Seedy Cuttings And A Bonus Box

Well, another month has flown by, and it is the time that we should be giving you the opportunity to link up any blog updates that you may have. If you have a post that you would like to add to the mix, then please do feel free to use the linky below.

I have been watching the hashtag #SeedyPenpals on Twitter, and have enjoyed reading some of the tweets that you have sent to and fro about your plants and seeds etc. I thought that I would do a little bit of a round up of some of the things that I have seen around (seeing as this is a not-at-all-hastily-put-together post. Honest). I will also do a bit of blog hop of my own to see what else I can pick up, and I’ll add any #SeedyPenpals tweets here while I look for a better way to capture them.

For me, the most joy from Seedy Penpals has not been the setting up of the scheme, or the swap, discovering new seeds, or even planting them. Although these things have all been a lot of fun, and have brought me a lot of joy. Still, the thing that I have enjoyed most is all of the little things that neither Carl nor I foresaw when we set up the scheme.

On Twitter I saw that a couple of people who just missed out on the first round had organised themselves into their own private swap. I love this, I am glad that neither of them had to miss out on the fun, and I hope that they will both join all of us in the early spring. I’m also pleased that people think it’s a good enough idea to do their own.

Lovely stash of seeds has arrived from @papaver in our own mini version of #seedypenpals – looking forward to poring over them tonight

@janeperrone @papaver Brilliant, I love that you have made a mini version. You’d be welcome in the other version too 🙂 http://wp.me/P1AKrO-kJ

I have seen Carl share loads of things with other Seedy Penpals, including keffir as well as other boxes of goodies, and the usual help and advice. Of course, I am sure that he would have done this anyway; he is a very generous man who is always willing to help out. But I probably wouldn’t have seen them share, or know that people have been busy sending him things too.

And this is the thing, I have seen some old friends sharing, and I have watched new friendships blossom. And this is where the most joy has come for me. Watching these interactions, and seeing the friendships grow, even if the seeds haven’t all been planted. You are a pretty generous lot in the main, and I love to see it.

This is not to say that the seeds have not been growing. Mine have sprung to life, I’m just hoping that the frost doesn’t get them before I get home. Michelle at Veg Plotting has also updated me to say that the fennel that she was sent have done well. Although she planted them a little late to produce big fat bulbs, she has been enjoying the herby fronds in her salads. She has them under cover for the winter now, so I hope there is still quite a bit of mileage in them yet. Have you seen any progress? Let us know in the comments.

From Twitter:

Carla has already enjoyed some of her leaves

@Saralimback hello.the very baby leaves of the ruby chard are utterly delish with mixed leaves .#SeedyPenPals#thoughtYouMayLikeToKnow

Lorraine even had time to plant beans, and is cropping them now, as well as fitting in a little baking.

Outdoor work done,#SeedyPenpals beans picked for tea, now time to make my first ever bread from scratch. Have been inspired by#GBBO .

@5olly Those beans were delicious. Still more growing, not a bad haul from 6 seeds.. #SeedyPenpals

I’ll add more if you have tweeted them.

I have to admit that I am not at home at the moment, and that I don’t have the promised photos of the amaranths that I planted from my first Seedy Packet. But, my penpal Charlotte and I have also kept in touch, and this month we sent each other a food packet too.

Mine was garden inspired, and I sent her foodstuff that I had grown, made or foraged, as well as a few Dutch goodies, and some hibiscus tea (which I didn’t grow).

All I can say about my parcel is wow; if Charlotte managed to pack this much into such a small box, then I’d love to see her skills at Tetris!

I got loads of her favourite things, like the semolina/ jelly style desserts, the butter chicken, the sardine paste and the Reese’s pieces. She also sent me some things from her travels – the curry leaf powder, popadoms, the savoury oatmeal (yes, savoury, I am fascinated), chilli popcorn (unpopped) and a small bottle of biryani. It is fragrant with cloves, and has really got me thinking what I can use it with. It scented the box beautifully.

As well as the sardine pate, I got some interesting seasoning. Charlotte says it makes any savoury dish amazing, so I am looking forward to experimenting.

There were some East Asian delights too. A really interesting pumpkin miso, tea and pickled vegetables. I love me a good pickle, so these will be the inspiration for a good meal later in the week.

I got a tube of a nice fiery Harrissa. I love this stuff, and will be adding it to soups, stews and many random things in the near future.

There was also some more nougat and exquisite Turkish delight. Unfortunately I scoffed most of it forgot to take photos of that, but it has inspired me to have a go at my own. I often have egg whites knocking about, due to my custard habit, and I can feel experiments in foraged fruits coming on too.

To make sure all the treats didn’t send me to the dentist, she also included this gorgeous toothpaste. Mint and Jasmine. Brilliant, definitely a change.

Thank you Charlotte, I have been so inspired by your box, and I have never tried ay of the items in it, so I’m looking forward to trying them all out.

And thanks also to all you Seedy Penpals, for bringing me such joy – especially in ways that I wasn’t expecting.