Pass the Parcel


I've been on tenterhooks about this for so long. I signed up to Jeannine's Pass the Parcel on Allotments4All (A4A) at the start of the year and yesterday it was my turn to receive the goodies. As a confirmed seedaholic, receiving a parcel containing hundreds of packets of seeds to choose from is heaven!

As Jeannine's originally from Canada, the parcel's strong on unusual squashes and beans she's sourced from over the pond. Also a number of people have put in Franchi and Seeds of Italy varieties in their swapsies. Jeannine's also started off an Okra growing challenge on A4A this year (also mentioned in the AG letter I blogged about yesterday), so there's a couple of packets in there for those wishing to participate that haven't got their Okra seeds yet.

I couldn't resist some of the beans and squashes. I was also pleased to see a few Tomatillo seeds in there - something I've read about lately and want to try. An intriguingly named Dragon Fruit packet also caught my eye. The parcel was short of chillis and tomatoes, so I've put plenty of those in to replace my share of the booty. I've also got lots of green manure seeds, so I've put in a couple of packets in case anyone would like to try this technique for the first time.

Pass the Parcel's been a fun way of finding new varieties to try without the outlay. My hat's off to Jeannine for organising this one - I know it's not been easy due to the vagaries of the post. She's even put together cryptic clues for us to guess where the parcel's off to next - the clue for my turn was French Fries and Bacon. If you fancy joining in sometime, or finding a great community of allotmenteers out there, why not give Allotments4All a try?

Comments

  1. Anonymous14 March 2008 at 15:23

    That looks like a lovely idea VP, but isn't the postage expensive when you pass the parcel on?

    Simon

    ReplyDelete
  2. VP14 March 2008 at 19:18

    Hi Simon,

    It cost less than £3 to send off first class, which for 26 new veggie varieties to try isn't bad going. It also means my spare seeds won't be going to waste and it's fun. So win win all round I think :D

    ReplyDelete
  3. this is my patch14 March 2008 at 19:37

    Hi Michelle, have you got a large greenhouse, as you are going to need one, when you pot all these seeds on! x

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anonymous14 March 2008 at 19:37

    Ah, so you try one of everything. I thought you swapped one packet and passed it on. £3 is good for such a mixed bag - and it is a mixture, isn't it - but of course it's fun too.

    Simon

    ReplyDelete
  5. VP14 March 2008 at 20:03

    Hi Louise - as I said over on your patch:

    No I haven't got a greenhouse, just 2 cold frames. I suspect I'll be doing even more seed tray juggling than usual over the next few weeks!

    Hi again Simon - glad it all makes sense now. It was hard to limit myself to what I took out with all the hundreds of different varieties on offer. I decided to strictly limit it to what swapsies I had to replace what I'd taken. I'll keep you posted on what I grow of course...

    ReplyDelete

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