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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Oct 20, 2011 22:50:18 GMT -5
I transplanted my newly started landrace beet population to their winter bed today. It's someplace they can stay until spring, and hopefully produce lots of beet seed next year. I buried the tops about 2.5 to 3" under the top of the soil, and then hilled the row up a couple more inches. Selection criteria was quick early growth, and long-term productivity. Some that produced early did not continue growing robustly later in the season. Grumble, if the statistics hold, approximately half of them will be afflicted with cytoplasmic male sterility, grumble. I just realized that I have some open pollinated male-fertile beets in another field. Better go grab some of those and get them into this planting as well.  I grew sugar beets for seed this summer. Since they are male sterile, I didn't get any seeds from them. |
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Post by spacecase0 on Oct 20, 2011 23:05:50 GMT -5
the male sterile seeds has me worried more than many things,
was it just the seeds you have on the sugar beets ?
or does it seem likely that it is just yours ?
I got mine form sandmountainherbs.com and wonder if I should be looking for some other source
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Oct 20, 2011 23:19:17 GMT -5
Something like 99% of sugar beets grown in the usa are male-sterile. (Who grows sugar beets at home?) I bought sugar beet seeds on eBay from Joe Smoe. I'm guessing that they were just commercial GMO sugar beet seeds repackaged into a smaller lot. It's just as well that they were male sterile.
The seed was unusual for beet seed, in that there was only one seed per seed cluster. And instead of being multi-pointed like a regular beet seed case, the angles were sharp and defined with like 4 points instead of 20. (Because if you plant a cluster of beet seeds, then you have to thin later on, but if you only plant one-seeded pods, then you have saved all the labor of thinning.)
I'm sure that open-pollinated male-fertile populations exist. I just didn't know to look for one.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Oct 21, 2011 5:30:20 GMT -5
I grew Bucklunch from R. H. Shumways and it did produce seed. I don't have enough to share though as it was the first time I'd ever saved Beet seed and I lost most of it to Hurricane Irene due to being absent minded and forgot that it was still out there drying down when she came to town. I can't say for certain that it isn't male sterile but I got plenty of seed on the stalks, it isn't a monogerm variety though.
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Post by 12540dumont on Oct 21, 2011 16:10:36 GMT -5
Beets Peaceful V Early Wonder Tall Top (PV Peaceful V Chioggia cornocopia Ruby Queen Otawa Crosby’s egyptian Beet Peace Seeds 3 Beet Grex Sand Hill Beet Mix Solstice Seed Feuerkugel Solstice Seed Cylindra Solstice Seed Ruby Queen Wild Garden Seed Touchstone Gold Wild Garden Seed MacGregor’s Favorite St. Joe, these are the beets that I plant. Let me know if you need a few seeds.  |
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