I’m going to bore you all silly with the growing of cockscomb plants again this year.

It’s starting very well with incredibly quick germination. Only 4 days for my self saved Bombay bronze and 5 days for crystal beauty.

I’ve sown a lot more this year. I may have got carried away!

   

 I’ll do a little experimenting with the Bombay bronze as I have so many. I’m going to pinch a couple out again even though I know that’s not what you’re supposed to do. Because one the plants I did that to last year. Produced some stunning stem for my jam jar bunches. But the other really did nothing. So I’ll have another go this year with a couple of them. I’m also going to plant a few of them close together. And a couple in their own pots.

Share your delight at picking your first ******* of the year. 
Earlier years for comparison at https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=1858

Since there's a lot of seed sowing going on, its time for an Announcement.

Any commercial seeds (part or full packets) with a sow by date  of 2023 or later, accepted. Also, saved seeds that weren't in the recent swap.
Seeds to be sent to me before 14th April and sent back during April so that there's still time to sow them.
As before, if you send in 20 packets (all different) you'll receive 20 random packets back.  Just an example, you can send in however many you like and I'll try to send the same number back - no guarantees though if you send lots!
Put your names on the packets so that they're not sent back to you. 
Seal opened packets well - I hate it when an envelope contains loose, unidentifiable seeds (they go to a random patch somewhere in the garden).

Who's IN 

What are your experiments or new seed varieties planned for 2024. I'm going to have a think and come back with my list. I've a load of new varieties of beans and courgettes and a fair few tomatoes.

No I’m not joking! I really want to know what would you grow in a phone box?
Because we don’t have much to do at the moment ( if you can’t hear the sarcasm, there’s something wrong with you    ). Bob has had the idea of turning our village phone box into a greenhouse attraction for locals & visitors. He’s already been onto BT phone box department. As we thought the phone is no longer in service. What we didn’t know was charities or parish councils can buy the phone boxes. Bob has also had a mothers meeting with the village hierarchy     , they love the idea. Next step is asking the local charity organisations if they’d be interested in purchasing the phone box, for the pricy sum of £1.  Fairly high chance as they’ve just announced a grant for up £1000 for gardening projects to improve local villages/ towns. 
Bobs idea, guess who’s going to end up doing most of it   . It is actually a really good idea. But his timing sucks. 

Anyway plant for a phone box. They will have to be in pots as it’s got a concrete floor. All the glass is still in it. Not got a door at moment. But we know where it is. We were thinking a locked door so nothing gets damaged and it’s stop the door getting damaged in bad weather again. Most phone boxes on mull all look vandalised because doors are missing or hanging off. But it’s the wind, that does it. Obviously whoever (probably me) is looking after the plants will go in daily to water and do whatever needs doing. 


Suggestions please. Thank you

Does anyone know what this is?
   

Ok so I want to grow 1 cherry, 1 standard, 1 beef. I think I’m going with rambling red stripe for cherry, Black Russian for beef. Happy to be guided into other directions. I need help choosing a standard/ medium size tom please. Colour / shape not important. Size and good producer is important as only growing one of each. 
This is my list of tomato seeds I have . What do you think?

Tomato cuor di bue (beef steak ).
1 Tomato German red strawberry  (beef steak )
 1 Tomato Black Russian 
1 Tomato rosella .
1 Tomato matts hornet 
1 Tomato mat-su express
1 Tomato EM champion 
Tomato  northern lights
Tomato oleron yellow.
1 tomato orange banana 
1 tomato orange jazz
1 tomato Oregon spring
1 tomato black icicle 
1 tomato indigo pear drops
1 tomato sweet casaday (small plum)
1 tomato rambling red stripe
1 tomato genuwine
1 tomato auntie madge’s
1 tomato sgt pepper’s
1 tomato Spanish big globe
1 tomato steak sandwich 
1 tomato mountain princess 
1 tomato reinhard’s purple sugar 
1 tomato girl girl weird thing
1 tomato old German 
1 tomato ananas noir (beef steak)
1 tomato juaune flamme (golf ball apricot)
1 tomato piglet Willie (dark red cherry)
1 tomato alfresco (midi-plum red)
1 tomato red zebra (golf ball size)
1 tomato derby striped (medium size)

I have adopted a mostly carnivore lifestyle but I do miss some aspects of the way I used to eat. I don't use any seed oils and don't eat any food made from grains.

I think evryone likes a burger with cheese and gerkins now and again but even though I eat a lot of 'smashburgers' comprised of beef mince with nothing added I do miss having them in a bread bun and eaten in the hand rather than with a knife and fork? To this end I have experimented with making a carnivore bread bun alternative?
I bought pig skin from Morrisons very cheaply, cut it up into small pieces and cooked it in the air fryer. It was still a bit hard for the teeth so I blitzed it in a mixer and made pork Panko from it. This would be my carnivore flour substitute.
I mixed in a couple of eggs and half a tub of full fat soft cheese. I poured the mixture into a silicone insert for the air frye rand cooked 10 minutes then turned it overand cooked for another 5 minutes.
The result is shown below where I cut a small bit off to taste it. It was like a 'stodgy' breadbut was ok. I will cut it in half and use it as a bread bun substitute with a burger. In future I will use a ramekin which should make it more of  a 'proper' burger size.

An experiment which I am very pleased with.

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I'm growing APB for the first time. Does the panel  (probably  Veggie or TMTT) think they are a hybrid or open pollinated? Should I save seed if, they're any good, for swapping?

So far my list is:
Some have been sown, others are waiting in the wings.

Greenhouse

Summer Frolic - red big Cherry. New.
Bloody Butcher - early small salad. Didn't have much success last year, giving it another go.
Honeycomb - orange/yellow cherry. Sweet. May even replace Sungold in future years
Sungold - everyone knows this one
Jaune Flamme - large cherry, dark orange. New. I might find it too thick skinned for P's liking. All the more for me
Piglet Willie - Dark red. Salad I think.   This and Jaune Flamme courtesy of Garrett, thanks very much.
Artisan Pink Bumblebee - Pretty pink cherry. New.
Burlesque - Beef. Red and very big. Good flavour last year.
Malachite Box - Beef. Green. Plant a bit weak but I loved the taste last year.
Purple Cherokee - Beef. Dark red. I liked the flavour last year.
Country Taste - Beef. Red. New. Supposedly disease resistant.

Outside - all blight resistant

Oh Happy Day - Big salad. Red. New
Crimson Crush - Salad. Red. New
Mountain Magic - Red. Did well for me last year
Primabella, Primavera - Large cherry. Red. Couldn't make my mind up which one, so decided on  both.

Outside in pots (as long as vine weevil permits)

Orangeto - Orange cherry. Semi bush. Supposedly sweet
Divinity - Red large cherry. Failed to germinate last year so its being given the chance to redeem itself.