I Am A Seed Hoarder

[Pulsegleaner]

Just add water, they absorb it and grow. Plant seed. when ready to transplant, tear off webbing and plant.

I ordered these today.
http://blueridgegreenhouses.com/jiffy-7-peat-pellets-42mm-703-case-of-1000/

I put them in trays.

You can get them on Amazon in smaller amounts. The 36mm are small. I order the 42mm. If you hold them for any length of time, you may have to up pot.

If you have a delicate enough touch to handle them without them breaking apart, it may actually be in your interest to remove the webbing BEFORE you plant the seed (after they have soaked). Otherwise, I have found that, by the time the seed becomes visibly germinated, the tap root has often gotten stuck in the webbing, and taking it off without breaking it and killing the seedling is tricky (and if you leave it on, it will strangle the root).

I also find they really only work with larger seeds that you can plant one by one. With smaller, strewing seeds, there is too much risk of getting seeds germinating on the OUTSIDE of the pot as opposed to the open ring on the top (another reason to remove the webbing early, it makes the whole surface viable for growth.)

 

[baymule]

I pull the webbing at the top open.

 

[Rammy]

Just ordered from Bakers Creek. Got some banana peppers, strawberry seeds, lincoln tomato, some spanish mammoth peppers, and cubanelle peppers.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Only one seed packet ordered from BK so far, that new wingbean ( I REALLY want a wingbean that will grow here, so if this works I'll be halfway to my goal*)

And just a reminder I make the Richter's order in about a month.

*I say halfway because I ALSO want one with pale seeds (someone told me that wingbean seeds are as nutritious as soybeans if properly leached, so I want a pale (more easily leached) strain.

 

[flowerbug]

Only one seed packet ordered from BK so far, that new wingbean ( I REALLY want a wingbean that will grow here, so if this works I'll be halfway to my goal*)

And just a reminder I make the Richter's order in about a month.

*I say halfway because I ALSO want one with pale seeds (someone told me that wingbean seeds are as nutritious as soybeans if properly leached, so I want a pale (more easily leached) strain.

i was attracted to them for the color of the flowers but ultimately decided to not try them because i didn't want to grow things i needed to worry about toxicity and having to work to process any more than growing and cooking would accomplish. one reason i don't grow hyacynth beans as pretty as those flowers can be... i figure if i can grow scarlet runner beans i'm pretty enough.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

i was attracted to them for the color of the flowers but ultimately decided to not try them because i didn't want to grow things i needed to worry about toxicity and having to work to process any more than growing and cooking would accomplish. one reason i don't grow hyacynth beans as pretty as those flowers can be... i figure if i can grow scarlet runner beans i'm pretty enough.

Well, there ARE strains of hyacinth beans that are suitable for eating (they're a staple for India). Problem is they aren't purple (they're green, with white flowers) and tend to be really short day dependent (I'm trying to correct that, but as I am pretty far north, it is proving a problem).

And you can eat ANY of them as green beans, it's simply a matter of what you can and can't eat as mature seed (trust me from the foraging I have done, by the time the seed is ripe enough to be a danger, the pods are too tough and leathery to be attractive as vegetables.)

 

[digitS']

I recently ordered some plants from Ritchers.

A friend wanted our rosemary - Rex. She could have waited for cuttings but is an impatient sort. Of course, she will have to wait for them to ship the plants in the spring, anyway.

While ordering for her, and splitting shipping charges, I ordered some French tarragon. I want the real stuff and the plants are the only way to get it, I guess. However, other than as a vinegar infusion, I don't actually know how to use tarragon ... Should be okay since marinades are so common in our kitchen.

Another unknown is marjoram, but I can get that as seed somewhere. I started a bunch of plants once only to have winter cold kill them. I'm thinking that I can do better. And, I'm thinking that I can sensibly avoid oregano by using a marjoram alternative. I don't really like oregano. The marjoram that I had that time smelled wonderful!

Tarragon, marjoram, all my basils ... oh boy!

Steve

 

[Pulsegleaner]

I tend to prefer Mountain Valley Growers for my herbs, but that is simply because they have a wider selection that includes a lot of the more exotic ones I often have use for, like Pine Rosemary, Egyptian Mint, Syrian Za'taar (oregano on steroids) cone thyme (thyme on SUPER steroids) cat thyme (stronger than catnip) and so on.

 

[digitS']

Fresno!!!

I bet the shipping would be a whole lot cheaper ...

For us ... But, Richters might be cheaper for you ... I remember back when I was using phones calling Richters with an order and complaining about shipping costs. (Ummm, that might have been in a previous century and before internet orders .) Anyway, the person was somewhat defensive saying that shipping was in two steps since their own trucks had to cross the border into NY and then packaging and shipping from there. Location, contraband, tariff ... Steroids!

Steve

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Maybe, but the fact still is that MVG HAS all those herbs, and Ricter's doesn't, as far as I know (I just got my catalog, I'll check)

I use Ricter's for the Seed Zoo, but that is about it.

And to be honest, I'm sort of waffling on the Ring, to the point where, if no one actually contacts me and says they want anything, I may skip it. I still have plenty of Avakli cowpeas and Volta White corn, and the Voatavu beans don't look like they will be interesting enough to need more than the one packet I have. So that just leaves the Senegalese Green Roselle. And it looks like there is a domestic site (Georgia Vines) that carries that for a bit less than the Seed Zoo.