HSL First Choice Seeds Are In

Yeay! Yesterday saw the postman arrive with not one BUT FOUR envelopes with seeds.
The others are a long story and involve the Grapevine; this one involves an update on my Heritage Seed Library choices.
A long time ago...well OK, a week ago I sent off my 2013 seed request, as detailed in an earlier thread...so here they are. All the ones I requested. I'm so happy...

Heritage Seed Library Catalogue 2013

HURRAH! It's that time of year again when the good and the great at Garden Organic send out their treasured list of cared for varieties. Thank goodness for seed fairies is all I can say. The guardians do a fantastic job and I hope to be one myself in the future - perhaps when I get a bit more adept at the GYO game. Anyhow I have chosen my six and have requested a lucky dip packet (I wonder if they go into a trug rather than a hat). My six are:-

• Sweetcorn, Sweet Inca
• Runner Bean, Corsican
• Pea, Shropshire Hero
• Broad Bean, Cretian
• French Bean, San Antonio
• Lablab, Ying's

Mr VVG picked the last one on my list, it's an exotic crop. Let us hope and pray that a Yorkshire man, born and bred, will eat it in the end!

Petit Haricots Francais

Today is another fruit day, biodynamically, not synodic I know. But I'm behind and needs must. I have sown
- Pinto
- Zuni Bush
- Ying Yang
- Dapple Grey
- Kingshorn Wax
- Black Valentine
- Tendergreen
- Flavert

I leave you with a picture of the very pretty Ying Yang Orca Bean

Solanaceae - Potato, Tomato

I think I have gotten to the root of my addiction! It's related to the Solanum family. Having just blogged about my potato problems, I now turn to the growing problem I have with tomatoes.
Twenty eight varieties times three of each sown. Of course I intend only keeping one or two of each, the rest I will donate to the plant fair at my local RSPCA fundraiser. But if I kept two of each, that is still fifty six plants maximum. Multiply that by the number of tomatoes each plant yields and that's a hell of a lot of passata making. Mr VVG has agreed that we can purchase a polytunnel - thank God is all I can say. Twelve tomato plants in the timber greenhouse last year was a squeeze, when coupled with cucumbers and peppers. Not to mention the pop up plastic tomato houses we had last year, lining the boundary fence. I really do have a thing for Solanaceae, to give the family its correct name, don't I?

Varieties sown for 2012

Salt Spring Surprise
Tiger Tom
Black Krim
Pink Cherry
Black Trifele
Cyril's Choice
Best of All
Green Sausage
Christel's Plum
Gold Medal
Essex Wonder
Black Brandywine
Andine Cornue
Cuor Di Bue
Gelbe Konigin
Blue OSU
Waspinicon Peach
Kenilworth King George
French Black
Ararat Flamed
Costoluto Fiorentino
Irish Gardeners Delight
Blaby Special
Turkish Kara
Black Russian
Orange Favourite
Grushovka
Purple Ukraine

To think I was going to go to the Heirloom Tomatoes, Yorkshire open weekend over this Easter holiday too. Thank goodness I didn't!

Heritage Seed Library

In the interests of growing your own and not growing the explosion of GM crops, supermarket profits et al. I have joined the HSL at Garden Organic (link provided above right). It is my first time (!) and the anticipation of my seed choices dropping into my letter box is great right now. I have only ever saved peas and beans before. A combination of laziness and lack of knowledge had washed over me. All that is set to change, as the HSL actively encourages you to "adopt a seed", nurture it and pass it on. Swelling it's numbers and hopefully reigniting interest in an otherwise lost variety is the name of the game.
GYO is enjoying a revival, but as rising prices increase your tab, should not we all be looking to save costs by saving seed...year upon year?

It will be a steep learning curve for me, but one that I embrace wholeheartedly, as we creep ever closer to the 2012 growing season. Come on and join me!

UPDATE
HSL seeds arrived today. So happy and excited. Varieties never grown before feel like diamonds in my hands...priceless treasures!

THE SEED PACKETS

Tomatoes for 2012

OK, I have decided that in the interests of variety I should break with tradition and try something different. This year has seen me join the Heritage Seed Library, which offers six veg choices out of a catalogue - all seeds that are in need of a home for sowing, growing and sharing on! My tomato of choice is Cyril's Choice. Let's hope it's mine too!
I will also be growing Blaby Special, a variety dated pre to post war and formerly grown at Shoult's Farm in Leicestshire. I will be resurrecting this old variety in Derbyshire. My hope is to grow enough to collect seed from to share out.
Other tomato varieties I wish to grow this coming year are French Black, Black Russian, Orange Favourite, Striped Roman and one from Germany called Gelbe Koenigin.
To think I told myself not so many tomatoes next year!

UPDATED LIST FOR 2012 SEASON (and in no particular order)

Gelbe Koenigin
Striped Roman
Blaby Special
Black Russian
Orange Favourite
French Black
Roma
Best of All
Tiger Tom
Tigerella
Sungella
Black Cherry
Grushovka
Gold Medal
Purple Ukraine
Irish Gardeners Delight
Costoluto Fiorentino
Cyril's Choice
Blue OSU
Black Brandywine
Black Trifele
Green Sausage
Black Krim
Kenilworth King George