A Members' Posts

Free: Rocket seeds (Hatfield AL10) Named varieties: "Tricia" unopened "Astra" unopened "Runway" opened and I used it for years, so I'm less sure of germination of these - but I think rocket seeds last a long time.

2d

Free: Lettuce seeds (Hatfield AL10) Both these are unopened and should germinate fine: "Salad bowl" - which is a curly cut-and-come again type "Lobjoits Green Cos" - which is a hearting cos/romaine variety [duh!] Will also throw in the two opened packs if you like. I believe they both germinated for me this spring, but I've moved on to other packets. (Which reminds me I think I have a few spare lettuce plants I probably won't bother to list - "salad bowl" - as if you're interested.)

2d

Free: Spiral tree guard (Hatfield AL10) This came off a street tree that blew down in December. People planting trees in the landscape use these to protect them from rabbits which like to strip off the bark. So far there aren't any rabbits in my garden, so I have no use of it. Like these:

2d

Free: Tomato plants (sungold+) (Hatfield AL10) Some excess young tomato plants to give away. These are ready for you to plant into their final positions (grow bag, the ground, large pots). Mostly "Sungold" which I say is the best tomato you can grow for eating raw. Sweet orange cherry sized fruits, usually the first to crop from the varieties I grow. Also some "Gardener's Delight", which is a slightly larger red fruited variety also recommended. Apparently from the picture at least one "Lady Fingers", which I have not grown before. Heritage variety with long red fruit. Probably I have others if you ask nicely. All are tall/cordon/indeterminate varieties: conventionally grown up a support, removing the side shoots. You do need to bother with a support, you don't really need to bother removing the side shoots, especially if you have your tomatoes in a really sunny open space with enough support to let them sprawl a bit.

2d

Free: Young lettuce plants (Hatfield AL10) Gifted This is a cut-and-come-again variety "salad bowl". I usually snip individual leaves from the outside rather than cut down the whole thing but either way works. 4 plants. If we haven't discussed numbers, you may get 4 or just 2 if I'm trying to satisfy two people. Tell me if you need all 4. You'll get a better crop if you can plant in the ground or pot into larger pots, but you can just leave them as they are and it will be ok.

2d

Free: Verbena bonariensis (purpletop) (Hatfield AL10) Young plants mostly potted as little clumps of 2 or 3 in small pots. Highly recommended, these been my most popular giveaway on here in the past. The majority will have to end up on the compost heap, but how many can we save to enjoy their flowers? I expect most people will prefer potted up plants, but if you can handle a chunk of seedlings straight from the ground, say so - you may get more that way. Tell me if you're hoping for a particular number. Good in containers and quick to grow, these baby plants will establish quickly and flower for you this summer. Leave the flower heads next autumn and they will seed for you too if you're lucky. Verbena bonariensis is a beautiful hardy perennial with purple flowers on tall wiry stems over a long flowering season. Comes back from the base stronger every year and will self seed around if it's happy. Flowers beloved of bees and butterflies. Watch goldfinches try to balance on the seed heads next winter. It wants sharp drainage and full sun to be truly happy, but I have sticky clay and a fair amount of shade and it does fine.

+2 +1

2d

Free: Tradescantia/purpleheart houseplant (Hatfield AL10) One for the inside gardeners. Tradescantia has other names including "purple hearts" (probably because of the pretty purple back to the leaves) and "wandering dude" because it grows on long trailing stems. They are perennial houseplants, very easy to grow and root very easily from cuttings. They have interesting variegated leaves, almost sparkly in the sun and contrasting purple backs. I think they cope quite well with relatively low light and for me they don't get any pests. Theses individual plants are from stems rooted in compost earlier this spring. People grow them as houseplants. You could probably put them outside in the summer, but they would definitely not survive the winter, so you would take them back inside in autumn. Or just keep them inside all year round. I also have a few copies of a cute tiny-leaved version, which if anything is even easier to propagate. Similar pretty backs to the leaves. (Not as many to spare and no photo, sorry.) I may limit to one (each) per person if there is demand, but honestly you don't need more than one - if you want more, just chop off a bit and put it in a jar of water.

2d

Free: Verbena bonariensis (Hatfield AL10) Withdrawn Get your orders in! These are still too small right now, but I have essentially unlimited seedlings of this ever-popular plant at this time of year, and soon they will be big enough to pot on individually for giving away. Highly recommended, these been my most popular giveaway on here in the past. The majority will have to end up on the compost heap, but how many can we save to enjoy their flowers? I expect most people will want to wait for potted up plants, but if you can handle a chunk of seedlings straight from the ground, say so. Good in containers and quick to grow, these baby plants will establish quickly and flower for you this summer. Leave the flower heads next autumn and they will seed for you too if you're lucky. Verbena bonariensis is a beautiful hardy perennial with purple flowers on tall wiry stems over a long flowering season. Comes back from the base stronger every year and will self seed around if it's happy. Flowers beloved of bees and butterflies. Watch goldfinches try to balance on the seed heads next winter. It wants sharp drainage and full sun to be truly happy, but I have sticky clay and a fair amount of shade and it does fine.

+2 +1

7d

Free: Kale plants (cavolo nero) (Hatfield AL10) Promised "Black Magic" is a variety of cavolo nero, or black Tuscan kale. I have about three spares left after I planted out a row and potted on some plants. By now they're a bit more mature than in the picture. Kale is a fairly strong growing plant and produces a lot of tasty leaves throughout the year if you can keep it happy. Main problems are pigeons and caterpillars at certain times of year. It will grow all through the summer and autumn, stand through the winter, start growing again in spring and then run to flower. It's fully frost hardy in the UK. You can eat the flower heads like purple sprouting broccoli and any you don't will open to masses of cheery yellow flowers loved by bees. Typically people cook the mature leaves - they are tasty and don't collapse down to nothing like spinach does. You can soften them or crisp them up if you fry them. I ate one of the seedlings that wasn't healthy enough to pot up so I can tell you the young leaves and stems are tasty raw too. If you believe in superfoods, then you may know kale is usually on the list of superfoods. Certainly it's very good for you - it's high in vitamins, iron and antioxidants. (Just like all leafy greens.)

8d

Free: Rainbow chard seed "Bright Lights" (Hatfield AL10) Unopened, in-date (recent magazine freebie). Chard is probably the easiest to grow of the many "use-like-spinach" substitutes. Contrasting colours make it look very pretty on the veg plot and can even be grown as an ornamental. Superficially can look like rhubarb with its giant leaves and thick fleshy stems, but unlike rhubarb, all parts of the plant are edible raw or cooked and chard is very good for you. Compared to spinach, it's quicker and stronger growing and relatively less attacked by pigeons, slugs and snails (which hopefully are less of a problem this year anyway). Produces leaves for a much much longer time than spinach. Often comes through a winter to produce a crop the next spring. Doesn't have that gritty texture of spinach. Closely related to beetroot, so does have that beetroot taste which you may love or hate. In fact it will produce huge thick fleshy roots which are theoretically edible as beetroot, but are probably way too tough to do that.

8d

Free: Flower seeds (Hatfield AL10) Gifted Eschscholzia "Orange King" Cornflower "Blue Ball" Ox-eye daisies All unopened and in-date. Wildlife friendly and also very pretty.

8d

Free: Thai basil plants (Hatfield AL10) Promised I have run out of ordinary sweet basil from an earlier post (coming soon) but have more Thai basil - variety "Siam Queen". I have some spares after potting up some young plants - which are now growing faster than I can eat them. This is not ordinary "sweet" basil like you get in supermarkets. These are only just potted up in fresh compost in individual pots, so you can just water them (and eat them) for a while. In some weeks they will outgrow their small pots and then you should pot them on. You can keep them going all summer, but they are tender annual so don't expect them to live forever. Some of the plants are starting to flower. Unlike ordinary basil which has boring white insignificant flowers, thai basil has pink flowers on purplish stems and the leaves near the flowers go purplish too. It's quite ornamental - but best to cut back from time to time to keep the young leaves coming. Don't believe basil has to be tortured like supermarkets do - cramming millions of plants into one tiny pot. A single one will make a large bushy plant (easily 1ft x 1ft) if you keep potting it into a bigger pot as it grows. You can also root the shoots in water to make more plants yourself. Basil likes strong sunlight and warmth, so probably keep inside in a bright kitchen window or conservatory. They're very happy outside in pots in summer, but in my experience get immediately eaten by slugs if I plant them in the ground, so probably don't do that! That said, this is the year for that if you fancy it. I will divide my spare plants to satisfy demand. I also have ordinary sweet basil and a red leaved one coming soon, so talk to me if you're interested in those. At the time of posting they're not potted up individually: I will do that in due course.

8d

Free: Young Thai basil plants (Hatfield AL10) Gifted Now I have run out of sweet basil from an earlier post (at least for now) but have more Thai basil - variety "Siam Queen". I have some spares after potting up some young plants - which are now growing faster than I can eat them. These are only just potted up in fresh compost in individual pots, so you can just water them (and eat them) for a while. In some weeks they will outgrow their small pots and then you should pot them on. You can keep them going all summer, but they are tender annual so don't expect them to live forever. This is not ordinary "sweet" basil like you get in supermarkets. Don't believe basil has to be tortured like supermarkets do - cramming millions of plants into one tiny pot. A single one will make a large bushy plant (easily 1ft x 1ft) if you keep potting it into a bigger pot as it grows. You can also root the shoots in water to make more plants yourself. Basil likes strong sunlight and warmth, so probably keep inside in a bright kitchen window or conservatory. They're very happy outside in pots in summer, but in my experience get immediately eaten by slugs if I plant them in the ground, so probably don't do that! I will divide my spare plants to satisfy demand. I also have ordinary sweet basil, Cinnamon Basil and a red leaved one, so talk to me if you're interested in those. At the time of posting they're not potted up individually: I will do that soon.

17d

Free: Bluebells in the green (Hatfield AL10) Gifted Bluebells - they are beautiful but they also come up in silly places and I'm constantly digging them out. "In the green" - plant now and forget about them for flowering next spring - best if you keep them under damp soil/compose meanwhile. (Actually bluebells are incredibly tough so they'll be fine if you mistreat them.) Photo is from May 2021. Happy in wet sticky clay in partial shade but should be fine on almost any soil and ok in full sun.

+1

19d

Free: Young basil plants (Hatfield AL10) Gifted I have some spare basil plants after potting up some young plants - which are now growing faster than I can eat them. This is ordinary "sweet" basil like you get in supermarkets. But don't believe basil has to be tortured like supermarkets do - cramming millions of plants into one tiny pot. A single one will make a large bushy plant (easily 1ft x 1ft) if you keep potting it into a bigger pot as it grows. You can also root the shoots in water to make more plants yourself. Basil likes strong sunlight and warmth, so probably keep inside in a bright kitchen window or conservatory. They're very happy outside in pots in summer, but in my experience get immediately eaten by slugs if I plant them in the ground, so probably don't do that! These are only just potted up in fresh compost in individual pots, so you can just water them (and eat them) for a while. In some weeks they will outgrow their small pots and then you should pot them on. You can keep them going all summer, but they are tender annual so don't expect them to live forever. I will divide my spare plants to satisfy demand. I also have Thai Basil, Cinnamon Basil and a red leaved one, so talk to me if you're interested in those. At the time of posting they're not potted up individually, though I probably will soon.

19d

Free: Young kale plants (Hatfield AL10) Gifted "Black Magic" is a variety of cavolo nero or black Tuscan kale. I have some spares after I planted out a row and potted on some plants. I will split to satisfy demand and not all in the picture are available. Talk to me if you have an expectation for the number of plants you need. Kale is a fairly strong growing plant and produces a lot of tasty leaves throughout the year if you can keep it happy. Main problems are pigeons and caterpillars at certain times of year. It will grow all through the summer and autumn, stand through the winter, start growing again in spring and then run to flower. It's fully frost hardy in the UK. You can eat the flower heads like purple sprouting broccoli and any you don't will open to masses of cheery yellow flowers loved by bees. Typically people cook the mature leaves - they are tasty and don't collapse down to nothing like spinach does. You can soften them or crisp them up if you fry them. I ate one of the seedlings that wasn't healthy enough to pot up so I can tell you the young leaves and stems are tasty raw too. If you believe in superfoods, then I can tell you kale is usually on the list of superfoods. Certainly it's very good for you - it's high in vitamins, iron and antioxidants. (Just like all leafy greens.)

19d

Free: Tradescantia/purple heart housplant (Hatfield AL10) Gifted One for the inside gardeners. Tradescantia has other names including "purple hearts" (probably because of the pretty purple back to the leaves) and "wandering dude" because it grows on long trailing stems. They are perennial houseplants, very easy to grow and root very easily from cuttings. They have interesting variegated leaves, almost sparkly in the sun and contrasting purple backs. I think they cope quite well with relatively low light and for me they don't get any pests. Theses individual plants are from stems rooted in compost earlier this spring. People grow them as houseplants. You could probably put them outside in the summer, but they would definitely not survive the winter, so you would take them back inside in autumn. Or just keep them inside all year round. I also have a few copies of a cute tiny-leaved version, which if anything is even easier to propagate. Similar pretty backs to the leaves. (Not as many to spare and no photo, sorry.) I may limit to one (each) per person if there is demand, but honestly you don't need more than one - if you want more, just chop off a bit and put it in a jar of water.

20d

Free: Flat grater (Hatfield AL10) Gifted Clean and sharp. Giving away because I use a box grater. Non-slip silicone foot comes off for cleaning. Several people expressed interest in this before, but seemed never to get my replies - probably in the dreaded spam folder. If you think I don't reply to you after a day, you probably just didn't see it. Check your spam or give me another way to contact you.

20d

Free: Two frying pans (Hatfield AL10) Gifted Large one is 26cm diameter, small one 20cm diameter. Pre-loved and not really non-stick any more (probably the small one never was). Perfectly usable but I have others and I realised I never use these. Thoroughly washed for giving away. Several people expressed interest in these before, but seemed never to get my replies - probably in the dreaded spam folder. If you think I don't reply to you after a day, you probably just didn't see it. Check your spam or give me another way to contact you.

20d

Free: Real lawn turf (Hatfield AL10) Gifted I have lifted about 4ft x 6ft of real grass turf to make way for a new flower bed. There was nothing much wrong with it - aside from being in the wrong place - but it does including natural lawn weeds, aka wild flowers such as daisies, clover, selfheal etc. It is in the form of slabs (rather than rolls as you would get commercially) but that probably means it will come with more soil than you'd normally get, so may transplant better in this dry weather. Can be used to fix patches of maybe make a small path. Not suitable for a finely manicured bowling green, and not enough to lay a large area.

21d

Free: Real turf - in slabs (Hatfield AL10) Withdrawn I am lifting about 4ft x 6ft of real turf (I.e including natural lawn weeds, aka wild flowers). It will come up in slabs and is awkward to dispose of, so yours for the asking. Can be used to fix patches of maybe make a small path. Not suitable for a manicured bowling green!

23d

Free: Young tomato plants (Hatfield AL10) Gifted Too early in the season to know exactly how many I have/need, but surely I already know can already spare a few young tomato plants. These are all cordon ("indeterminate"/tall) varieties. All are used to being in outside temperatures albeit sometimes in a coldframe at night. Giving away a few "Thumbelina" and the stupidly named "Lady Fingers". Both are heritage varieties I've not tried before and you can look up here: . Other varieties I won't list but may offer while you're here (or if you ask). Probably will offer later, but they're not yet ready for various reasons. Also happy to do 1:1 variety swap for people who are also suffering seedling overwhelm but wouldn't mind more variety. By the way, mine are not producing long side shoots yet, but I found last year it's easy to bulk up your tomatoes by rooting side shoots in water (or compost I suppose) if you end up with not enough plants.

23d

Free: Verbena bonariensis seedlings (Hatfield AL10) Withdrawn Get your orders in! Probably these are too small right now, but I have essentially unlimited seedlings of this ever-popular plant at this time of year - if only there is motivation to pot them up and nurture them. Highly recommended, these been my most popular giveaway on here in the past. The majority will have to end up on the compost heap, but how many can we save to enjoy their flowers? Good in containers and quick to grow, these baby plants will establish quickly and flower for you this summer. Leave the flower heads next autumn and they will seed for you too if you're lucky. Verbena bonariensis is a beautiful hardy perennial with purple flowers on tall wiry stems over a long flowering season. Comes back from the base stronger every year and will self seed around if it's happy. Flowers beloved of bees and butterflies. Watch goldfinches try to balance on the seed heads next winter. It wants sharp drainage and full sun to be truly happy, but I have sticky clay and a fair amount of shade and it does fine.

+3 +2 +1

24d

Free: Chain link fencing (Hatfield AL10) Gifted Reposting since I gave some of this to a lovely allotmenteer freecycler, who was able to stretch it out nicely and cover her young plants - which gives me renewed hope someone will help me save the rest from landfill. It wasn't really doing anything at the back of my garden so I pulled up this old chainlink fencing a little while ago. It's flexible with heavy duty wire inside. Some bits are a bit rusty and it will need to be rolled out or stretched out to make it go back to the right shape. I think it's too ugly to use in a garden situation, but it may do a job on an allotment - e.g. keeping pigeons off or stopping cats/foxes/squirrels digging stuff up. I can investigate it/measure etc if there is serious interest and if you want more information.

31d

Free: Blue hardy geraniums (Hatfield AL10) Gifted Hardy perennial blue geranium, variety I believe is "Johnson's Blue". These are divisions from autumn potted into new pots this spring, so no huge rush to plant. (Actually, my labelling system broke down and there may be a 15% chance these are pink, but it's the same idea.) This hardy geranium or cranesbills is tolerant and easy to grow with blue flowers from early summer. Compact plants with smart mounds of soft downy green leaves. Cut back after flowering in mid summer for a fresh flush of foliage, and maybe once again going into autumn. It will die down in the winter and come back year after year. Fully winter hardy in the uk. Not troubled by slugs or other pests. Doesn't mind my sticky clay or a bit of shade, but wants a bit of sun to flower better.

37d

Free: Spare kale seedlings (cavolo nero) (Hatfield AL10) Withdrawn I potted on more than enough kale seedlings this week, so I have some small pots of spares. "Black Magic" is a variety of cavolo nero or black Tuscan kale. Kale is a fairly strong growing plant and produces a lot of tasty leaves throughout the year if you can keep it happy. Main problems are pigeons and caterpillars at certain times of year. It will grow all through the summer and autumn, stand through the winter, start growing again in spring and then run to flower. It's fully frost hardy in the UK. You can eat the flower heads like purple sprouting broccoli and any you don't will open to masses of cheery yellow flowers loved by bees.

+1

38d

Free: Bugle plants (ajuga reptans) (Hatfield AL10) Gifted Passing on some bits of a nice ground cover plant originally given to me by a fellow freecycler a few years ago. Bugle or ajuga reptans is an easy going low growing spreading hardy herbaceous perennial (leaves die each winter, but it comes back and flowers every spring). It likes a bit of shade and damp ground. It seems to do well on my sticky clay in a dark corner. It has nice shiny bronze/purply leaves with dark flower spikes opening to pretty blue flowers beloved of pollinators. It spreads by creeping over the ground and it can spread quickly, but it's not really a problem because it's easy to pull out since it has shallow roots. Then you can give away chunks...

+1

38d

Free: Carrot seeds 'Nantes 5' (Hatfield AL10) Withdrawn Fresh unopened carrot seeds. Variety "Nantes 5". Sow any time from now. (Other seed packets may be available.)

40d

Free: Cornflower "blue ball" seeds (Hatfield AL10) Withdrawn Cornflower "blue ball". Fresh unopened packet. Sow any time from now. I may have other seed packets to offer while you're here.

40d

Free: Chainlink fencing (Hatfield AL10) Withdrawn Reposting since I gave some of this to a lovely allotmenteer freecycler yesterday, which give me new hope others might want the rest. It wasn't really doing anything at the back of my garden so I pulled this old chainlink fencing up a few weeks ago. It's flexible with heavy duty wire inside. Some bits are a bit rusty and it will probably need to be stretched out for a while to make it go back to the right shape. I think it's too ugly to use in a garden situation, but it may do a job on an allotment - e.g. keeping pigeons off. I can investigate it/measure etc if there is serious interest and you want more information.

43d