Poppy
Heather Bells
Posts: 43
in Plants
I want to put some poppies in the garden this year.
I'm worried that the seeds might blow into farmland next to our property and create a problem. the farmers a big bloke.
I could do my best to deadhead and hope to keep seeds blowing around to a minimum.
I see the crops being inspected just before harvest each year and wondered if anyone knows what would happen if poppies started growing in the farmers field.
0
Posts
I'd be more worried about what chemicals are being blown into your garden when the farmer sprays his field! There are probably poppy seeds already in the soil of the fields as they stay viable for at least 60 years and possibly centuries. The farmer may well spray herbicide to kill everything a few weeks before planting his crops anyway. I honestly wouldn't worry about a few stray seeds from your garden - there will be far more pernicious wild weeds invading it anyway.
I agree with Bob.I would be more worried about the farmers chemicals than your poppy seeds.
Poppy seeds don't really blow, they're little hard things which drop.
In the sticks near Peterborough
Never thought of any of those things. Great. I will get selecting the seeds. thanks all.
I wouldnt worry about the poppy seeds in the farmers field. Most fields around me have wild poppies growing in them anyway, its a sign of rural Britain at its best, golden corn and poppies together
I agree with Bob, you grow what you want, if the Farmer doesn't like it send him round here.
Hello there all - do I deadhead my poppies to get seeds or do I wait until the seed heads have dried and then collect the seeds from them - also reading this link I assume they will grow from seed heads - I have never been able to grow poppies in my garden until this year and I had to buy them in - most of which have been eaten by the darn slugs - I cannot put slug pellets down as I have pets and have also tried the organic pellets which look like wool which are safe for pets and they are worse than useless!!
Another wasted packet if poppy seeds this year - not a one in my garden but there's some lovely ones growing through the paving slabs down the road. I wonder if they're mine
By the way, it's more polite to start your own thread rather than hijack another's thread but this is an old one so I'm sure the OP won't mind.
I've never had a problem with slugs in this garden especially with wild flowers. If you create a balanced garden you'll get birds and hedgehogs eating your slugs. I think slug pellets should be banned anyway, like we haven't got enough problems with our dwindling wildlife.
Wild poppies don't need any help from people other than being substitute grazers disturbing the soil, called poaching. In other words, the soil needs to be clear for the seeds to germinate. If there's even grass growing they won't germinate. I thought I'd ben lazy and scatter sand in places then seed over this in my meadow to get poppies but it didn't work. You have to dig over the soil.
Dead heading means removing the dead flowers in order to prevent seeds forming so that's the last thing you want to do if you want to collect seed. Let the seed mature in the pod, then, when you see the pods turning brown cut them off, put them on a plate and put the plate somewhere dry, the pods will open and you can shake out the seeds. Store them in the fridge or somewhere with a stable, cool temperature in a paper envelope until Autumn or Spring. Yes, if you throw whole seed pods on cleared ground the seeds will germinate through the rotten seed pods but they'll be over-crowed and so, week plants. So that's not a good idea.
Last edited: 07 June 2017 11:24:34
My threads are like my garden, I'm happy for things to wander off in all directions so long as they behave themselves.
I hope that Heather -if she's still about -doesn't mind too.