Garden lockdown!!

Its raining and my mind has gone off on a little adventure!
 
Imagine, if you can, a sort of Lockdown for your garden/plot. The rules say that you can't buy anything for your garden - not seeds, compost - anything. Whatever seeds or plants you have now are all you have for your garden. You are however, allowed to swap with another Locked-down gardener so you can grow plants or save seeds to swap.

How would you plan for next year? What seeds could you save? What plants could you propagate to swap or to build up your stock?

I would start with a review of all seeds and take stock.

Collect all soil that the moles push up. There's sandy areas that should be good for sowing seeds in, and some more loamy that would be good for growing on.

I'd start saving milk cartons to use as pots for next year, because I really don't have many plastic pots.

I'd actively look at taking cuttings and collect seeds of my existing plants, although there's not that many... but wild aquilegia is so pretty, it's worth looking after them.

I'd go and dig up a load of the honeysuckle growing wild the other side of the pond, to use to trade with, and to use in the garden.

I'd build garden structures with all the wood that we have in the barn, again to trade with and to use ourselves.

I'd set up more veg beds, in more places in the garden, so that I can separate different types of the same plant, to keep the seeds as true as possible.

I'd buy an egg incubator and buy eggs of various types - chickens for eggs, chickens for meat, ducks, geese and maybe even turkey. That'd give both meat, eggs and fertiliser.

I'd also rent the fields out to the farmer - I'm sure I'd be able to trade for something useful from him.

I'd get a gun too. Wild boar and deer would be useful in the freezer!

I think I’d be ok. As before the lockdown starts I have every intention of buying myself a hot bin composter with the earnings from my barrow at the end of this year. So that’s compost sorted. I still have a fair selection of seeds in store. I can save seeds from tomatoes, DFB, CFB, chillies, sweet peppers and probably more. Mind gone blank at moment. Also I can save flower seeds. I can save some of my garlic and potatoes for replanting. I’ve got perennial crops, rhubarb, asparagus, kale, leeks.
It would be doable. It won’t happen due to my will power having the braking strain of a melting Kit Kat!

I'd grow only seeds that I could save seeds from - no F1s.
I'd learn how to save seeds from cucurbits , especially, courgettes, cucumbers and squashes. I'm OK with beans, peas, tomatoes and lettuce and kale.
I'd concentrate on making more compost which also produces the leachate that I use to feed the plants.
I'd propagate "easy" plants from cuttings like herbs, perennial kale, soft fruit to swap.

Overall, I think I could do it - so I might give it a try.

I'd grow only seeds that I could save seeds from - no F1s.
I'd learn how to save seeds from cucurbits , especially, courgettes, cucumbers and squashes. I'm OK with beans, peas, tomatoes and lettuce and kale.
I'd concentrate on making more compost which also produces the leachate that I use to feed the plants.
I'd propagate "easy" plants from cuttings like herbs, perennial kale, soft fruit to swap.

Overall, I think I could do it - so I might give it a try.

Isn’t that pretty much what you do anyway? 

Wow! What a nightmare thought.  I read Veggie's first line and thought 'uh oh, here we go again'

If we had warning, I'd begin with hoarding anything and everything I deemed useful. If no warning, then I'd be in the mire. I'd have to select the OP tomato seed I have and grow only those, or take a risk and save seed from F1s. Beans we could save but I've not the room to isolate to maintain purity, again that would be pot luck. Sweetcorn would be a problem as they're all F1. Cucurbits would be an experiment, as would carrots, I've never saved seed from them.  I think Sarriss is very organised in her self sufficiency, I'm impressed.  I think I would flounder.  What a terrible scenario.  It's like thinking about life without the Internet or electricity,  horrifying.

I'd grow only seeds that I could save seeds from - no F1s.
I'd learn how to save seeds from cucurbits , especially, courgettes, cucumbers and squashes. I'm OK with beans, peas, tomatoes and lettuce and kale.
I'd concentrate on making more compost which also produces the leachate that I use to feed the plants.
I'd propagate "easy" plants from cuttings like herbs, perennial kale, soft fruit to swap.

Overall, I think I could do it - so I might give it a try.

Isn’t that pretty much what you do anyway? 

Almost, but not quite!
I have grown some F1 cucurbits this year as I've been using up old packets and, since I've no idea which is which i won't save seed from them. The cucumbers are labelled but I need to isolate them from the others so that they don't cross. 
I need to sow more beans as I don't have enough growing to eat them and save seed. Same with mangetout.
Need to use the compost bins in the garden better - instead of just using them as rubbish bins, I need to be more proactive with them - adding browns and aerating them.
I haven't bought compost for a couple of years and still have a stack of coir boxes to use. I've been reusing the old compost from the GH beds, with added coir and Hotbin compost. Seems to be OK - the tomatoes and cucumbers are thriving. 
I could propagate more cuttings than I do - as I tend to only grow more when I need them, not with swapping in mind.

Yeah I need to be better with my composting too. I've just got a wire compost bin at the moment, and I don't use it very well.

And like Veggie, I'd use up my F1 seeds, but I'd keep them far away from the others. I'd quite relish the opportunity to save seeds from the staple veg as I've never tried that before.

I hope this scenario means I don't have to go to work, Veggie? lol

Sarriss, you have my permission to Lockdown in your garden and work from home.