Dear all,

I was given some tamarind seeds a couple of years ago and planted four
of them earlier this year. They are now sprouting well, to my surprise, and
I am wondering how to get them to survive the winter.

Is there any chance they will continue to grow if I bring them indoors
when it gets cold? I don't have a conservatory, unfortunately, but I do have
a south-facing kitchen window. I'm in Ramsgate, Kent, and we don't get
tremendously cold winters.

Si

"Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot" <ufdi [at] hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:9YqdnbTmhq5J7xPZnZ2dnUVZ8qidnZ2d [at] pipex.net...
> Dear all,
>
> I was given some tamarind seeds a couple of years ago and planted four
> of them earlier this year. They are now sprouting well, to my surprise,
and
> I am wondering how to get them to survive the winter.
>
> Is there any chance they will continue to grow if I bring them indoors
> when it gets cold? I don't have a conservatory, unfortunately, but I do
have
> a south-facing kitchen window. I'm in Ramsgate, Kent, and we don't get
> tremendously cold winters.
>
> Si

sorry I can't help, I tend to lurk

however.......

winter - I must have had a very very long sleep last night
:-)

Space wrote:
> "Mungo "Two Sheds" Toadfoot" <ufdi [at] hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:9YqdnbTmhq5J7xPZnZ2dnUVZ8qidnZ2d [at] pipex.net...
>> Dear all,
>>
>> I was given some tamarind seeds a couple of years ago and
>> planted four of them earlier this year. They are now sprouting well,
>> to my surprise, and I am wondering how to get them to survive the
>> winter.
>
> sorry I can't help, I tend to lurk

......ok

>
> however.......
>
> winter - I must have had a very very long sleep last night
> :-)

The reason I ask is that I once grew a mango tree from seed which grew to
well over a foot high but gave up the ghost one winter. This wasn't helped
by my mother-in-law "pruning" it, admittedly.

Si

snip

mungo,

I have a huge interest in indian food

did you just plant these ordinarily, any special considerations?
I have tamarind from the asian shop
and it has seeds in it, is this where you got yours?

Is there anything indian else you have managed to grow
apart from coriander
(curry leaves?, fenugreek leaves?)

cheers

4

fourmations wrote:
> snip
>
> mungo,
>
> I have a huge interest in indian food
>

Me too. uk.food+drink.indian is "my" group :) Well, I proposed it and fought
for its creation anyway.

> did you just plant these ordinarily, any special considerations?
> I have tamarind from the asian shop
> and it has seeds in it, is this where you got yours?
>

I was given them by one of the posters on UFDI - they arrived in a matchbox
and I forgot to plant them for two years! This year I just buried them in
normal compost at the same time as the tomatoes and runners and they just
grew.

I believe I've still got some left - I had a look for them earlier as it
happens but couldn't find them. If I do find them I'll gladly post some to
you, if you want to try growing them. They are quite large seeds - about
runner bean size.

> Is there anything indian else you have managed to grow
> apart from coriander
> (curry leaves?, fenugreek leaves?)
>

I've only ever tried coriander and that wasn't overly successful. I did use
culinary seeds rather than ones specifically for planting though, if it
makes a difference.

Si

Following up to "fourmations" <niallpissoffyouswine [at] academysigns.com> :

>
>snip
>
>mungo,
>
>I have a huge interest in indian food
>
>did you just plant these ordinarily, any special considerations?
>I have tamarind from the asian shop
>and it has seeds in it, is this where you got yours?
>
>Is there anything indian else you have managed to grow
>apart from coriander
>(curry leaves?, fenugreek leaves?)

Ginger is relatively easy.
--
Tim C.

snip


> >Is there anything indian else you have managed to grow
> >apart from coriander
> >(curry leaves?, fenugreek leaves?)
>
> Ginger is relatively easy.
> --
> Tim C.

Hi Mungo, I have been known to prop up on udfi myself
asking wierd questions, (see my latest!)

i would love to grow methi and curry leaves specifically
because they are items I can never get fresh

Tim,
I read up on ginger but never did anything about it,
is it as easy as bunging supermarket ginger ina bucket?

rgds

4

Following up to "fourmations" <niallpissoffyouswine [at] academysigns.com> :

>
>Hi Mungo, I have been known to prop up on udfi myself
>asking wierd questions, (see my latest!)
>
>i would love to grow methi and curry leaves specifically
>because they are items I can never get fresh

Methi is fenugreek leaves, right? Trigonella oenum-graecum?
In that case it should be easy to grow it in a sheltered spot. It comes
from the Mediterranean area originally and is known as a garden plant
attractive to butterflies in Germany.
I might give it a try myself, I'd never thought of trying it before. I've
got a spare patch in the garden.

You can grow nigella/kalonji easily. - I've got my first small patch
growing in the garden in Austria. (the ornamental forms are sometimes known
as Love-in-a-mist)

Coriander needs warmth, but doesn't like too much direct sun. I have had
success growing it in the shade of a dense row of raspberry canes in the
garden. (about 2-3 feet away). If it gets too sunburnt or dry it tends to
bolt.

>Tim,
>I read up on ginger but never did anything about it,
>is it as easy as bunging supermarket ginger ina bucket?

No, not really. They're quite attractive plants though.
--
Tim C.

The message <ZeydnU4oeuUzPxPZRVny1A [at] pipex.net>
from "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot" <ufdi [at] hotmail.com> contains these words:



> I've only ever tried coriander and that wasn't overly successful. I did use
> culinary seeds rather than ones specifically for planting though, if it
> makes a difference.

There are two sorts of edible coriander; one with spidery leaves
grown to produce the culinary seeds, and one with larger flat leaves
which is the sort to use when a recipe calls for a handful of chopped
coriander. So, the culinary seeds you planted would not produce the leaf
one if that's what you wanted.

You'll find seed of the leaf sort sold in any GC as cilantro, it's easy
to grow sown in the open garden and not too late to start a crop now.
Don't transplant them, it makes them bolt to flower and then they stop
leaf production.

Janet

--
Isle of Arran Open Gardens weekend 21,22,23 July 2006
5 UKP three-day adult ticket (funds go to island charities) buys entry
to 26 private gardens

Mungo \Two Sheds\ Toadfoot Wrote:
> Dear all,
>
> I was given some tamarind seeds a couple of years ago and planted four
> of them earlier this year. They are now sprouting well, to my surprise,
> and
> I am wondering how to get them to survive the winter.
>
> Is there any chance they will continue to grow if I bring them indoors
> when it gets cold? I don't have a conservatory, unfortunately, but I do
> have
> a south-facing kitchen window. I'm in Ramsgate, Kent, and we don't get
> tremendously cold winters.
>
> Si
I have no experience of growing, but lots of experience eating. I'm
sure you could overwinter indoors as long as it got lots of light but
Tamarinds grow into huge trees. I expect it would get too big very
quickly. I think some varieties get up to 80'. Its great fun to grow
them though even if they may have to be abandoned in the end. I shall
have a go myself next time I get hold of some seeds. Its pretty foliage
too I seem to remember.


--
trin

Janet Baraclough wrote:
> The message <ZeydnU4oeuUzPxPZRVny1A [at] pipex.net>
> from "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot" <ufdi [at] hotmail.com> contains these
> words:
>
>> I've only ever tried coriander and that wasn't overly successful. I
>> did use culinary seeds rather than ones specifically for planting
>> though, if it makes a difference.
>
> There are two sorts of edible coriander; one with spidery leaves
> grown to produce the culinary seeds, and one with larger flat leaves
> which is the sort to use when a recipe calls for a handful of chopped
> coriander. So, the culinary seeds you planted would not produce the
> leaf one if that's what you wanted.
>

That'll be why it didn't work then! Thank you, I thought as much.

> You'll find seed of the leaf sort sold in any GC as cilantro, it's
> easy
> to grow sown in the open garden and not too late to start a crop now.
> Don't transplant them, it makes them bolt to flower and then they stop
> leaf production.
>

Brilliant, many thanks; I'll get some. I *never* have any coriander in when
I want it so it'll be nice to have some growing. It freezes well too, if I
end up with loads of it.

Si

trin wrote:

> I have no experience of growing, but lots of experience eating.

Heh.

> I'm
> sure you could overwinter indoors as long as it got lots of light but
> Tamarinds grow into huge trees. I expect it would get too big very
> quickly. I think some varieties get up to 80'.

Yes, I read up on them earlier and found some pictures to be absolutely sure
they were tamarinds - they are.

> Its great fun to grow
> them though even if they may have to be abandoned in the end.

But I was really upset when my mango died! :)

> I shall
> have a go myself next time I get hold of some seeds. Its pretty
> foliage too I seem to remember.

It is - like a fat fern. The seed pods come out of the soil on a stalk and
then split, exposing fluffy foliage. They're like aliens.

Si

On Tue, 13 Jun 2006 21:34:52 +0100, "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot"
<ufdi [at] hotmail.com> wrote:

>Janet Baraclough wrote:
>> The message <ZeydnU4oeuUzPxPZRVny1A [at] pipex.net>
>> from "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot" <ufdi [at] hotmail.com> contains these
>> words:
>>
>>> I've only ever tried coriander and that wasn't overly successful. I
>>> did use culinary seeds rather than ones specifically for planting
>>> though, if it makes a difference.
>>
>> There are two sorts of edible coriander; one with spidery leaves
>> grown to produce the culinary seeds, and one with larger flat leaves
>> which is the sort to use when a recipe calls for a handful of chopped
>> coriander. So, the culinary seeds you planted would not produce the
>> leaf one if that's what you wanted.
>
>That'll be why it didn't work then! Thank you, I thought as much.
>
>> You'll find seed of the leaf sort sold in any GC as cilantro, it's
>> easy
>> to grow sown in the open garden and not too late to start a crop now.
>> Don't transplant them, it makes them bolt to flower and then they stop
>> leaf production.
>>
>
>Brilliant, many thanks; I'll get some. I *never* have any coriander in when
>I want it so it'll be nice to have some growing. It freezes well too, if I
>end up with loads of it.

<hello to another ukrm refugee>

On a Gardeners World special about allotments a couple of years ago
there was an Asian gardener who came from a long line of farmers /
gardeners in Pakistan.

He grew all sorts of amazing things. One of those was coriander. He
lightly "ground" or bruised the seeds between rocks / stones before
planting to break the outer coating. This facilitated germination. The
other thing was that he never watered his plants - he argued this forced
them to put down strong roots by searching for moisture.

Dear old Monty said he was going to try the seed "grounding" technique
as he had struggled to get coriander to grow effectively. I've not seen
any feedback as to whether Monty was any more successful.

As I know next to nothing about gardening and plants you may well wish
to pay more attention to the resident experts than me!
--
Paul C

"fourmations" wrote
>
> snip
>
> mungo,
>
> I have a huge interest in indian food
>
> did you just plant these ordinarily, any special considerations?
> I have tamarind from the asian shop
> and it has seeds in it, is this where you got yours?
>
> Is there anything indian else you have managed to grow
> apart from coriander
> (curry leaves?, fenugreek leaves?)
>

We have two different types of genuine Sag/Saag growing on the allotment.
Asian friend brought the seeds back for us from a farming relative in the
Punjab recently but doesn't know the names of them although she did say one
is the very best type. Unlike our Spinach these are obviously both brassicas
judging by the colour and the flea beetle damage.
Germination was about 100% and took only a three days.
Problem now is when to harvest.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden
17mls W. of London.UK

Following up to "Mungo \"Two Sheds\" Toadfoot" <ufdi [at] hotmail.com> :

>> There are two sorts of edible coriander; one with spidery leaves
>> grown to produce the culinary seeds, and one with larger flat leaves
>> which is the sort to use when a recipe calls for a handful of chopped
>> coriander. So, the culinary seeds you planted would not produce the
>> leaf one if that's what you wanted.
>>
>
>That'll be why it didn't work then! Thank you, I thought as much.

But the one with frilly leaves (a bit like a cross between dill and
parsley) can be used just as well and taste the same.

--
Tim C.

fourmations wrote:
[...]
>
> i would love to grow methi and curry leaves specifically
> because they are items I can never get fresh
>
> Tim,
> I read up on ginger but never did anything about it,
> is it as easy as bunging supermarket ginger ina bucket?
>
As another poster said, ginger is quite easy and attractive to grow,
but it's hard to get a crop in our temperate conditions -- it's never
done any good for me, at any rate.

Curry leaves are also tropical: I've never seen fresh ones for sale
(and dried ones, as you know, are a waste of space for cooking), but
they must be available somewhere at an appropriate price. But in case
you do find some, I found the following by Ggling:
http://plantcultures.org.uk/plants/curry_leaf_grow_it.html

--
Mike.

Paul Corfield wrote:
>
> <hello to another ukrm refugee>
>

<Waves> 'Ello Paul.

> On a Gardeners World special about allotments a couple of years ago
> there was an Asian gardener who came from a long line of farmers /
> gardeners in Pakistan.
>
> He grew all sorts of amazing things. One of those was coriander. He
> lightly "ground" or bruised the seeds between rocks / stones before
> planting to break the outer coating. This facilitated germination. The
> other thing was that he never watered his plants - he argued this
> forced them to put down strong roots by searching for moisture.
>

It makes sense but I wonder if UK seeds would be hardy enough for that sort
of treatment? Still, worth a try - some with and some without water. Saying
that, it's been slashing down all day here!

> Dear old Monty said he was going to try the seed "grounding" technique
> as he had struggled to get coriander to grow effectively. I've not
> seen any feedback as to whether Monty was any more successful.
>
> As I know next to nothing about gardening and plants you may well wish
> to pay more attention to the resident experts than me!

Heh. All contributions welcome :)

Si

Mungo \Two Sheds\ Toadfoot Wrote:
> Paul Corfield wrote:
>
> hello to another ukrm refugee
>
>
> Waves 'Ello Paul.
>
> On a Gardeners World special about allotments a couple of years ago
> there was an Asian gardener who came from a long line of farmers /
> gardeners in Pakistan.
>
> He grew all sorts of amazing things. One of those was coriander. He
> lightly "ground" or bruised the seeds between rocks / stones before
> planting to break the outer coating. This facilitated germination.
> The
> other thing was that he never watered his plants - he argued this
> forced them to put down strong roots by searching for moisture.
>
>
> It makes sense but I wonder if UK seeds would be hardy enough for that
> sort
> of treatment? Still, worth a try - some with and some without water.
> Saying
> that, it's been slashing down all day here!
>
> Dear old Monty said he was going to try the seed "grounding"
> technique
> as he had struggled to get coriander to grow effectively. I've not
> seen any feedback as to whether Monty was any more successful.
>
> As I know next to nothing about gardening and plants you may well
> wish
> to pay more attention to the resident experts than me!
>
> Heh. All contributions welcome :)
>
> Si
If you look on plottys allotment update there is a picture of some
healthy looking coriander. Looks like the leaf crop sort, from what I
can see. It may say in his blog archive how he achieved it.


--
trin

In article <1150300314.375963.127010 [at] c74g2000cwc.googlegroups.com>,
"Mike Lyle" <mike_lyle_uk [at] yahoo.co.uk> wrote:

> fourmations wrote:
> [...]
> >
> > i would love to grow methi and curry leaves specifically
> > because they are items I can never get fresh
> >
> > Tim,
> > I read up on ginger but never did anything about it,
> > is it as easy as bunging supermarket ginger ina bucket?
> >
> As another poster said, ginger is quite easy and attractive to grow,
> but it's hard to get a crop in our temperate conditions -- it's never
> done any good for me, at any rate.
>
> Curry leaves are also tropical: I've never seen fresh ones for sale
> (and dried ones, as you know, are a waste of space for cooking), but
> they must be available somewhere at an appropriate price. But in case
> you do find some, I found the following by Ggling:
> http://plantcultures.org.uk/plants/curry_leaf_grow_it.html

I'm amazed that anyone has had difficulty germinating coriander.
In the past i've tried growing it - and I reckon I got 110% germination
from seed bought as spice in an indian supermarket. I've always
found it a bit difficult to grow on - and have given up because
you can buy big bunches of it for less than a pound in the very
same indian supermarkets.

Fenugreek (methi) is much the same story. You can buy seed from seed
companies and some people use it as green manure. You can buy the seed
much cheaper from indian supermarkets. It germinates Ok but its
always a bit weedy. Maybe with better soil, a polytunnel etc you'd
get a reasonable crop - but again, the big bunches for less than a pound
in the supermarkets beckon.
Mustard seed as a green manure is another supermarket purchase.

I also tried ginger once. Its quite interesting - but it needs a lot
of heat and light. You're certainly not going to get a cost effective
crop with that.

My current project is Caralluma sp. (Edulis? Fimbriata?)
which is a succulent
looking a bit like a stapelia. I found it on sale at 84p /100g
in the AlHalal Supermarket in Bradford. I tried eating it raw
(very unpleasant) and braised (slightly less unpleasant). Its very
bitter - and I think it should be added to dishes in small quantities
(anyone know?). Anyway, the remainder is living in a pot with the
other succulents in the greenhouse. Perhaps it will flower and identify
itself - or maybe it will just die out in the winter.

Following up to John McMillan <j.e.mcmillan [at] sheffielddot.acdot.uk> :

>I'm amazed that anyone has had difficulty germinating coriander.
>In the past i've tried growing it - and I reckon I got 110% germination
>from seed bought as spice in an indian supermarket.

Me too. I seem to get more plants than the seeds I planted. :-)
Just make sure the seed isn't pre-roasted, as some of it is.

> I've always
>found it a bit difficult to grow on - and have given up because
>you can buy big bunches of it for less than a pound in the very
>same indian supermarkets.

Never had any trouble. Bung it in the garden somewhere warm and sheltered,
but not direct sun all day, and the seeds come up and grow like mad. I have
quite heavy clay soil. Slugs love it, however.
--
Tim C.

"Tim C." <tim.challenger [at] aon.at> wrote in message
news:ntl4925fgpau10vvekb1pjv1oocde7lh7v [at] 4ax.com...
> Following up to John McMillan <j.e.mcmillan [at] sheffielddot.acdot.uk> :
>
> >I'm amazed that anyone has had difficulty germinating coriander.
> >In the past i've tried growing it - and I reckon I got 110% germination
> >from seed bought as spice in an indian supermarket.
>
> Me too. I seem to get more plants than the seeds I planted. :-)
> Just make sure the seed isn't pre-roasted, as some of it is.
>
> > I've always
> >found it a bit difficult to grow on - and have given up because
> >you can buy big bunches of it for less than a pound in the very
> >same indian supermarkets.
>
> Never had any trouble. Bung it in the garden somewhere warm and sheltered,
> but not direct sun all day, and the seeds come up and grow like mad. I
have
> quite heavy clay soil. Slugs love it, however.
> --
> Tim C.


hi all

I planted some fenugreek during this thread and its sprouted
any special considerations

rgds
4