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Post by duronal on Mar 16, 2009 12:56:00 GMT -8
It would appear that i have just stumbled onto what can only be described as a gold mine.... but before i say any more please let me introduce myself. I am nothing more than an amateur gardener based in the UK. I buck the trend in the uk by being interested in all things growing and under the age of 30 ;D. Through my naivity and enthusisam i have experiemnted with saving my own seed from tomatoes and potatoes, I'd never heard of growing potatoes from TPS but decided that the seeds would have to produce something. last year i managed to grow tubers in containers using seeds saved from Kind edward potatoes as planted in 2007. In a round about way i posted my experiment on a forum from a uk gardening magazine and now there's a small community of TPS growers who are all particpating this year. I would be most grateful if anyone from here would be willing to offer advice to me about breeding lines or continuing the expermient in the future, Many Thanks for reading my post. Kind Regards Duronal P.S the experiment is listed here. www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevine/vegging-out/duronals-potatoes-seed-experiment-08-into-09-a_20577.html
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canadamike
Full Member
GARDENER FOR THE MOUTH
Posts: 186
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Post by canadamike on Mar 16, 2009 13:56:28 GMT -8
Here is but one of the beauties from Tom's seeds I selected last year. I called it ROSE DE LUCINE for a french friend Tom will meet this fall, a lady with an impressive collection of heirloom potatoes from Bretagne in France. She is a real beauty:
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Post by duronal on Mar 16, 2009 14:19:10 GMT -8
Wow that's quite a picture. i can only hope my crossed salad blues produce some interesting tubers this year. I'll keep you posted.
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Post by Tom Wagner on Mar 16, 2009 20:51:38 GMT -8
Duronal,
As soon as I get back from my mini-vacation and working trip, I will re-read all of those posts that you had just linked to (growfruitsandveg). I enjoyed reading them and I am sure I could help develop more interest and great results if I could just enter the fray somehow. I sure hope to meet some folks from the UK during my visit in Europe this fall. There should be no reason that potatoes are hard to find as TPS.
Tom Wagner
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Post by duronal on Aug 16, 2009 15:17:54 GMT -8
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Post by Tom Wagner on Aug 16, 2009 20:00:01 GMT -8
Duronal, I signed up for a membership on the site: www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/grapevi....nto-09-a-6.htmlI am still awaiting the webmaster's approval to reply to a thread. I looked at Flummery's potatoes and thought, "This is how it begins!" I hope to invite anyone at the growfruitandveg site in the UK to stop the Oxford visit this Oct 24. Once online I will clarify what you are saying about saving potato fruits and planting them out to obtain good fruiting types again. By doing this repeated times the %age of berry makers rises dramatically. Tom Wagner
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atash
Junior Member
Learning from my mistakes since 1964
Posts: 96
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Post by atash on Aug 18, 2009 22:59:19 GMT -8
Duronal, pleased to meet you. Are you or any of your friends interested in growing more food in the UK? I am aware that your economy is in serious shape--as is ours. I don't breed vegetables (although Tom recently taught me how to cross-pollinate tomatoes), but I collect seed of anything that is...
* easy to grow, particularly for the backyard gardener or small-time farmer * suited to the climate (similar to yours, but slightly less equable, and with more pronounced rainy and dry seasons) * productive * nutritious
I grow potatoes because they are so productive and well-suited to the climate, and make a good staple. I've got a bunch of Tom's potatoes; haven't eaten any yet but some of them are strangely beautiful plants for such a mundane crop, flowering profusely and some have colored foliage. I'm planning to grow a lot more next year.
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Post by robertb on Aug 19, 2009 4:46:38 GMT -8
If you've got a more continental climate than us, you'd probably do well with our tender veg - stuff like corn, toms and beans, that you're good at already over there. If you have mild winters, our winter veg might do well, but it won't do anything if your soil is frozen for long periods!
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atash
Junior Member
Learning from my mistakes since 1964
Posts: 96
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Post by atash on Aug 19, 2009 7:36:45 GMT -8
The one warm-season crop bred in the UK that does well here is scarlet runner bean, Phaseolus coccineus. I have "Lady Di" in my front yard. Otherwise, I think we have more variety of warm crops suited to cool-temperate climates than you do. Let me know if you'd like some and I'll save some for you.
We have lots of tomatoes that ripen easily; some are possible with a little help in places like Alaska. Tom is breeding in some resistance to late blight which is probably a major problem in both areas, although I dunno if your strain of blight is the same as ours.
Compared to your climate, we get fewer but more intense frosty nights. Compared to London, Seattle is typically about 3-4C warmer all year, except on frosty winter nights when it dips a little colder (we don't have the Gulf Stream, just the Japan current which is not as strong or as warm, and a mountain chain blocking the worst of the cold fronts). Temps as low as -10C are rare but not unknown where I am, and out in the hinterlands it could hit -15C.
I have some perennializable Brassicas you might be interested in. One seeds regularly, the other one only rarely (it seems to be a hybrid between B. napa and B. oleifera var acephala) and probably does not breed true though an attempt could be made to stabilize it.
Also an Artichoke reputedly more cold-hardy (down to around -12C or so) and productive than other varieties, and reputedly does not require "vernalization" to bear (it crops the first year if your growing season is long enough). But I have not yet tested it, so all bets off.
Contact me offline if interested.
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Post by robertb on Aug 20, 2009 10:05:43 GMT -8
What sort of artichoke, globe or Jerusalem? I'm guessing globe. Real cold nights will affect a lot of brassicas, but I imagine kale will do well, maybe others if it isn't too bad. Have you tried leeks?
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atash
Junior Member
Learning from my mistakes since 1964
Posts: 96
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Post by atash on Aug 20, 2009 21:31:53 GMT -8
You're right, a "globe". "Jerusalem artichokes" (many people call them "sunchokes" over here) aren't much of a challenge to grow. Brassicas generally winter-hardy here, despite the more severe cold. Might be other climactic differences. Not really challenged, other than by the weight of snow that can snap their stems. I'll put in a crop of Brassica carinata, "Abyssinian Mustard Kale" also known as "Gomen", but it will be harvested before cold even hits, except a few I leave for seed (and even those will probably be done before hard frost). Also planning another crop of Kohlrabbi. Funny you should mention Leeks; I do have some, a variety bred in Scotland that's supposed to be a good over-winterer, that I keep forgetting to plant out. I'm going to try to grow it as a perennial, on the theory that overwintered leeks often divide. I've got some Fava beans to go in too. I think they will actually work better overwintered, than spring planted.
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Post by robertb on Aug 21, 2009 10:49:40 GMT -8
Musselburgh? that's the commonest, and pretty hardy. Leeks usually go to seed in the second year. Broad beans (can't get used to calling them 'fava') are a cold weather crop, and any time I plant them later they just sulk. Aquadulce Claudia is extremely hardy. The more tender ones do best if they're planted in early spring.
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Post by duronal on Sept 3, 2009 15:28:11 GMT -8
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