Topic: Supermarket veg seeds and cuttings

[goodlife]

I hold my hands up and admit many times using and experimenting with seeds in fruits and even taking some cuttings from flowers and herbs...bought the things first though..no pinching.. ;D
Last winter Asda had some half decent cherry tomatoes (for shop bought) and I took some seeds from those..now I've got  a plant growing in GH..things are looking promising and I'm hoping the the  fruit will taste even better than the original. Only negative side is that being commercial variety that plant seem to grow very quickly and is going to be really tall soon.
I've just come back from shopping and with different load of toms...they were reduced..but ohh so pretty looking little tomatoes.. ;D..something for next year to try and bit of fun .
So what else have you lot found to grow from food shops and with what results?

[pigeonseed]

I haven't done it much really. Only garlic, which has always been shop bought.

[antipodes]

There is one thing to consider. Often the commercial varieties are... rubbish. Why? Because they are bred to have high water content, strong growth in extreme conditions, tough skins, but usually poor taste. They are bred to be grown carelessly and transported long distances. Very often, even if you grow them yourself, they rarely improve. I know this from a tomato grower!

Much better to choose heirloom toms and save your own seeds  ;)

[Morris]

I buy supermarket pots of herbs and split them up if I haven't got around to sowing my own. Much cheaper than garden centres. Basil especially successful. Last year I got a growing bag out of one pot - kept me in pesto and salad all summer.

[Gadget]

I buy supermarket pots of herbs and split them up if I haven't got around to sowing my own. Much cheaper than garden centres. Basil especially successful. Last year I got a growing bag out of one pot - kept me in pesto and salad all summer.

Morris,

I did that with my mint and chives and they are going great guns  ;D I am experimenting with butternut squash at the moment and I have to say they are looking good, whether or not any taste etc but it is a bit of fun.  The guy at plot no 2 had grown everything from the supermarket, and I have to say he has some fine looking plants going..so give it a go. :)

[Digeroo]

I always use Tesco parsley and divide the pots into four.   Good flavour loads of leaves. 

I grew butternut squash from supermarket seed one year and they were the best I have ever grown except they unfortunately produced no seeds. 

 

[Spudbash]

Last year, I saved seed from some plum tomatoes bought at the farmers' market. I'd roasted them alongside my home-grown San Marzanos and found they were better. I've a couple of plants, which were both fast-growing and flimsier than my other tomato plants at first, but they've toughened up a bit, now.

As to whether they taste as good as last year's, time will tell...

If I ever buy a white peach or an apricot worth eating, I'll be tempted to plant the stone and see what happens.

 :)

[manicscousers]

long red peppers from lidl, been growing them for a couple of years  ;D

[goodlife]

Yep..peppers too..once I was eating particularly nice one so I save seeds from that..first year they were fine..now is second year for saved seeds from last year and I'm waiting with interest what will be the results.
But like with tomato seeds..not that I'm sort of seeds  ::) :-X ;D...but it is just interesting and 'fun' to do little trial crops. And who knows...you might end up with something that really really grows well with tasty results.
Last summer I couldn't get no where any tarragon plants..well decent ones. So I took cuttings from supermarket tarragon..sold as already cut bundle. After reviving it in water for few hours I took cutting and they did really well..actually they are still growing now..over wintered in conservatory.
I've taken some chrysanthemum cuttings before..I wanted one of those fancy green flowers..but at the time you could buy the plants. So after some foraging I found few bunches that had few stems with some side shoots.. ;D

[Squash64]

My husband planted a stone from a very tasty plum and it has grown into  quite a tall tree now.  Last year we had a very heavy crop of delicious plums which were quite similar to the one he saved the stone from.

[brown thumb]

two weeks back i had a piece of cake in a local cafe it was served with a small fruit can nt think what itscalledany  way the seeds is sprouting away nicely on damp cotton wool in a jam jar on top of the boiler so if any one knows its name so i could google itor even have any growing instructions i would be very grateful its probablya indoor plant over here

[Squash64]

two weeks back i had a piece of cake in a local cafe it was served with a small fruit can nt think what itscalledany  way the seeds is sprouting away nicely on damp cotton wool in a jam jar on top of the boiler so if any one knows its name so i could google itor even have any growing instructions i would be very grateful its probablya indoor plant over here

I thought you were going to say that you were growing the cake!

Could you go back to the cafe and take a photo of the fruit?

[dtw]

I've grown a Dragon fruit cactus from seed saved, it's now 3 years old, spreading it's 'arms' about 2ft wide along my kitchen windowsill.
It hasn't flowered yet, but I repotted it recently and it has put out some massive new growth.
So there's hope yet.  :D

[manicscousers]

just remembered the two pieces of lemon grass from asda which are growing nicely in pots now, and the ginger that is a good sized plant, from aldi  ;D

[SueK]

Well, must admit that I'm currently drying off some seeds from some interesting looking mini orange peppers I got from Leeds market this week.  As someone has already said, time will tell.  :)

It reminded me that we noticed that packets of tomatoes at Morrisons tend to have the variety on the wrapping, I would guess generally commercial varieties as the names are never familiar, or perhaps just ones which grow well in Europe as they're imported this time of year.  But then, didn't Green Tiger escape into the gardener's domain from M&S?

I buy supermarket pots of herbs and split them up if I haven't got around to sowing my own. Much cheaper than garden centres. Basil especially successful. Last year I got a growing bag out of one pot - kept me in pesto and salad all summer.

Must give that a go, as suddenly lots of the supermarket own brands of pesto aren't veggie any more. :'(  If anyone has grown pine nuts successfully, please let me know.  ;D

[Jeannine]

I bought a Purple Chinese Yam a couple of days ago..it is actually a sweet potato but we won't get into that one. It is bright violet inside, very pretty, I am going to try slips off it..too late for this year but an experiment to get ready for next year.

I have two  small plants growing from a large yellow Grenadilla, a type of passion fruit.

Brownthumb, over here we often get Cape Gooseberries as cake decorations, they sprout very well..small grape sized but perfectly roind and orange.

XX Jeannine

[grannyjanny]

Jeannine, Goodlife & I were at the Edible Garden Show earlier this year & Hames Wong was talking about the purple sweet potato & how good it is. I've just googled it & saw a picture of it mashed. I love the colour purple & it looked amazing cooked.
I'm sure Goodlife will remember more of what he said. I was rather busy oggling ;) ;D. I even got to speak to him ;D. What a lovely man ;).

[Jeannine]

Well hopefully it won't have the sprouting inhibitors in it. There will be a few tubers winging there way to the UK if available at the right time next year I think if sent now they wouldn't last till the spring


There actually is a better one than this but I have not seen it yet.Deep deep purple colour called Okinagan Purple. There is a very good site for sweet potatoes, I will try to find a link for yoiu
XX Jeannine.

[brown thumb]

oh thanks jeannine i will google it they are growing well

[grannyjanny]

AKA Physalis.