In my now annual seed influx from the Hardy Plant Society seed scheme, I signed up for a lucky dip packet which is made up from loose seeds. These are escapees from envelopes, spillage from the silver teaspoons used for scoops, that kind of thing. They are unidentified. As I mentioned last time, I don’t have the expertise to identify the varieties from the seeds, so each one will be a surprise.
I set two batches up. The first was sown willy-nilly in a single 7cm pot, then pricked out into a half seed tray a few weeks back. They looked like this at the weekend before I potted them on. They seem to be growing on nicely. I should be able to tell which are matching plants and group them accordingly.
The second batch I separated into groups of seeds based solely on appearance, and sowed those groups into modules. These have been on unheated staging and have only just begun to germinate (the first batch was in the heated bench and germinated very quickly).
But let’s get back to batch one. I have potted them on, numbering according to whether I think they are matching plants. The game from here on is to try to identify the plants as they develop. Can you spot any that look familiar? Care to guess? Such fun.
Answers on a postcard, or below in the comments!
I’ll be back in a month or so for a mystery seed update.
It is still too early, and some look like ornamentals.
1. cucumber
2. calendula
3. viola or pansy
4. cole vegetable of some sort
5. fleabane
6. eggplant
7. onion or garlic of some sort
I am sorry to be no fun. I just can not guess well. I do not grow many things from seed. Are all of these vegetables?
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1st could be a cucumber, cucamelon or melon…
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Yes several people have said cucumber. Perhaps they are. We shall see!
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I like this experiment very much, but I have no idea what these little plants are. I could only think of ordinary things (I thought cucumber too) like alyssum and pansy, but considering the source, I’m bound to be wrong.
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Yes a few have said cucumber for number 1. It might be. I need to check the seed list to see if there were any cucumber seed donated to the scheme.
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The bigger, thicker (mystery 1) ones I believe are cucumbers (image: https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=rsd7DQvg&id=EBD2CF6A53369406BC1CA62BDC53D1E5174AFC5E&thid=OIP.rsd7DQvgMPg6eFQGpnkn7wHaFj&mediaurl=http%3a%2f%2f1.bp.blogspot.com%2f-AAvDiGcb4Rg%2fT5i1ioYHEzI%2fAAAAAAAAAJs%2f2Cm8uX8tytA%2fs1600%2fCucumber%2bSeedlings%2b042012-02.JPG&exph=1200&expw=1600&q=cucumber+seedlings&simid=607997509638882477&selectedIndex=0&ajaxhist=0 )
Most of them look like flowers except for #3, looks like it may be an herb.
What a fun project!!
We had a bunch of leftover seeds a few years back (ones that we did not plant but had opened the packages and planted some), and just threw them all into the wind in a bare spot by our chickens. We had quiet a mix come up and the birds loved the extra snacks.
You will have to keep us updated on their progress. 🙂
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It will be a surprise if they are cucumbers as the seeds came from the hardy plants society. Although now I think of it there is sometimes some veg seed sent in…
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Of course, you know all about http://www.theseedsite.co.uk/seedlings.html. Pick a pic, see if the plant is in the distribution list (as these are mainly “escapees” most of them should be) and hopefully you’ve got an ID. I would help but I’m on a mission to fill my Council green waste containers before Friday. I’ve paid for them so I’m b***** well going to fill them!
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Ooh brilliant. I didn’t know about that.
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