Some thoughts about seeds

At the time of writing (November) Kings Seeds catalogues are available in the allotment shop and orders for seeds placed through us will qualify for a 20% discount. When work in the garden is mainly limited to clearing up after last season and starting the winter-dig, it is tempting to sit down by the fire with a festive glass or two and let thoughts wander to next year. In your daydream the weather will be perfect, a mystery disease will wipe out all slugs and no weeds will appear on your plot; you may get carried away with your seed order… But get a grip and engage brains.

Firstly, what seeds have you got left over from last year and will they still be OK? Probably yes if you have handled them carefully. To germinate seeds need warmth, water and, sometimes, light. By depriving your seeds of these you can ensure they remain dormant and viable. Except for parsnips most seed will remain viable for several years if properly stored. The key to this is not opening seed packets till you are ready to sow. Then remove the seed that you need from the packet with dry fingers or a dry scoop. Then close the packet straight away excluding as much air as possible. Store your part-used packets in an

air-tight container in a cool dark place. Mine are in a biscuit tin in the bottom of the pantry. Parsnips lose their viability quickly and are best bought fresh each year but other seeds will be OK for many years. Tomato ‘Harbinger’ still germinated well for me after 12 years and might have gone on longer but by then I had used them all up. I have found it rare for germination to fail completely because the seeds are “too old” and regularly have good results from brassica seed that is 4 or 5 years old. But you must

store unused seed carefully.

Having decided what you need to order to supplement your existing stock it is time to decide on varieties. According to Dr Hessayon by planting the right varieties you can pick a cabbage on every day of the year. But why would you want to? It may sound obvious but if you don’t like a particular vegetable to eat – don’t bother to grow it. People who grow their own vegetables accept that they eat “seasonally,” but before you place your order think about what vegetables pass through your kitchen and just what quantities are required. Feeding 2 adults I only need 1 cabbage per week. So I only need to grow 8 early summer cabbage as they will not stand in good condition longer than the 8 weeks it takes to eat them. Cabbage ‘Candissa’ is in this category, does not grow too big and tastes good to me. It has vigour as it is an F1 hybrid and is a variety which has grown well on my plot. There are 100

seeds in the packet so unless I grow extra for sale at the NVS car boot sale a packet will last me 10 years!

But I will also need some cabbages which will mature in Autumn and some for over Winter. Disease resistance will be a big factor in selecting varieties which will be in the ground for a long time so ‘Kilaton’ is a good choice for late season, and for over-wintering the very old variety ‘January King’ takes a lot of beating. Old fashioned varieties which are still around are still there because they possess a lot of good qualities; they are always worth considering. New varieties, especially if they are F1 hybrids, have been bred for vigour and resistance to disease and they may fit the bill for you if you have problem soil to cope with. F1 hybrid seed is generally more expensive but may be worth it to ensure a good crop. Vegetables are in short supply in early Spring but I can still have cabbage. The loose –leaved spring varieties can be picked then, and to ensure you have some you need to sow in July, keep your little plants going in pots or cells and then plant out in the greenhouse border soil when you finally pull up the tomatoes. With the extra protection they will crop well and earlier; there are a few varieties of cauliflower that can be treated this way too. So by adopting the “cabbage principle” and by careful consideration of your needs you can make sure you always have something to eat, but avoid wasting money on seeds you don’t need and on uneaten produce which will finish up on the compost heap.

In short think about quantities and harvest time so that you have something to eat all year round, always remembering that some crops will store (potatoes, onions) and some will freeze (peas, sweetcorn).

With time and experience you may have found a crop which you have found difficult to grow so you have stopped bothering. In my case the soil on my plot just won’t grow good swede. I don’t need many of these so just buy the occasional one from Sainsbury’s. Also, celery. I have grown decent celery (the self-blanching sort) but in the kitchen have found it stringy and too strong-tasting. I can’t match the quality of commercial celery so this is another vegetable that I leave to the supermarket. You may have better luck and be more skilled a grower than me but sometimes it is alright to admit defeat.

A further question you may ask is “can I save my own seed”? Answer:- yes – and no! F1 hybrids are the result of a 1st generation cross from parentage of 2 true lines. Seed saved from your F1 plants is classified F2 and will not come true. You may have some interesting

results with your own F2 seed but you also risk failure with poor plants. It is perfectly possible to save your own seed from non F1 vegetables. Brassicas and root vegetables which are biennial produce stuff to eat in their first season, but if left they will run to seed in their second season and you can then collect the seed. In plants where we eat the seeds (peas, beans, sweetcorn, tomatoes) you can dry and save seed easily. Some, like borlotti beans are grown to dry and eat later, so keep some back to sow next year.

Many allotment growers regularly save their own seed of broad and runner beans and now have seed strains well suited to their own particular growing conditions. The trick when saving your own seed is not to save the seed from the tag-end plants that you have forgotten to harvest, but to choose the best plants whilst they are growing, mark those plants and allow then to set seed which you then collect. In this way you have seed from the strongest plants which will hopefully transmit their best qualities to the next generation.

Common sense should prevail when you make out your seed order. But it is always nice to try something new. So my seed order always includes something new to me. Last year it was fennel. I knew this had to be sown late to avoid bolting and that it dislikes being disturbed. Following this advice I station-sowed 12 clumps of 3 or 4 seeds and later thinned to 1. 4 ran to seed but 8 produced decent bulbs and might have done better if it had not been so dry. I also saw Monty Don on TV sowing some in pots and saying it was OK to transplant. So I tried this too. It wasn’t. They all failed. Plenty of seed left so I shall have another go next year.

S Rowe November 2018