sankt Martin/Halloween gourd, ca 5-8 seeds

Brassicas

• 1 unopened bag of Sprouting Broccoli Autumn Spear
• 1 pack of kale Dwarf Green Curled (borecole), 400 seeds
• 1 pack of kale Borecole, self-seeded, collected July 2012
• lettuce seeds (King of May, self-seeded but prob. got moldy in the shed), need to test!
• 1 opened bag Kale Scarlet (purple) – check viability
• 1 opened bag of Kale Black Tuscany – check viability
• 1 pack of Perpetual Spinach, 1 by 2014, plus a lot of self-collected seed
• 1 bag Mixed Lettuce Leaves, ca. 1200 seeds
• 1 opened bag of spinach seeds, Matador, for ca 10 mtrs – didn't work in the ground -- got too sandy, then bolted at the first sign of sun, but might work better as a salad veg in a box near the house.
• 1 opened bag of Cauliflower Snowball X, ca. 40 seeds -- don't think we'll use those as cauliflowers have just not produced anything for us in 2 years

Legumes

• 1 pack of Broad Bean Bunyard's Exhibition
• 50+ black bean seeds (tall runner beans), self-seeded – need to check viability

Onions/Leeks

• 1 opened bag of ca. 10 Red Onion Red Baron seeds
• 1 pack of Leek Autumn Mammoth 2 Snowstar, 150 seeds
• 1 pack of Leek Swiss Giant Zer.

Other

• 1 unopened bag of white button mushrooms -- really must set up the mushroom farm now
• 1 pack of Tomato Garden Pearl, 50 seeds

Herbs

• 1 pack of rocket
• 1 old unopened packet of dill seeds
• 1 sml bag of coriander seeds, home-grown
• 1 little bag of Basil Purple Ruffles, av. 200 seeds
• 1 ancient unopened bag of Lovage
• 1 unopened bag of common cress
• 1 unopened bag of Giant Flat-Leaved Parsley, seed discs for 5 pots and lots of leftover Japanese herb seeds

Flowers

• 1 sml opened bag of ca. 30 lupin seeds plus seeds harvested from the mature plant in 2011 and in 2012
• 1 small opened bag of borage seeds
• about 10 Giant Sunflower seeds
• 1 unopened bag of Meadowland mixture
• self-collected seeds of Japanese Chrysanthemum
• Cornflower Mix seeds, self-collected
• 1 opened bag of Garden Carnations, mix
• Climbing Nasturtium: seeds left on the ground to self-seed
• Calendula, Fiesta Gitana, mixed, collected seeds
• Mallow, Silver Cup, collected seeds
• Sweet Peas, Mix, seedpods collected
• French Marigold, Orange Flame, seeds collected
• 100+ seeds of sweet peas, self-collected
• Zinnia seeds, self-collected
  
  
  
  
  We need to get:
  
  
• Uchiki Kuri squash seeds -- we collected those from our homegrown squash but OH is dubious about whether they'll actually produce true squashes of the type we want. "Thuh flowers," he said this morning in a mock-Hercule Poirot accent, "they are like the bro-thuls of thuh bee world." They may well germinate, and then, 4 months later, yield more bloody zumpkins -- orange pumpkin on the outside, cucumber-watery on the inside.
  
  
• sweetcorn
• parsnip seeds (Gladiator was good!)
• tomato seedlings
• red cabbage
• peas – Kelvedon Wonder?
• Bavarian radish? Hild's Blauer Herbst – check horseradish roots?
• courgettes Taxi (= the yellow ones)
• thyme – might try rooting cuttings
• more dill seeds (test shop-bought ones for viability) – and check own haven't already self-seeded!
• Climbing nasturtiums (check seeds on ground where last year's were and see if they're sprouting)
• chives, lots of!
  
  
  Today is a really cold day. Lots of work on this week but am also hoping to make time for the allotment. OH and I have given in, having surveyed the damage to the garden cart, and went for a new one, which we'll not overload this time. Basically, you take the stated load, 300kg, and divide it by two to be realistic. We'll cannibalise the old one for spares, like wheels for the 2 wheelbarrows we've inherited from the previous plotholder (if they fit).
  
  
  I'm also going to get myself a heavy-duty folding sack truck -- these are going for around £40 at the moment and should be more than enough to cart bigger items such as our metal incinerator between the plot and our garden.