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Post by billw on Sept 25, 2013 20:20:58 GMT -5
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Post by rowan on Sept 25, 2013 21:55:37 GMT -5
I so want to try this plant but I haven't been able to find it in Australia and of course we can't import tubers (even if I could find those). If you ever have enough to sell in the future I will gladly pay for some seed.
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Post by steev on Sept 25, 2013 22:39:15 GMT -5
Those look like small (no judgement) fruits; so is this going to be another tiny-seeded plant?
I would guess those are from different plants? More data, please!
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Post by billw on Sept 25, 2013 22:51:32 GMT -5
Those fruits are nuts!
Actual diameter is about 2mm. Oddly, they are from the same plant. I think one is a bit drier than the other, which has made the ribs stand out.
Formed on a Pica de Pulga ulluco plant. Pollen donor unknown. Given their positions, they were most likely hand pollinated, but I haven't been systematic about ulluco pollination because I considered it such a long shot.
There are a dozen more on the plant that aren't yet ready. I did a pretty careful examination of all my ulluco plants and didn't find any more.
Rowan - you're first on the list, but it could be a long wait.
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Post by raymondo on Sept 25, 2013 23:25:54 GMT -5
I so want to try this plant but I haven't been able to find it in Australia and of course we can't import tubers (even if I could find those). If you ever have enough to sell in the future I will gladly pay for some seed. They must be around Rowan because someone from Tassie sent me a few tubers some years ago, 2003 maybe? can't remember exactly. They didn't survive here unfortunately. The point is of course that if one person in Tassie was growing them then there are probably others. You could try the various Tassie seed companies. |
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Post by hortusbrambonii on Sept 26, 2013 0:16:08 GMT -5
Does Rhizowen Radix know about this?
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Post by rowan on Sept 26, 2013 2:10:19 GMT -5
They must be around Rowan because someone from Tassie sent me a few tubers some years ago, 2003 maybe? can't remember exactly. They didn't survive here unfortunately. The point is of course that if one person in Tassie was growing them then there are probably others. You could try the various Tassie seed companies. Thank you for giving me hope Ray. I thought I had a good search a couple of years ago but I might try again now with a focus on Tassie. I sent some other seeds to Joseph Simcox (the famous edible plant explorer) and he told me he would bring some seeds with him when he visited Australia but that was a year or two ago and he still hasn't got over here. Oh, and thanks Bill, I know it will be some years if you manage to get a good supply of seeds. |
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Post by steev on Sept 26, 2013 3:05:37 GMT -5
Nuts from the same plant? Remarkable.
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Post by billw on Sept 26, 2013 13:53:11 GMT -5
Does Rhizowen Radix know about this? He will when he checks his email.  I found a second plant with two seeds today. Also a Pica de Pulga. Some of this year's Pica de Pulga plants were grown as tissue cultures over the winter. Unfortunately, I don't know which. But, that may be a factor. |
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Post by billw on Sept 26, 2013 17:08:09 GMT -5
And here is what they look like on the plant:  |
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Post by billw on Oct 3, 2013 19:31:29 GMT -5
As of today, I have collected 38 seeds. If I do as well as the Finns did and I can double that number before the end of the season, that's a pretty good chance of getting a seedling.
Of course, whether it is any good or not is a separate consideration.
I've taken a bunch of cuttings and I'm raising them inside and doing hand pollination, so hopefully I can improve on the outdoor seed set. It worked pretty well for oca.
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Post by billw on Nov 22, 2013 21:52:44 GMT -5
An update and an observation...
I ended up collecting 96 seeds this year between the original plants and cuttings that I crossed by hand indoors. I gave sixteen to some other folks to try, so I'll be trying to grow out the remaining 80 starting in February.
Most of the ulluco harvest is now in and I found that the more seeds a plant produced, the fewer tubers. The sample size is small, but the correlation was strong. Average yield among plants that produced no seed was 666 grams (no kidding). Average yield among plants that produced seeds was 171 grams. The best seed producing plant gave 40 seeds and produced no tubers at all.
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Post by trixtrax on Nov 24, 2013 4:26:18 GMT -5
Bill, now we know why you've got such great Ulluco seed yields, you've been practicing the botanical dark arts (ala 666g) ;P tehehe
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Post by steev on Nov 25, 2013 0:41:33 GMT -5
Well, I guess 666 is the mark of the best.
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