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Post by templeton on May 4, 2012 17:47:12 GMT -5
Ran into a father of one of my students yesterday at graduation, and remembered that he was a rootcrop farmer from the Mornington Penisula. Since I'm interested in crossing up some parsnips we had a bit of a chat about my breeding project.
They grow 35 acres of parsnips, and let about 2000 go to seed every year. They've been doing this for a couple of decades. Since they need fresh seed every year, they find it better to grow their own. In the process, they've developed their own line - a long, conical parsnip, rather than a short shouldered one - which is my intended target.
He remarked that most of the commercial growers do the same, so that they can get fresh reliable seed.
So, commercial parsnips, at least in Australia, could all be locally adapted sub-varieties. His are based on Hollow Crown. And he did offer for me to drop in any time, and get some seed for my mix.
This in contrast to the local farmers' market, where the root crop grower said he used an F1 hybrid this year and had trouble sourcing seed of his preferred varieties. An interesting juxtaposition of the small local = good, big commercial = bad - at least as far as parsnip seed goes.
This has rekindled my interest in short cutting my first generation seed collecting by growing out a few supermarket parsnips, which should go straight to seed next spring/summer. I had put this on hold after thinking about the male sterility issue that Joseph raised on another thread. I could also concentrate on selecting short fat shouldered ones.
I wonder what other crops might fall into the 'better to grow your own seed' category for medium sized commercial farmers?
T
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Post by 12540dumont on May 4, 2012 22:01:21 GMT -5
I grow my own parsnip seed. I got GOOD seed from Solstice Seed, Student, Hollow core & Guernsey. The Kral that I got from Canada did not germ. I let them all go to seed, they were quite beautiful and Leo sprinkled them every where. I want to let a large bed of them go to seed every year.
The flowers are very attractive in bouquets as well. I thought my own seed might not be as good as store bought so I sowed heavily....nothing could be farther than the truth! My seed had 99% germination...Oops, now I'm thinning.
I think Parsnips are the easiest plant to save seed from!
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on May 5, 2012 0:33:20 GMT -5
It is my intention to grow all of my own seed for every crop...
I'm almost there, except: The hardest for me to deal with are the Pepo squash: because there are so many forms of the one species and they bloom for months so I can't isolate by bloom date, and I aspire to provide people with what they are used to. I may end up growing seed on a rotating basis, and planning on growing enough seed in an isolated field to last for 5 years then just growing one variety per year through a rotation. Sure slows the local adaptation down to do it that way...
I'm not willing to do hand pollinations. Too much work to maintain a genetically viable population. Last year I grew something like 62 landrace varieties as seed-crops. I'm adding a couple dozen species to that this year.
Onions are my biggest flop so far. I'll spend more on onion sets for this growing season than on all the rest of my seed-inputs totaled together.
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Post by 12540dumont on May 5, 2012 0:57:08 GMT -5
Joseph, did none of the onion seed germ?
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on May 5, 2012 1:23:47 GMT -5
Joseph, did none of the onion seed germ? About 650 row-feet of onion seed germinated... And it's actually been weeded twice already since planting, and twice before, so it might keep ahead of the weeds for a change. Onions seem like a really hard crop to me to get right. I've got a number of trials ongoing with sets I grew last summer. Some overwintered in place. Some were stored in the house. Perhaps this will be the year I finally learn how to grow onions without resorting to buying sets. I have planted about 800 row-feet of sets, and have about that many more to plant. |
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Post by raymondo on May 5, 2012 1:55:41 GMT -5
I bought some commercially grown parsnip a few years back specifically for seed. It self-seeded readily so no male sterility at least in the 6 or so I planted. It comes up each year in a wild patch in my yard.
T, will you be using Kral in your mix? I think I'd like a short fat parsnip instead of a long one. The long ones require a bit of effort to pull out.
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Post by templeton on May 5, 2012 3:23:26 GMT -5
Ray,
I've only got a really small space to grow out, but I've got about 1.5 metres each of Kral, Halblange weisse, de Gurnesey, with some yatesnip and and F1 i won't be growing in cells. Really only looking for 50 or so plants to cross up. I've sown melbourne white skin, and cobham, but they haven't shown yet.
T
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jim
grub
Posts: 75
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Post by jim on May 5, 2012 22:24:57 GMT -5
Parsnips have established themselves all around Michigan....a couple years ago, I collected seeds from several populations, and grew them with some commercial seed. The next generation has been far more vigorous than the OP or hybrids!
I am worried about skin sensitivity, though. Im not sensitive to this plant so don't have any problems working with them, but I know people who are...not a good thing.
Jim
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Post by raymondo on May 6, 2012 6:09:06 GMT -5
T, 50 plants should give you a nice mix. I got hold of some Kral from Adaptive Seeds, same as you I think, and want to cross them with my feral population. I hope the Kral germination is good.
Jim, why would the offspring be any more vigorous than other hybrids?
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Post by templeton on May 6, 2012 7:13:28 GMT -5
Ray,
did you get your seed recently? the stuff i got last december didn't germinate at all, they were most apologetic, and they took it down off their site. I think I've got a bit of Kral from Heritage Harvest seed i can send you, but it would probably need to go in soon. Or wait til next year, and hopefully I'll have some fresh. The Halblange germinated much better, so i can send you up some of that. I think the cross hemisphere timing means we can get stuff 6 months after it would be available in the US.
Let me know.
That's very interesting, Jim. Maybe some wide varietal crosses might work the same. Here's hoping.
T
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Post by 12540dumont on May 6, 2012 11:42:19 GMT -5
Ray, I could not find parsnip on AQIS. Can it be sent?
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Post by richardw on May 6, 2012 14:15:03 GMT -5
Ray & templeton - do you fella's only plant this time of year or do you sow in spring as well??
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jim
grub
Posts: 75
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Post by jim on May 6, 2012 16:12:36 GMT -5
Ray
I think that the locally adapted populations are just better adapted to my climate than the commercial strains. That whole "one variety for all environmnents" thing. They trial the hybrids everwhere they can, but that still doesn't mean a good one will be good everywhere.
And, I guess I can't rule out the freshness of the seed...seed I produced could just produce a healtier seedling.
Jim
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Post by raymondo on May 6, 2012 16:58:08 GMT -5
T, that's disappointing about the Adaptive Seed Kral. If you have any to spare that would be good. I'm preparing a bed over the next few days.
Holly, yes, no problem with parsnip, just has to have the botanical name written on the packet.
Richard, I actually sow parsnip earlier than this but am running very late this year. I haven't tried in spring but will do so this year, along with carrots, which I also usually only grow over winter. I love the sweetness winter brings.
Jim, ah, that makes sense. Local adaptation can make quite a difference. And freshness of seed, most definitely, true of all things but especially so with parsnip it seems.
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Post by templeton on May 6, 2012 17:45:30 GMT -5
Ray & templeton - do you fella's only plant this time of year or do you sow in spring as well?? Richard, I'm really only growing this year for seed increase - I've tried parsnip a few times in the past, with limited success, but I've been inspired by this forum to have a go at short fat parsnip - better suited to my less than perfect soil. The only reason i can see we don't have them here is because noone has bothered to get the seed or keep breeding it. So I planted a couple of months ago into cells (I'm not worried about transplant forking) and am hoping to get a seed crop off them next warm season - tho a few might get tasted. They have been vey slow to get going tho. I'm not sure whether i should cross up the varieties, or try to keep them pure, and cross when I've got more seed to play with. I've got months to decide. In the mail asap ray, T |
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