[Adam]

Hi all,

I was out in B&Q today buying some seed trays and some other bits and pieces for the garden and couldn't help but noticed how over-priced most of their seeds are.

I seen a packet of 10 Butternut Squash seeds for €6.57. Luckily I buy all my seeds from a company online who have 2 different sites for Ireland, one for the public and the other for allotment holders (both at least €5 cheaper than what i said above).

But do people actually buy their seeds from the likes of B&Q and pay these OTT prices? Or have most of us taken our business online and started ordering from websites / ebay?

Adam.

[Nozebleed]

I bought all my seeds for next year from this website...really well packaged with excellent printed instructions & sealed bags. I highly recommend.


http://www.seedaholic.com/

[kernow]

To be honest I usually buy my seeds in England when I visit relatives It is best in the autumn when the shops are getting rid of their stocks. I even take advantage of the 99p shops when they sell 4 packets for, you've guessed it, 99p.

They always grow - so far

[sirpsycho]

http://www.seedaholic.com/ all the way.

[Blowin]

Once you've found a good strain of things like runner beans, it's best to save your own seed at the end of the season. I once knew an old chap who'd saved his own since 1937. I must admit I usually buy one packet of these seeds in case I've done something wrong, but the balance is saved from the previous year.

We bought a butternut squash last week and it yielded around 100 seeds so that's another batch I shan't have to buy.

If you're fortunate to have other gardeners nearby, one packet of things like swede and turnip will satisfy the needs of probably four gardens. Planted singly in yoghurt pots or paper pots, they normally produce 24 successful germinations out of 25 seeds and, if planted out as soon as they're big enough to handle, you produce a row of uniformly spaced veg, no misses, no thinning and, as I say, enough for all your mates.

Finally, there is a book on the subject of saving seed called 'Seed to Seed' by Suzanne Ashworth, ISBN 0-96 13977-7-2, which goes into the topic at considerable depth.

[Blowin]

Adam - As a follow on from the previous comment, why on earth are you BUYING seed trays? In our house I'm in charge of recycling - I know my place - but, over time, I find there are a good number of things that are thrown out of the house which I can then use to advantage in the shed or garden.

Food packaging these days provides so many usable trays, often in ideal sizes for small sowings of successive crops like lettuces. Punch a few holes in the bottom. Line with absorbent paper (I've always got an old phone book or Golden Pages saved for the purpose) and, even if they do split as you remove the seedlings, there are plenty more.

5-Litre water containers make ideal cloches. Slice the bottoms off them. Place over the plant you want to protect. Poke a twig or wire down through from the top to stop them blowing over and then replace the caps, or not as you wish.

Off cuts from plastic roofing materials like soffits are easily sawn into useful row markers and can be marked with the usual marker pens. Another option is the corrugated plastic signs that 'For Sale' and other signs are often made of. These are quite often thrown away if slightly damaged but, cut into strips, and with a wire down through one of the corrugations, you'll never need to buy the expensive shop products.

If you have bird feeders in the garden that require stocking up with seed or peanuts from sacks, take one of the narrow cleaning fluid containers that are no longer needed, slice the top off with a Stanley knife just below the neck but above the handle. You then have a scoop that will pick up the feed and, via its
narrow width, will dispense it into the feeder without spillage.

We have renewable cotton filters in our water system which are, effectively, large reels of string. Dried out, they'll provide all the garden string you'll need. If it's not quite strong enough, use it double or treble. There's no shortage of it.

There's a saying in the angling world that 'fishing tackle catches more fishermen than fish' and it's somewhat similar in the gardening world but, to me, the fun of spotting uses for cast off items is half the fun?

[simonj]

I tried saving as many pulses as I could, same thing with Japanese Mustard Greens, Acocha and exploding cucumber's.
Personally, I am delighted with the rhubarb crowns I got from a neighbour.

I do think it is very important to point out the people who sponsor this site - having run irishsurfer and worldsurfradio I know how important it is to the people who provide this great service.
For all the free advice I get here I try to give something back by writing up recipes - and I will certainly be putting a bit of business their way early next year.

http://www.gardenseller.com/

http://www.igrowstore.ie/

===========

Other companies I would recommend:

Real Seeds - realseeds.co.uk - in the UK, cant be beaten for choice and unusual veg.
All heritage and great advice on how to save your own seeds.
Highly recommended

Macalla Farm on Clare Island, run by Christoph, the only place in Ireland I know where to get Oca

Irish Seed Savers - In Clare, specialise in Irish heritage varieties, well worth supporting

seedaholics who have already been mentioned here

Brown Envelope Seeds (very apt for an Irish political website one thinks) Website has improved, good selection

In Galway, Dangan Nursaries are good, out near the Westwood hotel