BYC gardening thread!!

[Amberjem]

 

[KentuckyMom]

Never.to.much.seed.

I say this too myself as I collect more and more seed, of many different varieties, but then, I wonder, "Where in the heck am I going to plant all this?" But I have high hopes.My plan is to add a little more, and try something new each year. Learn from my mistakes and be creative with the plantings. Sometimes I can overwhelm myself though!But what a "problem" to have. Nope, you can never have too much seed. Besides, the more you have, the more you can trade...

 

[hennible]

Exactly! I like trading seed. I like preserving variety and sharing as much as I can... As much as I can means I keep way more than I have space for...

 

[lazy gardener]

@lazy gardener
I kept saying to myself, "I'll save seeds from the next one..." Then the few I did save seemed too "puny", and I didn't know if they'd sprout. I also had half a package of straight eight left over and thought I'd just plant those this year. But, I liked the taste of the suyo long so much that I went looking for more. You can never have too much seed, right?

Your problem may have been that you didn't let the cukes grow long enough to set respectable seeds. Next time, choose some nice ones, and leave them on the vine to grow... and grow... and grow. They'll get at least 2' long, and turn soft and yellow. Then pick them, let them sit for a while longer. Then you can scoop the seeds out (I dry them in the sun on an old window screen) and toss the rest to the chickens.

I just had 6 year old tomato seeds sprout. Not bad, considering that I did not do anything special to store them.

 

[hennible]

I've got a few thing sprouting from 2009... Not to bad at all...
Found a stash of seeds I'd forgotten about in the greenhouse... Better than finding 20 bucks in an old pair of jeans.

 

[vehve]

This might interest someone, made a self watering wicking system for my (or really, hennible's) chilis.

 

[KentuckyMom]

@lazy gardener
Yes, you are probably right. I know that I never let any get to 2 ft. long. I had some long curly ones, but not that long. I coudn't resist picking them once I tasted them. Other cucumbers get bitter, not the suyo long. I used some , mixed in with my Boston pickling and Straight Eight cukes, for pickles too. Yummy! This year I will make more bread and butter pickles and less dill. They both turned out quite tasty, but the bread and butter disappeared faster!
I think most seeds are hardier than we are led to believe. I always at least try older seeds before tossing them. I store most of mine in baby food jars in the pantry.

 

[hennible]

Try Armenian cucumbers... Not a real cuc, a melon, but still the best cucumbers... Yummy...

 

[lazy gardener]

@lazy gardener
I coudn't resist picking them once I tasted them. Other cucumbers get bitter, not the suyo long.

Told ya so! I've never met any one who didn't like them. I've taken a lot of flak from "friends" for the way they look, but they are top notch in the flavor department, and what's not to like about a cuke that is 12" long and still super sweet and tender, and open pollinated as well!

 

[hennible]

Added to the "seeds to find" list...