Who is buying seeds early...like me!

[Pulsegleaner]

I want to be successful as a gardener. "Recalcitrant." @Pulsegleaner used that word and I was comfortable up until that point in time with knowing the definition but I had never thought of it in the relationship of seed that was probably very much out of its environment and, even, failing to germinate.



digitS'

I didn't create that term myself, "recalcitrant" IS the official term for seeds that cannot survive drying out and/or must be planted as soon as they are harvested. And, I suppose there are varying degrees of recalcitrance as well. "As soon as they are harvested" can really mean "within a day or two of being harvested, so long as the seed doesn't dry out) for a lot of things. On the other end of the spectrum, I had the seeds of the only seeded breadfruit I ever got literally ferment and spoil OVERNIGHT. And, at the extreme end there are of course those plants that show vivipary and germinate before they even leave the FRUIT, like mangroves.

And, if you think of it, pretty much any seed one plants is sort of out of its environment, at least if you define environment in the narrowest possible way. Unless you are collecting wild seed from your property and then re-planting it in the exact same spot you collected it (which would generally be sort of pointless, you could simply let the plant seed itself and spare yourself the effort.) you've changed it's environment, even if only by a tiny bit. No matter HOW carefully you go about it, gardening, or indeed any form of agriculture or land use is disrupting the local environment. And the breeding things we have done to plants throughout history, if they were done to people, would get many people claiming the breeders were on the level of Josef Mengele. It's all perspective.

 

[ducks4you]

WELL...interesting discussion.
I guess those of you who have legitimate complaints with certain seed sellers are saving your own?
Buying seeds from nurseries (very limited)/box stores?
Buying plants from the "slave merchant" box stores?
I started this thread bc 2 years ago, January, 2021, I decided to order from High Mowing and saw that they were sold out on a LOT of product.
Seed companies pay nearly nothing$ to advertise on the INet and desperate non-gardeners will be buying.
I did one last order last week.
Ailsa Craig Exhibition Onion × 1 PakPlus - 1,500 Seeds
$6.95 (HEIRLOOM)

Snowball Self-Blanching Cauliflower Seeds × 1 Packet - 100 Seeds
$3.99 (HEIRLOOM)

Red Express (cabbage) × 1 Packet - 300 Seeds
$3.99
(Compact plants can be planted close together and are ideal for Northern climates.)

Danish Ballhead Cabbage Seeds × 1 Packet - 300 Seeds
$3.99 (HEIRLOOM)

Purple Top White Globe Turnip Seeds × 1 Packet - 1,000 Seeds
$3.99
I will probably not harvest most of them. They make a very nice cover crop and will reproduce in seed the very next year.

Clancy Hybrid Potato × 1 Packet - 20 to 25 Seeds
$3.99
(Seeds eliminate diseases from entering the crop from tubers. And seeds are smaller, easier to store and can be stored longer. Grow like tomato seed. Sow 6 to 8 weeks before last frost and transplant at the same time you transplant your tomato seedlings. )

Homemade Pickles Cucumber Seeds × 1 Packet - 100 Seeds
$3.99
(excellent disease resistance, including Downy Mildew.)
I think I will pick up some eating cucumber seeds locally. Otherwise, family liked eating THESE, so we should have enough. If I miss any and they get huge I know 3 horses that will also help.

Evergreen White Bunching × 1 Packet - 500 Seeds
$3.99
(Perfect for early green onions. ) I will probably start/grow these in the basement this winter for fresh greens.

Vegetable Spaghetti Winter Squash Seeds × 1 Packet - 30 Seeds
$3.99
(Heavy yields from long vines. Keeps well.)
Always wanted to grow these.

2023 Early Bird Special - 2 Free Seeds Packs × 1 Early Bird Special; 2 Free Seed Packets

 

[digitS']

@flowerbug ,  I don't think so.

Whatever it was caused more of a scarring than a rot.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Since there are hopefully people here more experienced with Watermelons than I am, I can at least try to get and answer to this.

Does this LOOK like it is probably Cream of Saskatchewan, or does it appear to be a legit distinct Russian white watermelon?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/181166...181166532&click_sum=43f2273b&ref=user_profile

 

[heirloomgal]

Since there are hopefully people here more experienced with Watermelons than I am, I can at least try to get and answer to this.

Does this LOOK like it is probably Cream of Saskatchewan, or does it appear to be a legit distinct Russian white watermelon?

https://www.etsy.com/listing/181166532/10-russian-watermelon-seeds-1160?click_key=02bf9771f9f1cf64dce49e2d17a1238a00e069c6:181166532&click_sum=43f2273b&ref=user_profile

Just my opinion, but it looks like CoS to me, and I've grown CoS. The photo is not super clear but there should be zero rind, it's the thinnest rind I know of. From what I see, looks very thin. Also because they are technically from Russia, there may be a bit of truthful creativity with the name here.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Thanks. Guess I don't need it then (I'd rather have the Silver Yamato as my white melon that COS, since I also tried COS and it didn't do well for me; it produced no fruit (CS White Flesh and White Wonder DID, but their brix was so low I had to juice them before I could even TASTE the watermelon flavor. And White Sugar Lump was also a no-go)

Interesting about the thin rind. Wonder if it has a thinner rind than my Costa Rican Fine Rind. Guess I can check the next time I grow that!

(yes, that is a regular breakfast plate, CRFR is ultra tiny).

 

[heirloomgal]

That's pretty thin; the tricky thing with CoS is that the flesh is white and what miniscule rind it has is also white. What tipped me off to the no rind thing was 2 fold - I had a bumper crop and the first one cracked right open when I picked it up. I had to treat them afterward like fragile eggs to get them harvested without breaking. Turns out, they're famous for that quality. The second was I could eat right to the green skin, it was like flesh right up against green skin with barely a layer of cells in between.