Allotment Gardening Advice Help Chat
Growing => Grow Your Own => Topic started by: New shoot on December 28, 2020, 09:31
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Danger zone approaching! Dark post Christmas days and weather not making you feel like venturing out. Ooooohhh and there is that nice seed catalogue just calling my name.
I have seeds. Well I have lots of seeds if I am honest, but every year I end up buying something novel, or a new variety, or just a bit shiny and special looking really. So far, I can hold my hand up and swear it has been valid and necessary purchases, but how long can I hold out ...
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A week?
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24 hours, maybe?
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I'm much the same having ordered what i need for next year and some leftovers but i can't help looking at those seed catalogue again and again is there something I've missed to buy or not to buy that is the question
actually the seed catalogues are getting a bit tatty now and someone keeps telling me no more seeds i wonder who that mite be ;)
just one more look that's all it takes well i mite have missed out on that new variety what would you prescribe for a seedaholic well its got to be more seeds off cause
and there's only 3 months before we hopefully start sowings again not much time left to order those extra seeds
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The pictures are so tempting and I really need a packet of ????????? and one of ¡!!!!!!!!!!! and have you seen what's on page 93, I just have to buy that as well.
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Of course, if there's also a postage charge it wouldn't make sense to buy just one packet of seeds, would it? I think the basic requirement would be a minimum of two or three.
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That's how I started ..
A packet here.. a packet there..
Just a recreational seed buyer..
Then one or two packets a day..
"I can handle it", I said. "I can give up anytime.."
All my money started going on seeds ... pushers' catalogues through the letterbox every day... Sutton's, Marshalls, Fothergills... I think they were selling my name on...
I finally hit rock bottom.. sitting in my allotment shed, thousands of packets of seeds in boxes up to the roof. Pawned my fork and spade. Wheelbarrow went on Ebay.
Nothing left in the kitty..
God knows - I tried withdrawal on my own. Order nothing for a week, then relapse. Binge! Get thirty, forty packets through the door; fifteen varieties of tomato...
Then someone told me about SAA - Seed Addicts Anonymous..
I've been clean now for three months. I keep well clear of Gardener's Question Time and Monty Don - that devil's henchman..
I even avoid greengrocers shops with outside displays of veg..
SAA reckon by Spring I'll be able to cope with a dozen packets of basic stuff. Boltardy; Musselburgh; Little Gem. No more. One tomato variety..
So guys, the next time that those thick catalogue envelopes drop through the door...
Remember one who went to the brink, and just managed to step back..
Just say 'No!..
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A cautionary tale indeed Juvenal :lol:
We have our own support group on here - Seedaholics Anonymous. We like to think of ourselves as functioning seedaholics, but it is indeed a slippery slope.
So far so good for me and no seeds purchased, but ....
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So far, so good, but .....
the new Marshalls catalogue just popped through the door :ohmy:
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Hang in there Mum. The new Sarah Raven ones have arrived here today. One for plants and bits and bobs and a whole other one for you know what ...... aaarrgggghhhhh!!!!
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Hang in there Mum. The new Sarah Raven ones have arrived here today. One for plants and bits and bobs and a whole other one for you know what ...... aaarrgggghhhhh!!!!
Oh NO! not lots of pretties :wub:
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Not only all the catalogues, but the adverts keep popping up on my screen. Mine never look like that anyway. ::) Mrs Bouquet
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Hang in there Mum. The new Sarah Raven ones have arrived here today. One for plants and bits and bobs and a whole other one for you know what ...... aaarrgggghhhhh!!!!
Oh NO! not lots of pretties :wub:
Too scared to look .... brain could be blown by just opening the cover :lol:
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Too scared to look .... brain could be blown by just opening the cover :lol:
Wonder if it really is possible to throw it straight in the bin? :wacko:
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Too scared to look .... brain could be blown by just opening the cover :lol:
Wonder if it really is possible to throw it straight in the bin? :wacko:
You are kidding ... right?
I don’t think I can manage that. Perhaps a controlled 5 minute peek a day would be OK......
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I don’t think I can manage that. Perhaps a controlled 5 minute peek a day would be OK......
Have you ever tried eating just one Malteser?
Don't do it...
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I had D T Browns seed catalogue through the door yesterday now the question is am i going to order anymore seed ?
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I had D T Browns seed catalogue through the door yesterday now the question is am i going to order anymore seed ?
OK - I confess!!! I had one of these too and I've just ordered another £24 worth of seeds. Well, at these prices it would be rude not to, wouldn't it?
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well jaydig you've either convinced or shamed me into buying some more seed from Browns :lol:
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well jaydig you've either convinced or shamed me into buying some more seed from Browns :lol:
Just make sure that the varieties you choose are from the catalogue because I found that although it almost leads one to think that these prices apply to everything, they don't apply to the rest of the seeds that are available online. It's worth checking at the end that you have had your discount on everything you've ordered, although I DID, sort of inadvertently, meander into the uncharted waters of the online seeds too.
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I blame new shoot. :D
After reading this post. Promptly spent £50 on seeds.
Right ordered asparagus crowns in it as well. Now you can say i am a serious allotmenteer. ;) after 12 years of plodding
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I must be a lot stronger than all of you. The only offers I get are from the Mirror Newspaper when I bought a hydrangea from them about five years ago. If I want seeds I 'help' myself from the ones we sell in the shop. We only sell Fothergills very very basic range so that is all we grow. And, by the way, I CAN only eat one Malteser as I can't eat chocolate as it contains dairy.
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I've had a near miss...
I'm still a bit shaky...
I purposely avoided the Garden Centre today. Took a short cut through the alley by the car park.
A figure slid out from the shadows...
"Psst..psst... He looked back over one shoulder, then the other..
"You look like..", he coughed and tapped the side of his nose. " An allotment man..right?".
His oily smile, and the way he said 'allotment', it might as well have been 'swinger's club' ..
I nodded warily
He thrust out a grimy hand containing small packets..coloured packets..
"Heritage..", he said. " The real deal. Runners, French, Purple Tops. Class A.. You won't find these in Lidl.."
For a moment my hand went out to meet his...
Then my SAA Group Leader's face came into my mind.." Stay strong, Juvenal! Just say, 'No! ' "
I gripped the onion hoe I had in my jacket pocket..
I wrenched myself away..
I ran for it...
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Mrs Growster and I had a small fight yesterday, (the last of 2020), when I said I was thinking of growing salsify in spud bags, after getting the D.T.Brown and Marshalls catalogues...
The referee announced a draw, then whimpered and scratched at the door to be let out!
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Just had the 'Premium Seeds' Spring 2021 catalogue through the post from D T Brown ' all 99p Packets 50p each, Peas and Beans £1.50 each, all other varieties £1.00 each ' .
Seedaholics worst nightmare, spent out I'm afraid, before they sold out - well thats what I told myself ! On the plus side, saved about 20 quid though........bargain!
Anyone else dare to check their website, be careful though, only certain varieties that are listed in the aforementioned catalogue, and you have to use this code - D215XX. Happy buying!
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If you missed the offer on the Brown’s seeds, it is worth browsing this site.
https://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/index.php/seeds-c-6
They send non-pictorial seed packs out with just basic growing instructions, but the prices are good and you get a decent amount of seeds. Quite a lot of packs are around the £1 mark or under.
Now I am just enabling aren’t I :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Just had long conversation with sister about buying/not buying seeds. She is feeling smug as she has'nt succumbed yet. Then tells me she's replacing all her strawberries and raspberries, but as it's not seeds it doesn't count.
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Just had long conversation with sister about buying/not buying seeds. She is feeling smug as she has'nt succumbed yet. Then tells me she's replacing all her strawberries and raspberries, but as it's not seeds it doesn't count.
Clearly in denial..
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If you missed the offer on the Brown’s seeds, it is worth browsing this site.
https://www.nickys-nursery.co.uk/index.php/seeds-c-6
They send non-pictorial seed packs out with just basic growing instructions, but the prices are good and you get a decent amount of seeds. Quite a lot of packs are around the £1 mark or under.
Now I am just enabling aren’t I :lol: :lol: :lol:
Yes... :lol: :lol: :lol:
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We got our seed catalogs in and I admit I haven't sat down with my order yet. They won't ship my order til spring anyway. We can't plant until May 15th here in NY, but I'm eager to order. I've already spent too much on seeds on Etsy, though. I want to plant a bunch of new things this coming year :D I'll bombard you with my current list of seeds I've gotten:
- Jimmy Nardello Sweet Peppers
- Oregon Giant Sweet Pea
- Titan Sunflowers
- Bak Choy
- Sunset Runner Beans
- Red Noodle, Yard-Long Bean
- Yard Long Asparagus Bean
- Cucamelon
- Iroquois Canteloupe
- Piatte D'egitto Beet & Red Detroit Beet
- Delicata Squash
- Boston Picking Cucumber
- Sweet Dumping Squash
- Golden Yellow Bush Squash
- Rainbow Carrot / Tendersweet Carrot
- Mennonite Sorghum
- White Baby Boo Pumpkin
- White Bush Scallop Squash
- Jack-Be-Little Pumpkin
- Italian Tomato Tree
- Rainbow Cherry Tomato
- Egyptian Walking Onions
I have plans for buying Hopniss a.k.a Groundnuts in the spring as well. I haven't even bought all the seeds I want yet and my greenhouse isn't big enough for what I already have!
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I haven't even bought all the seeds I want yet and my greenhouse isn't big enough for what I already have!
We are all reading that, shaking our heads and saying ‘I know that feeling’ :lol:
Just try not to crowd too much in, or what you do grow will suffer. You can always just sow part of the pack and save the rest for next year.
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My brother works at a greenhouse so I may be buying plants from his workplace this year: like the tomatoes and peppers. I'll plant some of my own but for sure, but the majority I might just buy. Plus I can get his discount! He also said that I could leave some of my plants in the greenhouse where he works and pick them up later. We're hoping we can get one of the old greenhouses they're not using anymore. His boss said he could have it; it's just a matter of moving it. The idea of it makes me giddy.
I got to sit down and see which plants can go right into the ground and which need the greenhouse. I was browsing through seeds yesterday. I think I'm going to end up overbuying, but I'll just plant the extras in the next growing season.
I'm sort of considering a business opportunity now of growing veggies and saving all the seeds and trying to sell them. LOL
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They send non-pictorial seed packs out with just basic growing instructions, but the prices are good and you get a decent amount of seeds. Quite a lot of packs are around the £1 mark or under.
Plain packets are a step in the right direction, but won't deter the real seedaholic. Packets illustrating dead/dying/blighted or pigeon-ravaged portraits of the matured seed within might just do it - like cigarette packets are now.
Seems drastic, but addicts must be saved from themselves...
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Packets illustrating dead/dying/blighted or pigeon-ravaged portraits of the matured seed within might just do it
...or push you into a panic of buying back-up seeds in case the first lot die/wither/get eaten ... just saying like :lol:
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I've been trying to support my local nurseries, I got all my seeds out at the weekend and put them on the dining table. I've got 2 packets of Uchiki Kuri Squash and 4 packets of beetroot to add to the 2 half packets left from this year :ohmy:
I never have enough time or space for all the veg I would love to grow and always have more seed packets than I should...
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I got all my seeds out at the weekend and put them on the dining table. I've got 2 packets of Uchiki Kuri Squash and 4 packets of beetroot to add to the 2 half packets left from this year :ohmy:
I never have enough time or space for all the veg I would love to grow and always have more seed packets than I should...
Am I looking here at someone who has taken the first small step on the road to recovery?
Acknowledging the problem; the addiction. Facing up to it ... confessing to the forum.
Now open those beetroot packets. Empty them into a pile, and count the seeds.
Imagine those seven hundred and forty eight beetroot plants, each six inches from the other, in serried rows, stretching to the horizon.
"But I'm not going to sow them all!", you cry.
Then why did you buy them?
Because of the catalogue pictures..
Those ruby-red, perfectly circular, flawless beetroot sirens!
Get Thee Behind Me, Boltardy!
Calculate how many beetroot you actually eat over summer. About thirty ...
It's not going to be easy, but bin those surplus packets!
Remember last year? The horror of your neighbours, as you trooped up their paths yet again, arms full of beetroot and courgettes.*
" Mum! It's the beetroot woman again!" " Pretend we're not in..kids, get behind the sofa!"
You've taken the first vital step.
Don't weaken now.
* See my recent SAA article: Excess Courgettes - The Modern Plague
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I had D T Browns seed catalogue through the door yesterday now the question is am i going to order anymore seed ?
Same here and it did stimulate me to replace most of my old seed. I will have tons to sow come March.
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Well....as I ordered some more seed potatoes, I had to order some more 30L pots and some more compost ::)
Will power went completely out of the window, didn't it? :lol: :lol: :lol:
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Oh I think you can be forgiven :D
I reckon growing a bit extra this year is a good plan. Planting and growing have huge potential as mood lifters, you get to eat the results and it is fresh air and exercise as well. Neighbours who previously shunned beetroot and courgettes may be a bit more enthusiastic at the moment. I certainly had no trouble at all offloading anything last summer.
I even got waylaid at the allotment gates by interested parties a few times and went back in to pick more chard, or rhubarb or whatever for people who were over the moon to be offered a gift :lol:
Despite the dire warnings on this thread, I think a bit of controlled indulgence in seeds (or seed spuds) is OK :)