HSL Seed List 2020

[triffid]

That time of year again. Tried my best to diversify from a peas-only request this time.

Cucumber: Sigmadew

Onion: Batun

Peas:
Blackdown Blue
Mr Bethell's Purple Podded
Turner's Spring
Veitch's Perfection

Excited by Turner's Spring - up to 12 peas per pod - and Sigmadew, a lovely looking sweet cucumber.

Batun will be an interesting addition to the collection. It looks like A. fistulosum but the description of 'thumb-sized, purple tinged, crescent shaped bulbs' has me wondering if it's a small dry-skin multiplier like the I'itoi, rather than a spring bunching onion.

I was tempted by the runner bean 'Simpson's Many Stems', but I have enough beans to grow this year. Very curious about the multi-stemmed trait though. I could have sworn my Painted Ladies had more than one stem, but perhaps not. Is it that uncommon?

[jayb]

I like your selections, I also chose Batun and Veitch's Perfection. Plus several other peas you have chosen were on my 'narrowing it down list'. So I'll be interested if you have any grow out news next season.
Turner's Spring caught my eye too, but in the end I picked another.
I think I grew Batun several years ago but, I can't really remember anything defining about them, so perhaps not!




Devoy beetroot, I generally grow the globe type but thought these sounded lovely.
Dewing's Early Blood Turnip, I think will be the same as the Early Blood Turnip I grow, but can't hurt to compare.
Buck Eye Fall looks very similar to two favourites I have, Monstrance and Red Eye Fall, (which are very similar) perhaps not the most adventurous choice but I couldn't resist.
Batun onion, how pretty.
Love Llanover peas and I'm not sure how fresh my saved seeds are.
Veitch's Perfection, although a late variety which may not be ideal, overall it sounds a lovely variety to try.

[jayb]

Hmm, 2020, scary how time is romping ahead!

[triffid]

Nice choices! I was mulling over Devoy, but my beetroot crops tend to be so appalling I thought I best spare them from an uncertain future. Looking forward to pics/grow reports later.
I've seen you have made crosses with Llanover in the past - it must be good!

[jayb]

Early Blood Turnip, despite the name, is about my favourite beetroot ever, easy to grow, very forgiving (to my lack of skill) and gives gorgeously sweet and tender roots, colour is gorgeous and deep. Though I do love Boltardy too! Hoping I can get to grips with the long roots of Devoy. Having bought beetroot from shops this last year to eat, it has really brought home how delish our heritage varieties are.

Yes, I liked Llanover very much, a good grower and cropper here, taste is gorgeous and on the sweet spectrum. Paired with Elisabeth, which is such a dream to grow and eat (thank you Galina), it seemed the obvious choice for me. so much to catch up on, I'm so hoping 2020 is a pea growing year!

[Galina]

Not sure what happened to my HSL membership and seed list. Will give it a few more days then enquire. Is it online? For a preview and pre choice before the real thing arrives. Early Blood Turnip is also already on the list after a failure to store and grow seeds in earlier years. A pea with 12 seeds, now that is very unusual. I was surprised to have had 11 with Champion of England, but 12 is amazing.

[triffid]

Cor that's a whopping mangetout. Honestly I'm more accustomed to a large mangetout than a super-sized shelling pea hence my disbelief in Turner's Spring. I guess my sense of scale isn't very good - last season I had a few shelling peas the length of my middle-finger to centre palm which is about 13cm.

[jayb]

Are you still growing that line of Carouby. Galina, do they continue to produce high numbers of seed or is it just once in a while?

[Galina]

Not this year, but last and yes they did, in fact more that when I first got them. Guess which pods I saved seeds from? I wonder whether saving predominantly from those did the trick.

[Galina]

There is a way to make every runnerbean multistemmed. I frequently overwinter the roots. And that involves cutting the stem at about a foot on top of the storage root, then I store in a plastic bag frostfree with very little water, just to keep those roots alive. Others keep them in moss which stays moister than a bit of soil alone. However stored, the following year there are usually several stems from one storage root. I guess we would duplicate this by capping a single stem before it is too tall to force early side shooting. There is room for experiment. Just to add, when slugs cap a French bean seedling it is curtains for the plant. When the same thing happens to runnerbean seedlings, they do frequently recover with a sideshoot, even at seedling level.

[triffid]

I've noticed side branching on pea shoots eaten to the ground by slugs. Whether or not they end up producing more than a single stem is something I have yet to determine. Would be good to experiment with capping runner beans - I'll try to remember!

[Galina]

I do not believe that they can, without adequate extra feeding, wider spacing etc actually carry more harvest than single stems. Watching your reports with interest though.

[Galina]

Some of my peas are multi stemmed right from the off even without slugs. But not all the stems make it, which could be down to my less than perfect care.

[clumsy]

The HSL seed catalogue has some interesting stuff enjoyed looking at it.

[jayb]

Galina, I'm not sure if it helps, I'm registered for a postal catalogue, I haven't ordered anything for the last couple of years. But this year I also looked at the online catalogue and after I renewed my password online, I was able to order direct from the online catalogue. I had email confirmation the following day to say my order had been posted.

[triffid]

This reminds me of something that could well be a hallucinatory memory, but I do think they said in one of their newsletters this year that they were dropping paper correspondence (could have been someone else, many companies are taking this stance).

[jayb]

I know when they went digital they were keen for members to drop the postal catalogue and look online instead. I tried it the first year but really missed having the paper catalogue to sit down with along with a nice hot cuppa to drink -bliss. I also like being able to go back to the different years catalogues.

[jayb]

The more I think of it, I'm really thinking I should have ordered Turner's Spring
Ah well, looking forward to hearing about your growouts.

[Galina]

Thank you for the helpful suggestions. No it turned out to be all my fault. As we are going to change internet provider I had given them a gmail address and then not remembered and I am not yet in the habit of checking gmail as well as my longstanding email addy. So it literally was all my fault and I wrote an apology to HSL who had this morning sent me a message to the old email address telling me that they had another email for the HSL order. My bad and red face! So I have now ordered and these are my varieties. The Turner's Spring packet can happily be split now Jayb as indeed there can hopefully be a more generous packet after the harvest of these seeds. Just say if you would like some seeds now.

Varieties ordered

Beetroot Dewing's Early Blood Turnip Cabbage Shetland Carrot Beta III Cauliflower English Winter/Leamington Lettuce Brown Bath Cos Pea Turner's Spring

[jayb]

I'm glad you were able to get it sorted today, and lovely selections too. You are so kind to offer, thank you, if I may reserve a few seeds once you have harvested (if there are enough) that would be wonderful.

[Galina]

Will do Jayb.

[triffid]

That's a nice & diverse list there galina! If I recall correctly, Beta III was one of your choices last year. Something you've grown before?

[Galina]

They are a fairly soft carrot with a wonderful flavour. I love them and hope to save seeds from them. I have been hoarding seed packets in the freezer and have three with this one. I need more than one for seed saving, because the carrots that make it from one packet are not really enough for good selective decision making, which to grow to seed and which to eat. But with multiple packets I should get plenty of carrots for a decent selection and for decent seed in the future. Have not grown them for a few years but waited to get a good lot of seeds.

[jayb]

That's so sensible.

[jayb]

Ah I nearly went for Shetland Cabbage and Brown Bath Cos, but decided I probably wouldn't get around to growing this coming year so chose otherwise.

[jayb]

I hadn't even thought about the name, but now you mention it...

Lol, lost seeds. If someone watered my home it would definitely sprout!

I wish you luck finding your seeds, my experience - some are found soon, some not so soon, some after a long time (and usually in an obvious place I swear I checked a dozen times) a few others are yet to make an appearance. Seed fairies are not always helpful.

[Galina]

Triffid, no it was not me losing them literally but because I forgot to renew them in good time and then when I did sow them finally, none germinated. That was in the days before databases to remind me to renew seeds in a more timely fashion and before I learned that freezer storage for emergency small portions is an easy thing to do. And possibly before I learned that lettuce seed really only lasts 3 to 4 years. I have literally only ever permanently lost one seed packet. We should have had Orange fleshed Purple Smudge tomato in a Seed Circle, but I either lost mine or it did not make it into my seed envelope. Temporarily mislaying seeds does happen here too. Hope you find yours before sowing time. It is a pretty wide cos lettuce and yes, the brownish "gold" ring is not the most attractive, but it is a very sweet and crunchy lettuce with large leaves.

[jayb]

Well, I'm glad you mentioned about the leaf size as I was looking for a smallish hardy winter type, I think that rules this one out, shame taste sounds lovely.

[jayb]

My seeds arrived yesterday

Minimal packing, lovely, and all my choices.

My extra packet, Callaloo Nigerian Green.

Happy.

[triffid]

Congrats, very swift!

[Galina]

And mine have hit the doormat too. Big smile. Same extra packet, they must have had loads of this callaloo.

[jayb]

Glad they arrived safely for you too.
Lol, 2020 the year of the Callaloo excess!

[triffid]

My parcel arrived today. All of my choices plus the Nigerian Green callaloo lucky dip.
Veitch's Perfection certainly isn't wrinkled seeded as described. Small, smooth and round.

[Galina]

That is worth taking up with HSL, because it could point to a mistake somewhere.

[clumsy]

I think all callaloo are seedy if left to grow. They are cut and come again plants.

[jayb]

Sparrows and finches like amaranthus seed heads when I grow it.