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I've never grown Hamburg parsley root. It looks very interesting and I think I must have a go. Like celeriac it seems to benefit from a lot of moisture. Presumably the leaves are good too, so double value. Apparently it's quite hardy so could be started early. And although it doesn't like root...

I’ve never grown celeriac as beautifully round as those in your link @digitS' but I usually get usable roots. I just wanted to add though that in my climate I start them rather earlier than eight weeks before the last frost. I start mine in February which is more like 12 weeks before the first...

Please could you explain further, @Blue-Jay. I’m growing Rio Zape this year too. Some of the last of them are stained but I have plenty of good seeds. But how can I tell whether they’re the original version or the one bred by U of California. And why did they breed another version?

That’s good. And in other ways I rate this bean very highly. It pods beautifully easily at the shelly stage too. You can just pull the string away and the pod falls open giving you delicious softest shelled beans. And it bears prolifically too. It’s been adopted by the Slow Food Foundation who...

I have picked just one pod. In view of your experience and the fact that the weather has turned rather wetter for a few days, I think I’ll open it and pick more too. Thanks for the warning. They do indeed seem reluctant to dry out. In fact I’ve just paid my one pod a visit and thankfully it...

Mine are all podded except for the few varieties which still need to dry down further. Some are still out there as we’re having a dry autumn with still no frost forecast up to the end of the month. Still lingering are Rose, Panzaredda, Rio Zape, Blue Greasy Grits, Blaue aus Ungarn, Fat Man...

I’ve grown Chantenay Red Cored quite frequently. It’s always stump-nosed like yours but often somewhat longer. It’s a friendly carrot and I love your particularly short fat ones!

And less seed loss perhaps? All you need is a handy friend! There are online design plans, eg. Real Seeds. My son made one successfully, but it did take him many hours. But good luck with your processing. Would a rolling pin crush them more finely and help with winnowing?

I have grown Ohio Pole and also grown it under the name Miami Ohio which is apparently the same bean (https://www.seedways.org/product-page/ohio-miami-pole-bean) My note for Miami Ohio in 2021 goes “Quality of seed not of the best. Takes a long time to dry down” so my experience was obviously...

I always find lettuce seed is slow to process. I’ve not found a faster way but if anyone has one I’d be very happy to know it. I go through manually teasing the seed from the fluffy spent flower heads and end up with seed mixed with fluffy remains. I was lucky enough to be given the generous...

I’m intrigued by which stage of tomato seed preparation you’re ploughing through. Is this piles of actual tomatoes, piles of little fermenting pots, piles of drying tomato seeds, or other? Wherever you are in the process, good luck with your sanity! 😘

Congratulations on your lack of flatulence! That’s a gift as I agree that they’re totally delicious. The tendency to be over-vigorous and take over is their other drawback in my mind. When I decided that the indigestion was just too much and so wanted to get rid of them, it took me four or five...

There have been quite a lot of tomato varieties bred in recent years for blight resistance. Some are F1 hybrids like Mountain Magic , Crimson Crush and its relatives, Crimson Cherry etc. Very promising are some open pollinated varieties bred by the University of Göttingen’s Organic Outdoor...

Of the beans which you mention as late, I’m also watching both Rose and Rio Zape anxiously. Other doubtful ones for me are Panzaredda, Eddie Sims Traveling bean and Blue Greasy Grit. I’ve managed seed from the last one in the past; it seems to start late but dry down quite quickly. I’m...

I’ve put it on my list of beans to grow next year to see if I find the same.

Are your bean pods sickly looking or is it just the foliage,@heirloomgal? I agree that it’s a very beautiful seed coat.

I grew it in 2021 so memory is a bit vague. The only note I have is that it was quite productive of good quality seed. I hope you get good seed/dried beans.

Interesting. I’m wondering about the curly podded/Kipfler strains. I have the impression that the term kipfler is sometimes used specifically for a small number of variations from the Austria alps and sometimes used more generally for a larger number of curly beans from the wider alpine region...

I've had the same feeling this year about beans not being entirely straightforward or predictable. Not entirely the same weather patterns and less creature predation, but certainly some mysteriously reluctant to thrive. But peculiarly addictive nevertheless - or perhaps because of some challenge.

Sultan's Gold Crescent. Maybe not quite as curly as yours, @Branching Out ? So perhaps Anellino Giallo is more likely.