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In My Seed Box for 2026 - Peppers

In 2022 peppers were started off in a portable grow station in doors in February, moved out to the external grow house in March and finally into the space saver and allotment greenhouses on the allotment. 

I haven't really grown peppers since then. Pepper seeds last 3 - 6 years when stored in ideal conditions, and at the moment I only have one pack that is viable, so I will keep a look out for more for 2026, as I would like to have a bash at them again.  

Review Of Seed Stocks in Packets

Sweet Paragon                    - 10 Seeds - D.T.Brown - Sow By 2025 

Alphabetical Listing of seeds I have grown previously 

                                                  Sowing          Sowing         Plant                Harvest
                                                  Indoors          Outdoors     Out

Chilli Lancer                              Feb - April                          May - Jun            Jul - Oct
Chilli Machu Pichu                    Feb - April                          May - Jun            Jul - Oct
Chilli Moruga Red                     Feb - April                          May - Jun            Jul - Oct
Hot Red                                    Feb - April                          May - Jun            Jul - Oct
Sweet Boneta                                               Late Mar - April                         Jul - Frost

Sweet California Wonder          Feb - April                          May - Jun            Jul - Oct
Sweet Lemon Dream                Feb - April                          50mm tall            Jul - Oct
Sweet Lunchbox Mix                 Feb - April                          50mm tall            Jul - Oct

Sweet Mixed                             Feb - April                          May - Jun            Jul - Oct

Sweet Paragon                         Feb - April                          May - Jun            Jul - Oct

Sweet Summer Salad Mix        Mar - April                          May - Jun            Jul - Oct

Sweet Tangerine Dream           Feb - April                          May - Jun            Jul - Oct

Germination 7 - 14 days 

In My Seed Box For 2026 - Index

Rheumatology Consultant Appointment

 

Today I had a follow up appointment with my Rheumatology Consultants as it's now time to start on Methotrexate which is a type of medicine called an immunosuppressant. It slows down your body's immune system and helps reduce swelling (inflammation). It's used to treat inflammatory conditions including rheumatoid arthritis. It's also use to slow down cancer.

As my immune system will be lowered, they took blood to test to see if I have any underlying viruses in my system already, before they put me on the drug, once started I will need to go to St Georges for blood tests every week or fortnightly to check on my liver and kidneys, these tests are to check if the Methotrexate is working and if it's causing any side effects. 

I will be taking Methotrexate on a Monday and on the Wednesday I will be taking Folic Acid (I did say to the consultant I was not pregnant) Folic acid supplementation during methotrexate therapy can reduce the risks of adverse effects including nausea vomiting, abdominal pain, mouth ulcers, raised liver enzymes and bone marrow toxicity, hair loss and baldness, my daughter the consultants and I had a laugh about the last one as I have a receding hair line and had just had a number 1 shave of my hair this morning.

Methotrexate (MTX) combined with low-dose prednisolone (PDN) is the cornerstone of early rheumatoid arthritis treatment reducing inflammation and slowing down bone damage.

Once my consultant has my blood results back they will send a prescription and a list of dates they would like me to come in for blood tests, it's a pain in the arse that I have to travel to St Georges and can not have the blood test done locally.

The Bee Gees - Shopping Around

So in my head I have the Bee Gees Staying Alive playing but I have replaced "Staying Alive" with "Shopping Around".  Now that your actually listening to that in your own head and singing along with it, I will continue.....

A google search gives you some idea of cost and postage, what it doesn't give you without going into each one is the amount of seeds that are in the pack. 

Back in 2024 when I was last looking for Gladiator F1 Parsnip Seeds and I did a cost comparison these were my findings:-

Yorkshire seeds appeared the cheapest for the quantity of seeds I was after, however what I found was their packs only contained around 100 seeds, not 400 as stated. I contacted them and they did in fairness send me 3 additional packs of seeds, however this has put me off from using them again, as I operate on a  "Catch me once shame on you, catch me twice shame on me) basis. 

Not everyone counts seeds in a pack, it's only I was starting them off in modules that I counted them. 

It takes time and effort to shop around but I like to pick one variety vegetable and undertake a survey on seed prices against quantity like this usually when I update the before you buy seeds article. it's a good indicator of which companies provide the best value for money.  

My table did not include P&P as that really depends what else you are buying at the same time, and in fact some companies include the P&P in their price of seeds like Seeds To Suit and Seed Megastore, knowing which ones include P&P can be taken into account when finally selecting where you are going to buy from.

These cost comparison surveys undertaken when I have updated the Before You Buy Seeds article, help new allotment holders when they ask on the many gardening and allotment Facebook groups "Where do you get your seeds from" and don't realise just how greedy for profit some seed companies can be. It's is if they are owned and run by the Ferengi 

Previous Comparison Surveys 

Carrots Early Nantes - Comparison Survey 2024 

Supplier                        Number Seed - Cost 

Budget Seeds             -      400 Seeds    -       29p 

Seeds to Suit              -      200 Seeds    -       29p 

Seeds to Sow             -      100 Seeds    -        55p

Simply Seeds             -       500 Seeds   -        89p

Dobies                        -    1100 Seeds     -       89p (£1.99) on sale   

Happy Green Shop    -     3000 Seeds    -       99p 

D.T. Brown                  -    2000 Seeds    -       99p 

Seekay Hort Supplies -    1600 Seeds   -        99p

Seed Megastore        -       900 Seeds    -       99p 

Just Seeds                 -       800 Seeds    -       99p

Yorkshire Seeds         -       700 Seeds   -   £ 1.19

Simpson's Seeds       -      1400 Seeds   -  £ 1.40

Kings                          -     2000 Seeds    -  £ 1.65

Tucker                        -      2000 Seeds    - £ 1.65

Suttons                       -     1100 Seeds    -  £ 2.49

Marshalls                    -     2600 Seeds    -  £ 2.69

Thompson & Morgan  -     1000 Seeds    - £ 2.99

Gardeners Delight Tomato Seeds Comparison Survey 2020  

Supplier                        Number Seed - Cost 

Seeds To Sow            -     10 Seeds -     55p

More Veg                   -      12 Seeds -     60p 

Wilko                          -      75 Seeds -    75p

Growseed                  -       50 Seeds -    76p

Simply Seeds             -   100 Seeds -     99p

Premier Seeds Direct -   250 Seeds -     99p

Seed Megastore        -   150 Seeds - £1.10 

Just Seeds                 -     50 Seeds - £1.25

Kings Seeds              -      50 Seeds - £1.50

Nickys Nursery          -      50 Seeds - £1.55

Dobies                        -   100 Seeds - £1.99            

Simpsons Seeds       -      20 Seeds - £1.60 

Seedaholic                 -     45 Seeds - £1.65      

Just Seeds                 -   150 Seeds - £1.75

D.T. Brown                  -    50 Seeds - £1.85          

Sarah Raven              -     50 Seeds - £1.85

Plant World Seeds     -     30 Seeds - £2.10

Robinsons Mammoth -    20 Seeds - £2.10 

ChilternSeeds            -     35 Seeds - £2.15 

Mr Fothergills             -     50 Seeds - £2.15 

Johnsons                   -     50 Seeds - £2.40

Real Seeds                -     20 Seeds - £2.49

Suttons                       -     50 Seeds - £2.49  

Thompson & Morgan  -    50 Seeds - £2.79 

Marshalls                    -    50 Seeds - £2.99 

Gardening Direct        -    50 Seeds - £2.99 

Just Seeds                 - 1200 Seeds - £6.55

Musselburgh Leeks Comparison Survey 2017 

Musselburgh - 1700  Seeds - £1.99 - Premier Seeds Direct * Free Delivery
Musselburgh - 1400  Seeds - £7.56 - Suttons
Musselburgh -   800  Seeds -    99p - Premier Seeds Direct * Free Delivery
Musselburgh -   750  Seeds - £1.00 - Seedaholic.com
Musselburgh -   700  Seeds - £1.99 - Marshalls
Musselburgh -   500  Seeds - £1.39 - DT Brown 
Musselburgh -   500  Seeds - £2.10 - Johnsons
Musselburgh -   500  Seeds - £1.89 - Mr Fothergill's
Musselburgh -   425  Seeds - £1.15 - Kings Seeds
Musselburgh -   400  Seeds -    99p - Seed Parade
Musselburgh -   350  Seeds - £1.99 - Suttons
Musselburgh -   350  Seeds - £1.99 - Thompson & Morgan
Musselburgh -   350  Seeds - £1.99 - Unwins
Musselburgh -   300  Seeds - £1.30 - Nicky's Nursery 
Musselburgh -   300  Seeds - £1.29 - Dobies  
Musselburgh -   300  Seeds -    60p - Wilko 
Musselburgh -   250  Seeds - £1.60 - Simpsons Seeds & Plants
Musselburgh -   200  Seeds - £1.85 - Plantword Seeds
Musselburgh -   150  Seeds -    85p - Nicky's Nursery
Musselburgh -     50  Seeds -    50p - More Veg

In My Seed Box for 2026 - Parsnips

   

I do love my Parsnips, they were however a bit of a failure in 2024 when the slugs and snails wiped out all 105 seedlings and I didn't get around to growing them in 2025.

In 2026 I'm looking forward to repeating the success of 2016 & 2017 and have a full 2.4m x 1.2m beds worth that will be using the 105-hole planting membrane. 

                                                    

I have not bought any Parsnip seeds yet, as I want nice new fresh seed for next year. the varieties I have grown in the past include Tender and True, Student and my favourite is Gladiator F1 

                                           Sow                            Harvest

Tender and True     Mid Feb - End May            Oct - Mid Feb 

Gladiator F1           Mid Feb - End May            Oct - Mid Feb 

Student                  Mid Feb - End May            Oct - Mid Feb 

Traditional sowing thinly in rows 400mm apart and cover with 13mm of fine soil firm gently and keep moist.

Germination seedlings appear 14 - 32 days 

Protect early sowings with cloches if soil is cold and wet

leave roots in the ground as flavour is improved by frost. leave remaining roots in February and store undamaged roots in sand in a dry frost-free area or process and freeze.    

I'm going to try chitting and growing in kitchen towel & loo rolls early as well as direct sowing in 2026. 

What Varieties do you grow and had the most success with?

When do you sow your Parsnips?

Do you chit the seeds or Sow Direct?

In My Seed Box For 2026 - Index

Potting Shed Due To Rain

As I got to the allotment today, it started to rain, according to the forecast I should have had a good two and a half hours of dry weather!

So I ended up pottering about in the potting shed. Shucking the beans out of the Lazy Wife French Climbing bean pods that have dried, laying out the latest ones harvested to dry out. Watering the seedlings, as I'm at the hospital tomorrow and will not get down to the allotment.

I also crushed up Starbucks coffee pucks and ground coffee, ready for spreading over the beds to fertilise them. On getting home I harvested seeds from Crimson Cherry tomatoes & the tennis ball size tomatoes given to me by a plot neighbour.

Shucking the Lazy Housewife French Climbing Beans out of the pods that have dried,

Next batch of Lazy Housewife Pods and beans drying out, on top of the four tins of coffee grounds that I crushed the pucks and made sure its all dry and ready to sprinkle over the beds to fertilise them. 

 Last lot of harvested Lazy Housewife Climbing French Beans pods laid out to dry, for the beans to be used for next year

Japanese Senshyu Yellow Globe Onions getting longer

Vailan Winter Gem lettuces seedlings doing well and straightening up a little, watered and turned around again

The seeds from the two tennis ball size tomatoes given to me by my plot neighbour have now been harvested and laid out to dry before bagging up 

Tennis ball sized tomatoes seeds laid out on a KP Peanut lid to dry out before decanting into seed packs.

Seeds from one Crimson Cherry tomatoes which was more than the seeds collected from the table tennis sized tomato given to my by a plot neighbour

Seeds from two Crimson Cherry tomatoes

Decanted into the small plastic container, washed and sieved with a tea strainer

Seeds from Crimson Cherry spread out to dry on the inside of a plastic lid to washing powder, that I also use to draw the holes on weed membrane when turning it into planting membrane, thus the lines to centre the circle template. 

In My Seed Box For 2026 - Pak Choi

Pak Choi Macau F1 - 100 Seeds - Dobies -  Cost £2.49 in 2023 increased to £2.99 currently on offer at 89p  

Plants will hold in the ground two weeks longer than regular varieties without going to seed!

Perfect for any stir- fry or steamed until soft in a vegetable side dish.

Compact habit, they are the ideal addition to beds, borders or containers.

Macau is a vigorous mini Pak Choi variety, that performs well in mid-summer with good bolt tolerance. Plants will hold in the ground for around 2 weeks longer than regular varieties without going to seed. These vegetable plants are ideal to succession sow for a continued harvest for months. Compact habit, they are the ideal addition to beds and borders or patio pots and containers. Height 10–100mm (½–4"); spread 10 - 100cm (½–4").

Pak Choi is a Chinese leafy green member of the cabbage family, popular for its delicious flavour. Harvesting from mid-May until December, ‘Macau’ is a mini Pak Choi variety that is the perfect addition to any stir-fry dish or steamed until soft for a delicious Chinese side dish.

Growing Pak Choi from seed

Seeds should be sown 1cm deep in finely raked, moist soil. To ensure plants produce miniature Pak Choi, sow seeds in a grid pattern 5cm apart and 10cm between rows. To extend your harvest, seeds can also be started off earlier or later than stated if grown in a greenhouse border.

Growing Information

Seeds should be sown 1cm deep in finely raked, moist soil. To ensure plants produce miniature Pak Choi, sow seeds in a grid pattern 5cm apart and 10cm between rows. To extend your harvest seeds can also be started off earlier or later than stated if grown in a greenhouse border.

In My Seed Box For 2026 - Index

Fatman & Robin

Finally got the beds in the climbing frame greenhouse weed free, and planted out the dwarf French beans. I had beautiful my Robin around me all afternoon, he would not leave me alone, for a short while he went outside the climbing frame greenhouse, but kept an eye on me and just watched then he was back inside checking over where I had cleared the weeds

Bean stalks at the end of the bed as a chop and drop, and Beautiful (top left corner) just working his way around the bed looking for things to eat. He really comes close and I fear I might accidently tread on him. 

Good roots at the bottom of the loo rolls, I may get something from these Dwarf French beans there again I may get nothing. I will just have to wait and see what the weather does.  

View from the main path by the water tank

Holes dibbed and French Dwarf Beans in loo rolls planted, I trod a channel along the front of the row of beans and watered the plants in, and filled the channel. I could have harvested another box of tomatoes but I'm running out of people to give them to, as I have so many, I have grown less tomatoes this year, in the past I've grown them in the greenhouse on the allotment six plants outside and 22 at home, but this year they have been prolific.