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Post by oldfatguy on Jul 26, 2009 23:52:24 GMT -5
OK, I decided to overcome my northern climate and learn to save seeds from all my biannuals. Many species will not overwinter here in Idaho and seed to root to seed is iffy at best. Sooo, I came up with a plan to trick my plants. I'm sure it has been done before and I'm hoping some of you have tried it and can give me some pointers.
Chinese cabbage will not over winter here so I started it in my basement the first of March. About the middle of April, I put in in my greenhouse, unheated to make it think it was overwintering. Then, I planted it in the garden the last part of May as usual.
They have all gone to seed and it appears to have been a success.
My Couve Tronchuda went through the same process as well as broccoli. The couve and the broccoli both started to go to seed but just one at a time, with at least two to three week intervals until the next plant started flowering. I have 3 out of 18 Couve flowering and 3 out of 12 broccoli flowering at this time. I consider this a partial sucess. But not what I am after.
How long should they go dormant in cold weather?
Will they, in reality, just prematuraly bolt, giving me an undesirable trait?
If anyone has any good info on this please reply.
Thankyou
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Post by flowerpower on Jul 28, 2009 5:18:33 GMT -5
OK, I decided to overcome my northern climate and learn to save seeds from all my biannuals. Many species will not overwinter here in Idaho and seed to root to seed is iffy at best. I think you meant to say "biennial".  |
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Post by oldfatguy on Jul 28, 2009 12:30:57 GMT -5
No, I meant biannual. I do things much differently. Encapsulation of the normal biennial process into an annual event by tricking the plant in question into believing that its normal two year journey to seed is being fulfilled in only one year. By manipulating the parameters down to the lowest acceptable time frames, the shortest window of opportunity, thereby creating, in all actuality, a biannual.
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Post by PatrickW on Jul 28, 2009 16:12:17 GMT -5
I would say you probably don't need to concern yourself with getting bolting as an undesirable trait, because you aren't selecting plants that bolt prematurely under normal circumstances in your garden.
With broccoli at least the number of plants you have, 12, is pretty small for a healthy gene pool. Probably some people here know better than me, but don't you need something on the order of a hundred plants for broccoli? Chinese cabbage you can probably get away with far fewer. I don't have any idea about Couve.
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Post by oldfatguy on Jul 29, 2009 0:18:43 GMT -5
I agree that I need more broccoli plants, and others as well, for optimum genetic diversity. This is just experimental right now. I'm thinking I need to start them sooner in the basement under lights so I can leave them out in the greenhouse in a cold dormant stage longer. Maybe two to two and a half months
I have plenty of seeds I purchased but I plan on being completely self sufficient. Just in case. In the north, it will take a much different approch.
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Post by flowerpower on Jul 30, 2009 6:22:07 GMT -5
No, I meant biannual. I do things much differently. Encapsulation of the normal biennial process into an annual event by tricking the plant in question into believing that its normal two year journey to seed is being fulfilled in only one year. By manipulating the parameters down to the lowest acceptable time frames, the shortest window of opportunity, thereby creating, in all actuality, a biannual. I understand what you did. You are forcing a biennial into an annual cycle. You tricked the plant to think it was winter. It's the same thing as putting flower bulbs in the darkness so they bloom at a certain time. Is biannual a term just used in plant breeding? I would never describe a plant that way. And I have never seen that term used in any book on gardening. So if I overwinter my geraniums in the window & they bloom in February, does this make it a biannual? I am tricking it into thinking it is summer. Thanks |
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Post by oldfatguy on Jul 30, 2009 22:57:44 GMT -5
I don't know what to call it. I'm just trying to overwinter biennials in one year, starting the growing season in the heart of winter. I was wondering if anyone had done it before. But, since "Biannual" seems to be inappropriate, I will from this point forward, call it Fred. Fred died, so nevermind. Disregard. I've got it figured out.
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