The Prepping Thread - A Newer Beginning ;)

-taff

The peppers/chillies/pumpkins will probably breed true but tomatoes. if they're not heritage/heirloom, will give you something you weren't expecting. The baby plums tend to breed true {I've grown a few over the years] but the round ones may not. As long as you're expecting that, it'll be fine

And do you know, I've never thought about beans before. I mean, they're already in a pod which mimics the earth in that it's dark and damp. Thanks Siebrie, that's some googling to take care of today

jk0

I get my compost delivered by the milkman.

DigForVictory

Siebrie said:

 I would also like to buy a selffertilising blueberry bush and ericaceous compost (and maybe a pot; or could I just dig a large hole, fill it with the ericaceous compost and put the bush in?).

May I suggest you get a soil testing kit &/or a large pot? Blueberries are seriously picky about their soil (says she with a heap of corpses & three in tubs indicating Lesson finally Learned) plus with a pot you can migrate it to full sun when berrying (and defences against birds) then out of harms way when seasons turn & temperatures fall? I did *try* filling a big hole with ericaceous compost, but the poor thing grew, tucked a root into the surrounding soil & expired in days.
Um, with big pots comes also the suggestion that you consult with the garden centre as to how you move the blighters once loaded - I've a folding draggable trolley that I heave the "blade" under the pot, extend the handle & try not to herniate m'self hauling off into safer territory but the Big Tub stays. It'll die of freeze thaw sometime but it was a bit of a beast empty...

I really must urge sons into shovel related exercise so I can get the oops-chitted-in-the-veg drawer spuds into loosened soil & whack some nasturtiums alongside.
If anyone wants chive seeds, pm me - I've accumulated rather a lot over the last few years, they grow ferociously & then you have to split & donate or you end up with a herb bed of "chives versus mint"... Supermarket herbs tend to look a bit boggled plonked onto the garden earth for me (and then the Plague Of Slugs comes along & feasts, dash them), but split & coaxed in pots first they might do better.

Greenglockenspiel

Compost was one of the few things Lidl did have in stock here, although I admit I bought 2 of the last 3 bags of peat-free  They had seeds on a stand just inside the door as well - I bought some lettuce seeds from there a few weeks ago.

Greenglockenspiel

Siebrie said:

I read somewhere that if you are desperate for seeds, why not buy the veg at the supermarket, and use the contents to start of your own? It would work for tomatoes and paprika, later on for pumpkins. Would that work for beans, or do those need to be dried first?

Last year we grew peas in the garden from some ys fresh peas that had started sprouting in the fridge. Worked really well!

[Deleted User]

We got 2 x packs of pears in our pub box this week, the hard little conference ones so I'm going to give them a couple of days  to ripen in the sun in the kitchen and then get the dehydrator out and dry some of them to go into storage before they go off.  I also have an American pressure canner that was a Christmas gift from the family some years ago that I've never used and I have some small kilner jars so I shall be processing some of the veg into soups/purees and will read the instructions and can some of them to see how successful it is as a storage method.  If it works, I'll be investing in many jars and seals of different sizes and as the allotment produces put in lots of canned stores for next winter. I'll also be dehydrating as much as I can and storing that too as I know it works well and things keep easily to the next spring.

GreyQueen

Some gardeners have always bought their broad beans as dried examples from shops. You may find them labelled a Fava Beans. Worth a snout in the Internation Aisle or in an ethnic food store? I save most of my own broad beans as dried ones, as I have only a very small freezer and they tend to ripen in a rush. Couple of weeks ago, I shot some 2018 broad beans out of a kilner jar in the cupboard, soaked 'em for 48 hours then shoved them in the soil. Noticed yesterday that they're just breaching the surface.

I like broad beans, very undemanding and popular with the bees.

MrsCD

Could anyone tell me if dried peas would grow, please? I mean the sort that you make mushy peas from after they've been steeped overnight. Thanks.

jamanda

MrsCD said:

Could anyone tell me if dried peas would grow, please? I mean the sort that you make mushy peas from after they've been steeped overnight. Thanks.

Yes, they will.  I'd forgotten about that.  Might do same.

3secondmemory

There is a gardening magazine currently available with about six packets of seeds with it – it was mentioned on an online thread.

also it’s cheaper to buy seeds for sprouting as they come in larger quantities.