A Seed Saver's Garden

[ducks4you]

@heirloomgal ,
"I've never been able to get an Armenian cucumbers to sprout before, let alone grow. This doesn't mean I'll actually harvest anything of course, but at least I've got some leaves! It's a glimmer of possibility!"
I truly believe that this is the year to Learn to grow, 2023 we will Have to grow.
Congratulations!!

 

[heirloomgal]

Things are really starting to bloom. Always happy to see the delphiniums beginning. I do love English cottage garden flowers.

Globeflowers too. The ones that seeded themselves are actually growing better than the original 3 I put in.

'Sutton's Harbinger' shelling peas. So sweet. One of the best old English varieties I've tried.

Listadia de Gandia' eggplants are starting. I hope to have a nice assortment of eggplant seed types by seasons end. Fingers crossed.

Runner bean 'Sunset Runner' got to the top! Took just over 30 days.

'Retrija' soup peas. Worst trellis set up ever, but by the time I put this in I was short on time, energy and creativity. Lol It'll do for this year to get me past my original 25 seeds.

'Spring Blush' snap peas. First time for this one, and well, it doesn't have much leaves! A real wispy little vine.

Marbled soybeans, which have turned out to have quite large floppy ears! Gaia soybean is behind. Much smaller leaves on those but they are in groups of 3.

Time to start picking currants!

Nicotiana plants are sizing up and I see small bud heads moving upwards. I hope they flower sooner than later; I remember their scent years ago when DH grew them, and it was heavenly.

 

[digitS']

one last picture post

That was a week ago.

But, look at all these Wonderful Pictures you have posted this week. Beautiful plants & a Beautiful garden!

BTW. Do you think that it can be said that a cottage garden is simply one where the majority of plants are taller than a 3 year-old? (Asking for someone who first became aware of the world semi-lost in his grandma's flower garden .)

Stevie

 

[meadow]

Your garden is flourishing!! 🥰

My Sunset runner in the same amount of time is barely 16" tall and nowhere near blooming. 😭

The peas are spectacular though. I'm so envious of the sunshine in your gorgeous photos! We had a few hours today, but Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be sunny. I'm really worried about the winter squash and dry beans.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

@heirloomgal ,
"I've never been able to get an Armenian cucumbers to sprout before, let alone grow. This doesn't mean I'll actually harvest anything of course, but at least I've got some leaves! It's a glimmer of possibility!"
I truly believe that this is the year to Learn to grow, 2023 we will Have to grow.
Congratulations!!

If the problem is a lack of heat, you might want to look into some kind of Carosello cucamelon from Italy. it isn't going to get as BIG as an Armenian cucumber, but I imagine it tastes more or less the same, and coming from Italy, a bit further north may need a bit less heat.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

A bit of an encouraging sign on the new tomato plant. I noticed that, besides being rather larger than I would expect at this point, it's also a bit more purple. This may be a good sign that it has the same super dark genes as the parent fruit (which wasn't necessarily guaranteed, if the fruit was a one off abnormal) since I imagine a tomato with a lot of anthocyanins in the fruit might also have them in the plant as well. Makes me almost wonder if the flowers are going to have a brownish tinge (if the plants can get anthocyanins, and the fruits can, I suppose it is theoretically possible for them to show up in the flowers.)

 

[ducks4you]

"Nicotiana plants are sizing up and I see small bud heads moving upwards. I hope they flower sooner than later; I remember their scent years ago when DH grew them, and it was heavenly."
I bought two 100 seed packages, and started one package wrong. I may get 5 plants out of it and this is kinda late.'
I read that the seeds will keep. The came in a paper package with two small ziplock bags so they have stayed dry.
Do you have any advice about how to start them from seed?
The seeds are TINY!

 

[heirloomgal]

That was a week ago.

But, look at all these Wonderful Pictures you have posted this week. Beautiful plants & a Beautiful garden!

BTW. Do you think that it can be said that a cottage garden is simply one where the majority of plants are taller than a 3 year-old? (Asking for someone who first became aware of the world semi-lost in his grandma's flower garden .)

Stevie

Well, that could be one way to conceive it. After listening to the English gardener Bob Flowerdew speak about them as a subjective idea, more than a concrete type of garden, he convinced me it's true. My front yard garden was created very much with the 'cottage garden' in mind, which was tied for me to creating memories for my children - a planted meadow, a little wild, a little whimsical, hopefully a little magical. Of course there are the traditional flowers, hollyhocks, Canterbury bells, delphiniums, roses (failed on that one) that seem to come with the package. Maybe what makes that garden style so special & evocative (IMHO) is that it's beautifully informal, with flowers that ask to simply be enjoyed as though you were in nature, not laboured over. A glorious deception. 😂

That 'last picture post' was a reference to the last post on the previous device I was using. Wasn't sure I'd figure out on the next contraption how to post pics; turned out its actually easier now.

 

[heirloomgal]

Your garden is flourishing!! 🥰

My Sunset runner in the same amount of time is barely 16" tall and nowhere near blooming. 😭

The peas are spectacular though. I'm so envious of the sunshine in your gorgeous photos! We had a few hours today, but Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be sunny. I'm really worried about the winter squash and dry beans.

I did cheat with the runner beans though! I started them in pots May 1st, so technically they are over 2 months old considering I put them in as transplants!
But thank you @meadow ❤

Still 2 more months of summer, so lots of time yet for things to grow! But I feel ya, some years I think - I'm just growing a garden full of pea varieties! They withstand part shade, too much rain, almost everything it seems! I love peas for hat. I put them in every spot of my garden where little else grows.💪

 

[heirloomgal]

If the problem is a lack of heat, you might want to look into some kind of Carosello cucamelon from Italy. it isn't going to get as BIG as an Armenian cucumber, but I imagine it tastes more or less the same, and coming from Italy, a bit further north may need a bit less heat.

Main problem I think is the rare or usual varieties of seeds tend to be less popular, and thus old. I've had the same luck with carosellos - failure to germinate. The seed packets just sit around too long. That said, I would still like to try a carosello someday!