Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: Christine on August 07, 2018, 17:38
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If all us gardeners have had a tough season and the vegetable growers are saying the same - what will the seed supplies look like next season? And what chance of seed sales? Will suppliers be holding onto stock that will still be in date next season?
It's a thought.
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I have planted Cobra beans five times in the greenhouse , even ones from a new packet, no take on any of them, this is the third year I've not grown any courgettes, despite a new packet of seed. Thankfully have a good stock of them in the freezer.
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I think, where possible - I will just finish up the packets I opened this year, plus a few things I'd run out of, that I have already bought in some early sales. Hopefully that'll do me until 2020, if I'm still growing then ::)
If you need new seed stock keep an eye on the Frugal Living threads, as seed sales/offers are usually listed there at this time of year, it will still be seed from last year's harvest you are buying...
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Seed production is a truly global operation and there are many stages to go through before they end up in your little packet. One of them of course is testing for viability - I guess it's a matter of how cynical you are whether you think all suppliers are equally diligent when it comes to getting it right every time.
Personally, I think it's quite likely that some 'no-shows', or seeds which seem to lose viability much quicker than you might expect even when stored in good conditions, have somehow slipped through the quality control net.
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I was thinking more of the possible shortage of seeds to sell as a result of a the growing season. If we've had crop failures and the suppliers have had crop failures - well who knows what there will be next season.
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That's why I've already bought the seeds I will need for next year, as long as they have long enough dates on they should be ok to use. I save my own pea seed, tomato seed and some of my beans, so no worry about those.
The one thing that may be a worry, and probably more expensive, I think, is seed potato stock - if mine were anything to go by - very low harvests this year :(