October Meeting - Swapping Information

[Donna]

In an effort to be slightly more organised, this is a post to share with other members what we have excess of. Also if anyone is looking for a particular seed or gardening item that other members might have more luck with locating - an example of this was Florence locating molasses for me.

I have limited supplies of the following
Free:
* Amaranth - thanks Addy
* Bean Madagascar - thanks Betty
* Bean Soy - thanks Anthony
* Bean Snake
* Luffa Smooth - thanks Rolf
* Okra seed
* Parsley Flat Leaf - thanks Rolf
* Spinach Ceylon - thanks Anthony
* Rockmelon Israeli Ha-ogen seed
* Rosella

To buy (cost prices):
* Foliar (Fulvic) acid supplied by Anthony (forget the name right now) - $5.00 bag
* EM bugs - $5.00 litre (please bring a container)
* the Seed Saver Handbook, Michel & Jude Fanton - $15.00
Let me know if you are interested and I will make sure that I put them aside and bring them to the next meeting. That way hopefully I won't forget until the last minute and half the members have left already!

Please reply to each person that posts so that the replies are grouped together.

[Donna]

Asparagus Pea - I am still trying to source this, if you see it please let me know!

[christopher zane hart]

Erica Vale seeds PO Box 954 Morayfield 4506 brisbane stocks asparagus pea (Tetragonolobus purpures).

[Elaine de Saxe]

If it's similar to or the same plant as the Asian Winged Bean, then BOG stocks them. I was fortunate enough to be given 4 seeds which are now trying to decide if they are going to sprout. With luck, I might have some plants therefore some seeds in the months to come. But don't hold your breath!

Christopher mentioned Erica Vale Seeds - they are more or less close to where I live but they are not interested, it seems, in dealing with single customers. You can only buy their seeds via a retail outlet such as Bunnings or other hardware stores. My experience with them has been a total waste of time and money in that the seeds I have bought over the last several years have failed to sprout. But then I'm not that good at sprouting vege seeds - sprouts for eating as sprouts seem to be easier.

I tried to find their website just now and got every other website on the net, or so it seems - as well, I tried White Pages online with zero results. When they did have a website up, it was apparent they only dealt with retailers. And it's potluck if you find the seeds you want at your local hardware.

However, recourse to the paper version of White Pages gives this result on page 262:

Ericavale Aust Pty Ltd: PO box as stated, situated in Upper Caboolture with no street address but this phone number: 07 5497 0266, two mobiles and an email of: [e-mail]

Talking of seeds - anyone have a source of Lupins?

[Mick Porter]

Don't have a source of lupins but would like to find some :)

I'm interested in trying them around the blueberries since they seem to like acidic soil and should be a reasonable nitrogen fixer. And my wife likes the look of the flowers!

[Donna]

Eden Seeds have two lupins that are in their Green Manure section and another two in their Flower section - note that it says to plant in autumn though. A very quick google search says some are perennial - does anyone know the name of perennial types that are edible?

http://www.edenseeds.com.au/content/default.asp

[Mick Porter]

Lupin albus seems to be edible, but is definitely annual. The "Kiev" variety from Eden is an albus, should be good for chooks to eat. Green Harvest sell these complete with inoculant.

The main perennial ones that get grown are Russell Lupins - grown as ornamental flowers, and definitely not edible. They are available from most flower seed sources, including Diggers.

Don't know if there are edible perennial lupins, but I don't think so.

I think I'll try some from Green Harvest next year.

[Florence]

Just some info for those who got some Madagascar beans from Betty (Thanks Betty)and don't already know, I did some research before planting them out and found they are perennials and usually little pod production in the first year but it is prolific after that ~ so it looks like a more permanent location rather then in the veggie bed is need ~~~

[christopher zane hart]

is the Madagascar bean a Lima Bean (Phaseolus lunatus) ??.

[Florence]

Yes I think so Chris, I've check a few sources, they all seem to point out that Madagascar bean is another name for Lima Bean ^^

[christopher zane hart]

i have been looking for the white -seeded varieties. Varieties with coloured seeds , which may be green or pale brown , sometimes striped or splashed with red require soaking and boiling to remove poisonous cyanogenetic glucosides, but these are absent from the white-seeded varieties .

[Elaine de Saxe]

Christopher ... if it is *certain* that Madagascar and Lima Beans are the same species/variety then getting white-seeded Lima Beans is a doddle.

Buy them from a shop with a big turnover - I use 'Simply Good' at Morayfield - or just buy a pack of McKenzies at the local supermarket. Soak them first and see if they swell and look like sprouting. If so, then they are probably viable and will give you a plant.

I have some sitting outside now in little containers waiting for the right moon phase (and my time) to plant them in the garden. I have no idea whether they are annuals, perennials or even if they will grow in a Brisbane summer, facing south west! But I found somewhere that they are climbers so I'm putting them near a trellis.

Also Chick Peas ... I've got baby plants of these too. Some seeds you buy dried are too old and don't sprout but some do. So these are an experiment (what is not an experiment?) and Chick Peas are a non-climber and come from the higher regions of Turkey among other places in the middle east. I await developments with these seeds as I do with the Peanuts some of which came up and some haven't decided yet.

Other seeds which are bought as dried for soups are Grey/Green Lentils - the ones with the seed coats, not the red lentils which don't have theirs and do not produce plants. These plants may not give me anything to eat raw, maybe why they are kept as dried is because that's the way they taste best or perhaps it's just that they do keep well dried.

Adding a bit of interest to the summer vegie patch!

[Florence]

The ones we got from Betty are white with red speckles (from memory without looking at them) looks a bit like this

I grabed this image from this page but according to this page it's CHRISTMAS POLE LIMA BEAN?? Maybe my memory's doing tricks, the seeds I got maybe red with white speckles.. will check tonight ^^