Hope you have a wonderful birthday .     

Premier Seeds are selling 1500 year old Cave beans.  Hope they're still viable. 

https://premierseedsdirect.com/product/b...cave-bean/

Joking aside, they look interesting and at a good price - £1.39 for 30 beans.  A big difference to She Grows Veg who want £5.50 for 30 beans! https://shegrowsveg.com/product/french-b...cave-bean/

Has anyone grown these? Need to know before I invest in some!

Traditionally Onion seeds are sown on Boxing Day.   Does anyone here actually do that? 
If so, do you sow then because its a good day for sowing - or because it gets you out of the house and the clearing up after yesterday?         Or any other reason?

Hope you all have a Merry Day, doing whatever you want to do. 

Oca, Mashua, Yacon, Chinese & Jerusalem Artichokes,  can all be regrown from harvested roots. Potatoes too, but they have their own thread!
This thread is for the oddbods. 

I acquired an Oca and a Mashua plant this year and planted each one in a 30 litre pot. Both are ready to harvest now and I've just taken a Mashua tuber from the pot.
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Its that time of year again, when some of us think about Christmas and others switch off completely! This is my contribution to the festive season.
What would you like to see growing in your garden. You can ignore restrictions of climate, garden size and or any other  limiting factors. let your imagination run wild. 

Last year's Advent Calendar https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=2244 for amusement!

We'll start today with A.............of course!

I remember as a kid my Nan always used to have an amaryllis around Christmas. I remember because I always had to have my photo taken next to it to show how tall it was or how short I was   . I’ve grown a couple in the past. Really wanted to grow another one. So while Bob was collecting a miss placed order from Oban (don’t ask) on Friday. I got him to get one from Lidl for me.
It’s going to be a miracle if it survives the dogs tail or doesn’t grow so tall that it’s squashed against the caravan ceiling. 
Here it is      .

I’m measuring how much it grows each day. Yesterday it had grown 4cm. It now stands at 28cm. I think that’s a centimetre taller over night.

The other thing I’m expecting to happen. Is it to flower while I’m away for a couple of days the middle of next month. 
Anyone else growing amaryllis?

   

"The Olive Herb plant is one of the varieties that we ("Urban Herbs" are most excited to bring back next year. You guys have loved it over the past couple of years and this variety has always sold out so quickly, so we will be growing many more this year.⁠
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The Olive Herb smells and tastes of olive, which can be used in so many different ways. As soon as we encountered this plant, we were amazed by the vivid aroma.⁠
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The leaves can be cut and stirred into a salad or used as a seasoning within a pasta dish or homemade pizza. The flavour is strong, delicious and versatile. We think that you will discover that this incredible herb really encourages you to experiment which different flavour combinations and ideas.⁠
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Enjoy adding an olive to your summer cocktails? You could also experiment by using a sprig from this fascinating plant to drinks during the summer.⁠"

Sounds tempting but, Why, do these retailers not identify these plants with their accepted name.  Like James Wong seeds, a fancy name is more  marketable. 

So, I asked the Duck and he quacked back that its Santolina (aka Saponaria, aka Cotton lavender) viridens. 
Unfortunately, Chiltern Seeds don't sell it. 


⁠

I've been playing with my brassica seed collection today. The aim was to put the packets in sowing date order so that I'd have a packet ready to sow every Leaves Week. 
Sounds easy, doesn't it. However, it was noticeable that some seed companies have different dates for sowing the same seeds. Who do I trust?

Secondly, I found several varieties of cabbage that have 2, widely different sowing dates - some in spring and again later in the year when they would overwinter ready for spring harvest. 
This, struck me as a bonus - buy one packet but sow it twice during the year.
 
Cauliflower "All Year Round" is well known. I've copied this from Kings Seeds :-

Sow October in a cold frame, plant out in March, cut in June. Sow February to April, cut late June to September.

Cauliflower, not being one of the easiest of vegetables to grow is certainly regarded by many old hands as the test of a real gardener. But with good planning, regular care and a small dose of common sense, you can pretty much have cauliflower on the table all year round.

I'll be back later with the dual season cabbages.

On a cold and wintery day, let's think about better times in 2026. 

What are your plans and hopes for 2026. 

Any changes you want to make- structural, organisational. 
Seeds and plants that you haven't grown before? You know the score. 

Last year's thread https://gardenandgossip.org/showthread.php?tid=2210  may give you some ideas. about what went well, what could have done better, and what you won't do again!!