The Perfect Souvenir

[scruffy1]

A peek into my garden. The green leaves among the flowers are an absolutely necessary ingredient for caldo português or caldo gallego - verza in Spanish not cabbage not turnip greens rather a European form of collard greens. Look up from your Camino app and you will see it growing in any rural area. The seeds are easy to sprout the plant easy to grow, pick up the seeds along the way and are several ferretería/hardware stores in SdC which sell the seeds aa well.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I picked these up a couple of years ago and I love them. They last all winter in the Oregon snow, actually thriving. I need to pick up new seeds next season.

 

[Harland2019]

Just be careful in importing seeds, especially those picked up from the side of the path as you may be importing a disease and/or it may be illegal. My souvenirs are in my head and in my journal which I occasionally read during the cold winter months.

 

[Kiwi-family]

You'll be stung with a hefty fine if you get caught bringing seeds into New Zealand! I even had to remove flowers I had dried in my journal (but was spared the fine)

 

[Peterexpatkiwi]

You'll be stung with a hefty fine if you get caught bringing seeds into New Zealand! I even had to remove flowers I had dried in my journal (but was spared the fine)

True - I think prison is also on the cards for more serious biosecurity breaches.

Whilst on one hand I love the idea, who knows what the potential consequences are? In NZ we suffer a lot from our ancestors decisions on imports, well intentioned as they were at the time.

Here in Germany, the local grass verges are rapidly becoming Rocket (peppery flavoured salad plant) in the summer. (And yet you can still buy the seed/ plants readily).

Of course, people still buy it in the supermarket, either a/ from ignorance; b/ laziness or c/ because the grass verge’s are also the local dog toilet’s!!

Either way, I’m pretty sure that’s a classic example of an unintended consequence. Not knocking you, appreciate why you would want to do it, just suggesting you make sure it doesn’t spread.

 

[ElCee]

I’m going to grow Padron peppers!

Padron - Heirloom & Organic Pepper Seeds | Johnny's Selected Seeds

Famous Spanish heirloom. Named after the town where they originated. Harvest Padron peppers when they are 1–1 1/2" long. About 1 out of 20 fruits ...

www.johnnyseeds.com

 

[J Willhaus]

I’m going to grow Padron peppers!

Padron - Heirloom & Organic Pepper Seeds | Johnny's Selected Seeds

Famous Spanish heirloom. Named after the town where they originated. Harvest Padron peppers when they are 1–1 1/2" long. About 1 out of 20 fruits ...

www.johnnyseeds.com

Good luck with that. I love Padron peppers, but some people have found their garden soil outside the Padron area makes the peppers much spicier than the ones from that region...

 

[David Tallan]

It sounds like if you want to attempt this yourself, it is probably best to acquire them in a sealed packet in a ferreteria/hardware store. If the customs and immigration folks don't want them in your country, it is easy for them to confiscate and if they are declared and sealed, I suspect it is unlikely you will get in serious trouble. If they are confiscated, I suspect the financial loss will be pretty small.

 

[JillGat]

I’m going to grow Padron peppers!

Padron - Heirloom & Organic Pepper Seeds | Johnny's Selected Seeds

Famous Spanish heirloom. Named after the town where they originated. Harvest Padron peppers when they are 1–1 1/2" long. About 1 out of 20 fruits ...

www.johnnyseeds.com

I looked for Padron seeds when I was in Padron. Was told they are sold there on market day on Sunday. The Franciscans brought peppers back to Spain from around where I live in New Mexico, which was then New Spain. We have lots of peppers here but not those!

(video of Market Day in Padron.

 

[JillGat]

The key is when you harvest them. If they get more than 2" (5 cm), they are all hot. Pick them when they are small and one in ten is hot.

Good luck with that. I love Padron peppers, but some people have found their garden soil outside the Padron area makes the peppers much spicier than the ones from that region...

 

[ElCee]

I’ve

I looked for Padron seeds when I was in Padron. Was told they are sold there on market day on Sunday. The Franciscans brought peppers back to Spain from around where I live in New Mexico, which was then New Spain. We have lots of peppers here but not those!

(video of Market Day in Padron.

I have grown Shishito peppers with great success. They are prepared the same way as Padron peppers and even make the same 1 in 10 spicy claim. It will be interesting to see how the Padrons grow in comparison.

 

[Ian & Virginia]

It sounds like if you want to attempt this yourself, it is probably best to acquire them in a sealed packet in a ferreteria/hardware store. If the customs and immigration folks don't want them in your country, it is easy for them to confiscate and if they are declared and sealed, I suspect it is unlikely you will get in serious trouble. If they are confiscated, I suspect the financial loss will be pretty small.

Bringing ANY plant material or its by-products (fruit, seeds, etc) into New Zealand or Australia will result in a hefty fine. Our cousin recently received a NZ$400 fine for forgetting she had an apple in her carry-on bag when going through Customs at Auckland airport.

 

[JillGat]

Bringing ANY plant material or its by-products (fruit, seeds, etc) into New Zealand or Australia will result in a hefty fine. Our cousin recently received a NZ$400 fine for forgetting she had an apple in her carry-on bag when going through Customs at Auckland airport.

Those Aussies and Kiwis have no sense of humor whatsoever.

 

[Siegfried]

A peek into my garden. The green leaves among the flowers are an absolutely necessary ingredient for caldo português or caldo gallego - verza in Spanish not cabbage not turnip greens rather a European form of collard greens. Look up from your Camino app and you will see it growing in any rural area. The seeds are easy to sprout the plant easy to grow, pick up the seeds along the way and are several ferretería/hardware stores in SdC which sell the seeds aa well.View attachment 159120View attachment 159121

Hi
Cool that I am not the only one with this kind of dedication. Coming back from Camino Frances I ordered Cove Galega seeds from Amazon and now I have enormous plants in my garden. From time to time Caldo Verde and emotional feelings on the Camino

 

[babsia]

The key is when you harvest them. If they get more than 2" (5 cm), they are all hot. Pick them when they are small and one in ten is hot.

We just finished the last of the padrons that I planted before leaving for the camino in May. Portland Nursery has started carrying padron starts and we had eight bushes. It is our summer ritual, starting around the middle of July, to have a glass of wine and a pile of peppers on our porch at the end of the day. This year's harvest was unrelenting and we gave many of the bigger (hotter) ones away.
As we moved into a warm autumn, we had a higher ratio of hot ones. Probably because they were on the vine so long.
An awesome souvenir of Spain. So is the Riojana!

 

[VNwalking]

Those Aussies and Kiwis have no sense of humor whatsoever.

Nope. Never.

(Thank God. Who needs invasive anything?)

 

[JillGat]

Nope. Never.

(Thank God. Who needs invasive anything?)

But an accidental apple? Give her a break

 

[Pelegrin]

Hi
Cool that I am not the only one with this kind of dedication. Coming back from Camino Frances I ordered Cove Galega seeds from Amazon and now I have enormous plants in my garden. From time to time Caldo Verde and emotional feelings on the Camino

Couve Galega ( in Portuguese), Berza Galega ( in Galician).

 

[VNwalking]

But an accidental apple? Give her a break

There are signs everywhere when you go into the area where things are inspected. The only thing missing are flashing lights and oompah bands to call attention to them.

NZ has apple crops it needs to protect, not to mention native flora and fauna. Livelihoods and lives are on the line, so no-one gets a pass, no matter how accidental their imports. And plenty aren't accidents.

 

[Bradypus]

There are signs everywhere when you go into the area where things are inspected.

On my one visit so far to Australia I had been well warned in advance about the rigorous biosecurity rules and precautions. So I was ready to declare virtually everything on me from the skin out. I was tempted to ask the officials in charge how people had managed to sneak the now-feral camels and water buffalo past their security checks in the past. But as others have posted it might not have been wise to test their sense of humour....

 

[David Tallan]

Nope. Never.

(Thank God. Who needs invasive anything?)

I agree. And that part of the world has more than its share of invasive species.

But I fail to see how an unopened packet of seeds, declared to and confiscated by Customs, could possibly lead to an invasion of anything and warrants such a fine.

 

[trecile]

But I fail to see how an unopened packet of seeds, declared to and confiscated by Customs, could possibly lead to an invasion of anything and warrants such a fine

It's the declaration that's key. If you "forget" that they are in your bag you can be fined.

 

[David Tallan]

It's the declaration that's key. If you "forget" that they are in your bag you can be fined.

That's why I wrote that if they are declared and sealed they are unlikely to result in trouble. But Ian & Virginia replied to my post, quoting it, and saying:

Bringing ANY plant material or its by-products (fruit, seeds, etc) into New Zealand or Australia will result in a hefty fine.

Implying that sealing and declaring isn't enough, which I don't think is reasonable.

 

[JillGat]

There are signs everywhere when you go into the area where things are inspected. The only thing missing are flashing lights and oompah bands to call attention to them.

NZ has apple crops it needs to protect, not to mention native flora and fauna. Livelihoods and lives are on the line, so no-one gets a pass, no matter how accidental their imports. And plenty aren't accidents.

Ah. Yeah it's a huge challenge, I can imagine. Not only importing crop pests and diseases but, as you said, protecting native species. All kinds of domino effects leading to extinctions all over the world.

 

[Anamiri]

It's the declaration that's key. If you "forget" that they are in your bag you can be fined.

I sometimes watch the Australian and NZ border security TV programmes. You would be amazed at how many people 'forget' that they packed an entire suitcase (or 3) entirely with food.