Tomato seeds looking for a home!

[Breq]

I am, like most of us I think, obsessed with trying everything that takes my fancy. Well, now I have too many tomato seeds in my store. So, if you want to try some different toms for free, please let me know! These are commercial seeds, just unused portions, that have been stored in dark cool, dry, environment. I was too unwell to go to recent seed swaps and hate to see them go to waste.

I have the following available (qty to be confirmed)
Bumblebee Purple
Bumblebee Pink
Pink Tiger
Sungold
Honeycomb
Maskotka
Opalka

[Primrose]

That's a kind offer I might have taken up in earlier fitter days but I,m afraid I,m now in the same position where I'll probabky be trying to find homes for most of my own surplus seeds.
Luckily our local library runs an annual seed swap//surplus seedling swap every spring.
Reckon I could feed a potential army with all the spares I,ve accumulated.

[Westi]

Hi Breq,

I would certainly be interested in trying some. I personally find the more unknown seed varieties more tasty as not keen on the super sweet regular varieties easily found or sale. I'll send you a message tomorrow (just off to the neighbours shortly for a birthday party). I don't expect them for nothing so thinking along the lines of sending you up a card of stamps & an envelope to cover postage & some spare, but will discuss that in the message tomorrow & which ones.

[Stravaig]

That's very kind and generous, Breq. But I'm not fit and currently I don't even have a garden. Also, Kitchen Garden magazine gives away a huge amount of seeds! More than I can use.

I would like allotments to make more of what they have. Maybe they do and I just don't know about it! I would like to see interaction such as people could drop off their surplus seeds, a shop* where the allotment growers can sell off their surplus crops. (Wow, I would really like that shop - you'd probably find all kinds of unusual things.) And maybe you could even make requests for them to grow certain things.

To me, who's been overseas for years and am now in a sixth floor flat, the allotment community is like some kind of secret society.

*The shop wouldn't need to be open all day every day maybe just for a couple of hours a week. Or you could do like a woman with a small-holding near Kyiv did. She had an email list which she sent out every week with what produce she had available. Her husband delivered it on one evening per week. If you spent enough, delivery was free. In any case it was quite the norm for people to group together and put in a big order for several people, and then divvy it up when it arrived.

Maybe you already do this kind of thing via farmers' markets. I've not been to one for years. Must make an effort soon, but I've been unwell and not going out. I've only been out of the flat twice this year - both times to do something absolutely essential.

[Stravaig]

An afterthought... might food banks want seeds? That way people who can't afford to buy food could maybe start growing some stuff. Could local councils set up community gardens? These are honest questions as I'm kinda out of touch with a lot of what goes on in the UK these days.

[Colin2016]

What a great woman with the small-holding near Kyiv is.

It seems we are in to different worlds, as here in uk we would sit & moan (like the food shortages at the moment) where as people like that woman near Kyiv got off her butt and did something.

[Stravaig]

Hi Colin,
The woman - Helen - actually had the small holding long before the illegal invasion of Ukraine.
(I think she might have been Canadian married to a Ukrainian man, I never met her but often met her husband who delivered stuff to us)

It was very handy to be able to buy stuff you might not find at a supermarket. She also used to ask her customers if there was anything they particularly wanted at the time of ordering/planting seeds. It certainly was a great bonus for someone like me to have this super opportunity to buy stuff that couldn't be found elsewhere.

[Breq]

Hi all, no response from local allotments, school, or food bank...I am in area where there are no garden groups, no community gardens. I may try the local animal charity that runs a booth at the farmer's market - maybe bring them a few spare plants as well.

Rather sad, as I am sure there is someone out there who would like free seeds, plants, or produce. I may try the food bank again when my crops come through (they wanted packaged foods with long dates the last time that I asked).

[Stravaig]

Breq, in these times of poverty and "eat or heat" why are people not doing more to make sure everyone gets fed?

I'm not old enough to remember WW2 but I do at least know about "Dig For Victory". Why is something similar not happening?

Nah, it's easier to complain that the supermarket doesn't have something.

[Westi]

Hi Breq,

We give away seeds (& other allotment bits no longer needed), via a table outside the shop. If it is on the table it is free to a good home & all sorts turn up, no longer useful to the original owner but others could find useful. This year I have put on trays for pots, some daff bulbs where they had become too congested & some hand tools which were presents but not up to the job on a plot but perfect for pots. In return I have had some cook books & 1/2 tin of fence paint just the colour needed if I run out when I paint the shed.

The site has affiliated with the local food bank & we put excess veg & fruit in a box for them. They were initially hesitant to take home grown, but soon realised they needed everything they could get. We have over 150 plots so they get a considerable amount during summer.

One thought is does your local shop put messages in the window? I'm sure there would be home growers who would be grateful as seeds are an added cost on stretched budgets.

[Myrkk]

Hi
Do you still have seeds looking for a new home? I quite like the sound of some of those and am starting out from scratch again having just gained a garden. I gave away all of my seeds at the local allotment so they didn’t go to waste when I gave it up.

[Breq]

Ooh, I will have a look and get back to you - I usually have spare seeds but exactly which ones I have a the moment will require a rummage

[robo]

We have an organisation called the hut it’s around 4 miles from we’re I live it costs £4 per year membership it has a full list of volunteer organisers even has a precedent ,packets of seeds are very cheap we have an area for donated plants any thing from seedlings to full grown bushes although donated there is a small handling charge that go into the funds they sell everything that garden centres sell ,it’s open Saturday and Sunday mornings and Wednesday evening

[Colin2016]

Hi Myrkk Would you be interested in other seeds as well?

[Myrkk]

Yes, Colin, I would. I currently have zero seeds.