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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Jul 9, 2015 13:16:06 GMT -5
Presently, the seed pods look full sized, but still quite green. That seems like they are only a week or so from drying down. Do the cukes/squash need the room today? Or can they wait a week? Growth of squash in my garden this week is phenomenal. It seems to me that seeds become viable at a much younger age than our sensibilities would suggest. |
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Post by ferdzy on Jul 9, 2015 14:07:42 GMT -5
Probably a bit longer than that before they dry down. But, maybe not much. The cukes and squash are looking perky and healthy and about the same size as the transplants which are not cheek-by-jowl to massive brassicas, so I am not too worried about them yet. They did go in late though, so nobody has an excess of time to do their thing.
Guess I will continue with the watchful waiting, and hope I can pull them in a week or so.
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Post by diane on Jul 9, 2015 19:55:37 GMT -5
Maybe you could plant the cukes and squash in between the brassicas, and trim off the lower leaves of the brassicas so the new plants get some light. Then when the seeds are ready, just lop off the stems right near the ground and leave the roots in place so the cukes and squash don't get their roots disturbed.
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Post by robertb on Jul 10, 2015 9:05:04 GMT -5
I grow varieties side by side and let them cross as they will. I've had problems myself with overwintering, so maybe I'll try burying them and see what happens. I've only got kales and kale crosses growing this year, and they should all be hardy, but couve tronchuda and caulis from southern Europe have been a problem.
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Post by kazedwards on Jul 13, 2015 15:29:25 GMT -5
What is the best approach to save seed from a kohlrabi this time of year? I know that they are biannual so I would no to over winter it. I was thinking of transplanting it to a pot to overwinter in the garage, or can I just pull it in the fall and replant in the spring? Also it is a long way from fall any idea on how well it will fare through the summer? http://instagram.com/p/4-rBRlip5I |
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Post by kazedwards on Jul 13, 2015 16:40:38 GMT -5
Also is there a way to induce flowering this year?
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Post by louisianagourmet on Aug 28, 2015 1:25:00 GMT -5
Down here in Louisiana I can grow all the brassica outdoors until they seed the next year. All the Asian varieties will go to seed quick if planted in the spring instead of the previous late summer / fall. You can let them completely dry on the plant, but not to the point where they fall over onto the ground. When they are as dry as they can get, but still healthy & clean... all you need to do is get a container or bag, bend over each stem full of dried pods into the container & strip the seeds & dry seed pods off directly into the container or bag. I use a large bowl & lightly toss the seeds & pods around like you would vegetables in a saute' pan, while blowing air or a fan into it on an angle. All the broken pods fly out & after several times doing that you're left with thousands upon thousands of clean perfect seeds, 95%+ germination.
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Post by oxbowfarm on Aug 28, 2015 8:45:00 GMT -5
kazedwards, I don't recall where you farm. I'd say if you have reasonably cold winters you could to the pit cellar method. Dig a hole deep enough to bury a barrel or a 5 gallon bucket. Drill drain holes in the bottom and pack your kohlrabi or whatever in them with damp peat moss, wet sawdust, damp sand etc. Put the lid on and bury it if you get hard winters you can cover it with a pile of hay, leaves, foam insulation etc. Maybe a tarp or some builders plastic if you want to access it in the winter, but not an issue if the stuff is just for overwintering for seed. In the spring you dig it up and transplant out the survivors. If you are in the gulf coast region or something then you could just overwinter them out of doors i believe.
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Post by kazedwards on Aug 28, 2015 12:38:48 GMT -5
I am in zone 6. 20-30s average lows with a few days/weeks at 0 or less. And we get a few good snows over 6" but most the time snow only stays a few days. I was hoping to cover them with leaves or grass. Do you think that is enough?
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Post by oxbowfarm on Aug 28, 2015 20:53:47 GMT -5
I am in zone 6. 20-30s average lows with a few days/weeks at 0 or less. And we get a few good snows over 6" but most the time snow only stays a few days. I was hoping to cover them with leaves or grass. Do you think that is enough? It depends. If I were to cover a root vegetable with leaves or grass on the soil surface here at my farm it would simply become a destination resort for meadow voles. But if you don't have vole issues then a that might work. I'd bet you could get away with leaving them in the ground under row cover if those are your average temps, but I'd bury a bucket of select roots for insurance. |
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Post by kazedwards on Aug 29, 2015 0:31:25 GMT -5
That's a thought. what do you think about a cold frame? Maybe a big jar? I would have to remove it on warm days.
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Post by raymondo on Aug 29, 2015 1:06:48 GMT -5
Where I live winter nights are between 20 and 40. Very rarely does it get below this. Kohlrabi overwinters in low tunnel with netting over it. Because its netting, I don't have to worry about uncovering on hot days. Your occasional zeros might be problematic but extra cover on such nights might be all that's needed.
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Post by ilex on Aug 30, 2015 11:08:45 GMT -5
Also is there a way to induce flowering this year? Uproot, place in bag and into refrigerator for a few weeks. It's probably too late as from flowering to seed it takes a long time. |
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Post by blackox on Aug 31, 2015 12:06:04 GMT -5
kazedwards What is your microclimate like? I managed to get kale and winter radish seeds out of my zone 5 sloped garden at a bottom of a hill this year. I think that you should A-OK.
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Post by templeton on Aug 13, 2017 0:28:57 GMT -5
Was going to start a new thread but thought I might bump this one. Another paper on crossing between brassicas is this NZ one here www.agronomysociety.org.nz/files/2002_9._Review_-_Brassica_cross-pollination.pdfI am very short of space and wanted to do a bit of mass crossing of a couple of B.napa varieties (Hon Tsai Tai and Mispoona) that were flowering in beds that i need for new crops, and the only free bed for transplanting was next to some couve tronchuda, presumably B.oleracea. Following this NZ paper i transplanted the flowering mustards, but the paper published in an earlier post suggests that the mustards will easily cross with the CT. Anyone got any ideas or practical experience? I suppose i will find out in a couple of years  Of interest was the graph of cross pollinating vs distance - suggesting - as Joseph Lofthouse lofthouse has in other threads - that 20 metres is probably far enough. T |
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