What Preps are you doing this week? Part 8.

[rik_uk3]

Tomato seeds are easy to create, dry them out between sheets of kitchen roll.

This year I grew some new (for me) bush toms. 'Veranda Red'. Plant, keep moist, pic and eat. They are a determinate variety so no pruning needed at all and they were without doubt the best tasting cherry tom I've ever eaten and I had zero seed failure, every seed potted grew. I have frozen down whole around 3Kg to add to stews and pasta dishes.

Talking of cherry toms, if you've not tried the tinned cherry toms lidl sell give them a go, thick juice and a quite intense flavour in these little toms; not cheap at 69p IIRC a tin but are super quality.

[GillyBee]

Can anyone tell me how well tomato seeds would work from the tomatoes that I grow. Or is there something special about these 23p 'magic beans' that won't let next generation seeds be any good? I read that seeds from f1 hybrids are hit and miss.

Using home harvested seeds? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23gT5g4k400

The seeds will grow fine & you will get tomatoes but they would probably be nothing like the ones on the seed packet. F1 seed is the result of breeding programs using specially selected parents. For example one parent plant has great taste but is a weakling with mini tomatoes while the other is blight resistant, big but poor tasting. The seed you get after growing the F1 seeeds out is like a Heinz 57 mongrel puppy. It is anyone's guess whether the plants will come out like their parents, their grandparents or are a weird throwback to mediaeval times.

If you want tomatoes that come out exactly the same as their parents you have to use heritage varieties. I usually grow and save seed from heritage toms but this year was so bad for outdoors toms that I have also bought some blight resistant F1s for next year. I dont want to waste effort on growing plants that keel over at the first whiff of blight. I will keep the heritage varieties for inside the greenhouse where they stand a chance.

[lowlander]

Re: tomato seeds for storage. To prevent them germinating in storage, put them in a container. cover with water, let it all ferment for a couple of days. Rinse seeds very well, then spread out to dry. Don't dry on kitchen paper or similar, as seeds will readily stick - I've found the best thing to use is an enamel plate, but you could use an oven tray etc. Once the seeds are completely dry, store in a paper envelope, label, date and keep in a cool dry dark place.

HTH

[jennyjj01]

Can anyone tell me how well tomato seeds would work from the tomatoes that I grow. Or is there something special about these 23p 'magic beans' that won't let next generation seeds be any good? I read that seeds from f1 hybrids are hit and miss.

The seeds will grow fine & you will get tomatoes but they would probably be nothing like the ones on the seed packet. F1 seed is the result of breeding programs using specially selected parents. For example one parent plant has great taste but is a weakling with mini tomatoes while the other is blight resistant, big but poor tasting. The seed you get after growing the F1 seeeds out is like a Heinz 57 mongrel puppy. It is anyone's guess whether the plants will come out like their parents, their grandparents or are a weird throwback to mediaeval times.

If you want tomatoes that come out exactly the same as their parents you have to use heritage varieties. I usually grow and save seed from heritage toms but this year was so bad for outdoors toms that I have also bought some blight resistant F1s for next year. I dont want to waste effort on growing plants that keel over at the first whiff of blight. I will keep the heritage varieties for inside the greenhouse where they stand a chance.

Thanks GillyBee,
I'm scared to lose any more of my crops to blight. This year was just too traumatic, and shattered my confidence as a fledgeling gardener.
Taking a quick google, it's clear that trying to grow from the seeds from my F1 crop would be too much of a genetic lottery, so I won't be doing that.
https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=710
explains why F1 seeds need to be bought each season and why they are hellishly expensive.

That youtube video of growing from your own seeds would seem great for heritage varieties, so I'll give that a go.
It was interesting to note that the seeds from shop bought tomatoes (and I suppose peppers) might also be disastrous as they might be sterile or might give throwback or inbred defects.

Better to learn these problems now, I guess.

We live and learn.

ps. Googling Crimson Crush variety gave lots of links to the cannabis variety of the same name. I'll draw the curtains before googling hydroponics

[Smudge]

Ordered my wood and coal (smokeless) for the winter, adding a bit more to the cupboards after seeing some local price hikes, continuing with gym, starting new job today.

Good luck with the new job!

Cheers bud, 2 weeks induction training

[lowlander]

For a number of reasons, most of my shopping is done online; I've really noticed supermarket prices going up over the past few months. I've also noticed that there are a lot fewer Morrisons own brand tins available online - not sure if that's just the branch I use or it's nationwide.

To this end, I've upped my stores considerably over the past couple of months - a big supermarket shop, plus a few with the online discount suppliers. More sorting and shifting on the cards when they arrive, takes me ages, but there's no hurry, I just need to remember where things are and not fall over them.

Ordered - small kettle for upstairs prep, wee emergency stove and a new ferro rod.

[Winterprep]

Charging and load testing my 12v Battery banks. Moving and splitting logs. Adding more to my food preps weekly as I’ve said before prices are just going to go up and “gaps” in supply chain will continue fir a while yet.

[lowlander]

Made mincemeat and sloe gin this morning.

[ForgeCorvus]

Made mincemeat and sloe gin this morning.

Could you post your mincemeat recipe please ( Here is the best place to do that), Thanks

[Le Mouse]

Politeness and respect always wins the day. Please let us know how you get on.

It was disappointing - a half-baked apology and apparently the council is worried because they've had a string of tenants who have left the garden in a bad state when they leave, incurring costs for the council. How that's my problem I don't know! I was quite cross for a bit and I haven't responded, because I don't think I could be polite this time. Plus it's a waste of my time and energy: I have decided instead to think ahead. I won't be renewing the lease when it comes round, so I need to plan for another move. Also I'm getting some health issues looked at and that's far more important than a squabble with an arsey parish council.

In other news I think my beetroot have failed rather badly (all leaf, no root), but I'll have some nice, if quite weeny carrots.