THE Prepping thread - a new beginning :)

daz378

Been a proper little prepper today bought a new bistro campinggaz from argoose 20 odd quid especially i have about 10 gaz bottles i threw the old one away because the plastic briefcase type casing had become brittle . might email the company and ask if that was unusual and how long should i expect it to last at house temperature , also bought some l.e.d candles olsen and some more batteries. setting off in 1/2 hour for SW weigh in then to Lowry salford food court as my weekly treat ....take care

DigForVictory

I need help. [Somehow, I don't think you are going to be entirely surprised by that notion.] I have just finished auditing my seed stash & ahem. I have packets going back to 2015. We're talking 4 biscuit tins, one held shut with rubber bands.

How long do professional seeds keep, and what about home saved seeds? (Says she, strangely protective of her nasturtium seeds form 2015 - which was the first year I realised you Could save nasturtium seeds. A proud, if rainy, moment.)

I've got some professional sweet pea seeds I just have not got around to as well as carlin peas, black carlin peas, dwarf peas (all seriously historical) & a sack of bere and handfuls of emmer, einkorn, spelt etc. (The lad & I were going to brew Anglo Saxon beer & he got into Strongbow Dark Fruits before we did. Project shelved, literally.)
What fer do? Bin everything after 2016? Or just accept that the failure rate on old seeds will be orders of magnitude higher than my usual (patchy) hit rate?

I do have a vacuum sealer that might help store some seeds (never tried it but have not got a vast amount left to loose as switched if I put all my seeds into one storage format - far too nerdy a tech to think that's any kind of safe!) Dehydration probably not a runner, to get anything growing later.

Just the chaps have other priorities this summer than digging the back garden & fighting the devils-spawn that is bindweed (exams, driving lessons, girlfriend, leaving school & getting a Real Job - that sort of pretext not to take a shovel & get digging.)

So I'm left with what I can do which is limited. I do want to grow a few stems of each cereal to keep the seed vigorous [quit sniggering at the back!] & my nasturtium "technique" is to sew 20 seeds & be delighted at 5 flowers - then try to remember to go save the seeds, later. Mum's sweetpeas were feral - she picked them, enjoyed them & never did a thing about them, other than mourn slightly when the rotavator put a permanent end to that patch. Mine? Die on me - it is possible I lack the right soil chemistry or attention or whatever it is that makes sweetpeas thrive but then I've heard tales of double dug trenches with horse manure & have limited ideas as to how much of that is genuine & how much so much gardeners manure.

Anyway. All advice welcome!

[Deleted User]

daz378 wrote: »

bought a new bistro campinggaz from argoose 20 odd quid

Please say it isn't this one?

[Deleted User]

Just received the results of my Diabetic Eye Screening.

Your test results appeared normal.

:cool:

Also in the mail today, I received my ASPOD from Amazon.

thriftwizard

DfV, I'm happily chucking in seeds from 2014, 15, 16 & 17 & it's pretty much in the lap of the gods, what comes up! Tomatoes do seem to last well, but the basil, from last year, is a no-show. I seem to remember, back in the golden days of Organic Gardening mag, that someone ran a test & actually achieved greater germination with seeds that were past their official use-by date, in some cases by quite a margin! Obviously not with parsnips (which are famous for not keeping well) but most other things were fine.

daz378

yes bob im afraid its that one ...... do you have a recomendation for a better ?

daz378

i already had gaz bottles and i knew they fitted this thats why i got it

[Deleted User]

I have had eratic germination from old seeds, always kept them cool and dark in a lock n lock, they did ok when kept in the fridge. One or two types never germinated. I get most seeds via ebay, they are always reliable, some good sellers on there. Parsnips always fresh and a few others from dt brown. I tend to throw them out if a year past their sell by date, I want good germination, can`t be faffing with fingers crossed

I have come back down to earth after a viewing yesterday, carpy, skanky, damp, dangerous 4" steep steps to the front door. I will never believe that estate agent again, she said it would be `perfect` for me. It was vile and there was road noise and I didn`t like the appearance of the family property next door, also dank and uncared for. Back to the area I know and I have to be patient

Still prepping here for a future move, keeping it very clean, one room at a time is being bottomed and paint touched up, when I see it

ivyleaf

Oh kittie, what a shame! fancy sending you to see somewhere like that it sounds as if it could hardly be more unsuitable!

DFV Good luck with your seeds. I know very little about gardening but I always enjoy your posts

Cappella

Digforvictory - DO NOT throw the vegetable, herb and flower seeds out without trying a few first. Try We unearthed a tin of very, very old, forgotten seeds in the depths of a cupboard and last year we planted 1997 leek seeds and got 80% germination and very reasonable plants. Lettuce from 2001 germinated perfectly and so did curly kale. Marigolds also grew, but not prolifically and the plants were stunted.
I am truly as cynical about dates on seed packets as I am about use by dates on most foods.
I’m less certain though about grains. It would certainly be worth experimenting with them. Sweet corn I know from experience can successfully be sown, will grow and crop up to 7 years after the date on the packet, but older varieties of wheat, corn and barley may not germinate, and oats are very unlikely too.
Hope this persuades you to try. And if you don’t want the professional seeds do send them to me :rotfl: