A friend may be coming down from the UK and i'm going to ask her to
get me some Vetch, however i don't know what inoculum to use with it.
Any suggestions? The vetch and the inoculum should be readily
available in stores plus she may have to deal with a clueless store
assistant. She stays in Uxbridge..so any stores that she can visit.

How do you harvest seeds from Vetch? I heard that it can be a major
pest if you allow it to seed, is this true?

I'm also thinking of asking her to get me some plum tree saplings,
raspberry, blueberry, lingoberry and various other fruit cuttings. Is
there a sane way to get the cuttings in a aircraft? What sort of
packaging will it require - I'm trying to maximise my order *grin*;
so any suggestions on suitable packing methods which wont ruin the
cuttings and get her arrested by the UK customs, while taking the
least space and weight! Do you get the above plants in
"hibernating-cutting form" or are they available in
"sprouting-in-packet" form? What should she ask for when she visits
the store?

This is super news and i'm quite pleased . Hopefully fingers and
toes crossed i shall finally have some neat plants growing! I'm also
thinking of some cool veggies (Brussel sprouts, Asparagus, Broccoli,
Kale, Bok Choy, Cress, Chinese Mallow, Swiss chard, Watercress,
Marrow, Rutabaga, Parsnip, Water Chestnut)
Oh boy! Finally!! *grin*. Surely that's not too big a list and won't
weigh too much..13 seed packets..1 packet each - with 25 seeds each?
25 Pounds approxi? Plus cuttings..how much will that be?

Vivek. M wrote:
A friend may be coming down from the UK and i'm going to ask her to
get me some Vetch, however i don't know what inoculum to use with it.
Any suggestions? The vetch and the inoculum should be readily
available in stores plus she may have to deal with a clueless store
assistant. She stays in Uxbridge..so any stores that she can visit.

How do you harvest seeds from Vetch? I heard that it can be a major
pest if you allow it to seed, is this true?

The various vetches do seed liberally, so you will be committed to
weeding. I'll be very surprised if she finds a suitable inoculum in any
ordinary garden store. Are you quite sure you want to grow it? They
aren't attractive in the ordinary way as garden plants. If you do want
it, why not grow a species which is already found in your area?

To harvest the seed, you just pick off the pods when they've turned
brown and look as though they're about to pop open.

I'm also thinking of asking her to get me some plum tree saplings,
raspberry, blueberry, lingoberry and various other fruit cuttings. Is
there a sane way to get the cuttings in a aircraft? [...]

The first question to ask should be "Is it legal?" If India has
regulations as strict as those of some countries about the importation
of plants, your friend could get into trouble.

--
Mike.

In article ,
Vivek.M writes:
|
| A friend may be coming down from the UK and i'm going to ask her to
| get me some Vetch, however i don't know what inoculum to use with it.
| Any suggestions? The vetch and the inoculum should be readily
| available in stores plus she may have to deal with a clueless store
| assistant. She stays in Uxbridge..so any stores that she can visit.

No chance. Few, if any, legumes are dependent on their symbiotes,
but the only vetch readily available in shops is Vicia faba, and you
can get that :-)

There may be some available as wildflower seeds, so it is worth looking
in such collections. You could probably order them from Chiltern seeds.

| I'm also thinking of asking her to get me some plum tree saplings,
| raspberry, blueberry, lingoberry and various other fruit cuttings.

Even if you manage to import them, only the first is likely to take
even moderate heat. My tropical gardening book says that plums just
about do in India's hill country but not lower, and raspberries are
hopeless. Blueberries and lingonberries are even more extreme than
raspberries.

I strongly advise giving this a miss, on the risk to the carrier alone.

| This is super news and i'm quite pleased . Hopefully fingers and
| toes crossed i shall finally have some neat plants growing! I'm also
| thinking of some cool veggies (Brussel sprouts, Asparagus, Broccoli,
| Kale, Bok Choy, Cress, Chinese Mallow, Swiss chard, Watercress,
| Marrow, Rutabaga, Parsnip, Water Chestnut)

Bok choy and marrow should do (can't you get the latter?), but almost
certainly not broccoli, kale or parsnip. I don't know Chinese mallow
and water chestnut won't grow in the UK, but may with you.

Seeds aren't a problem, being cheap, light and usually legal, so don't
let me put you off - I succeed with only about 1/5 of the seeds I bring
back from far countries!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

On 25 Jul 2006 20:16:53 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:

Even if you manage to import them, only the first is likely to take
even moderate heat. My tropical gardening book says that plums just
about do in India's hill country but not lower, and raspberries are
hopeless. Blueberries and lingonberries are even more extreme than
raspberries.

I strongly advise giving this a miss, on the risk to the carrier alone.
*grin* I'm already beginning to feel like a shady drug-runner.

Bok choy and marrow should do (can't you get the latter?), but almost
No idea, i know for a fact that if i ask for marrow he'll send me to
the mutton shop; that is, if he doesn't blink and look at me in a
dazed sort of way..well not really, he'll prolly look at me in disgust
and say something rude *grin*

Seeds aren't a problem, being cheap, light and usually legal, so don't
let me put you off - I succeed with only about 1/5 of the seeds I bring
back from far countries!
1/5th ain't so bad. I'm having a 1/7 th success rate with seeds i get
here *lol*, though my Pumpkin, Cockscomb and Sunflower have sprouted
marvellously. My Bell-Peppers were eaten up by red ants and the
Larkspur, Salvia, Aster, Hollyhocks and Antirrhinums refused to sprout
( i suspect rotten seeds and not rotten gardening since the beds are
next to each other).

On 25 Jul 2006 10:24:19 -0700, "Mike Lyle" wrote:
The various vetches do seed liberally, so you will be committed to
weeding. I'll be very surprised if she finds a suitable inoculum in any
ordinary garden store. Are you quite sure you want to grow it? They
aren't attractive in the ordinary way as garden plants. If you do want
it, why not grow a species which is already found in your area?

Well here are some stats:
Alfalfa 44/308 lbs/acre
Hairy Vetch 60/120 lbs/acre
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/newcrop/afcm/vetch.html
http://www.extsoilcrop.colostate.edu...ogen/nit4.html

I have clay soil and a 300 sq-feet rectangular patch; I have split the
patch in half, dumping the mud i dig out (1 foot) from the first half
on the second. I'm going to plant vetch/beans/alfalfa in the two-feet
deep pit and use that as a seed-bed for legumes; The other half of my
patch with the piled-up mud, will be used to grow tubers. After about
a year, i'll bury the vetch under and use that bed to grow tubers and
dig out the unfinished other half. Perhaps after 2-3 years i'll have
decent loamy soil.

What i'm looking for now is quick growing stuff and legumes with
super-duper nitrogen fixation.

aren't attractive in the ordinary way as garden plants. If you do want
it, why not grow a species which is already found in your area?
Well part of the problem is availability - It's easier and less time
consuming to get it from the UK/Internet/Friends *LoL* than hunt
around here (involves travelling large distances on the off chance
that i may find something). Oh! The wonders of the Internet!! I'd kiss
Tim Berners Lee - except that he is a guy!

The first question to ask should be "Is it legal?" If India has
regulations as strict as those of some countries about the importation
of plants, your friend could get into trouble.
Yeah! She'll kill me! i'll stick to seeds.