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Post by philagardener on Feb 14, 2016 15:38:27 GMT -5
I've started doing that now, but have a bunch of things that were out for a few years before being put in storage so I am not really sure about them.
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Post by reed on Feb 14, 2016 16:47:50 GMT -5
Good of you to test - I have a lot of smaller, aging seed samples but not always enough to check before being able to plant them out. Your cute pup? I also have some seed in too small amounts to test, just have to see what happens when it's planted. When you do have enough it is nice to know what to expect when you plant. If it tested good but doesn't sprout then you know know something else was the issue. Yep, that's the pup, about then years ago when she first showed up. |
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Post by reed on Feb 20, 2016 7:35:24 GMT -5
Some stuff I had really hoped would live through winter did not, specifically broccoli and Swiss Chard. Guess I'll have to try again. Old standbys onions and garlic are fine. One type of green lettuce, some spinach and a single cilantro are perking up in the warmer weather. Carrots finally took some damage in the last snow-less cold spell but I don't think many died, maybe 5 - 10 % but no more.
Wow, this landrace thing can get out of hand pretty quick from a tracking and recording standpoint, especially with corn. Even with the coon attacks last year I have way more seed than I have room for so I'm trying to decide what goes in the ground this year. I also broke down and bought two new kinds of se hybrids because they have the (RM) disease resistance but that is the last I intend to buy. I'm not sure the F1 - F2 and so on tracking system is going to be of much use to me. For example in my two generations in one season seeds I have what I guess should be thought of as F2 seeds. Except the F2 was crossed again. So I have ((Oaxacan Green Dent x multiple sweets) x different multiple sweets). And some of the sweets were already F1s. What the heck would ya call that?
I'm just going to track it by parenting percentage so those seeds are 1/4 OGD and 3/4 sweetS. I'm gonna simplify it even further and ignore any consideration to se versus su and I'm taking a don't ask don't tell attitude on it's homo or hetero zygous - ness. In future I'm gonna measure sweet corn two ways, does it taste sweet and are the seeds wrinkled? I'v got a mix of about 30 kinds including AD along with OGD, Painted Mountain, Cascade Cream Cap and Fiesta Hybrid ornamental all crossed either in F1 or F2 or both to the sweets.
I got a similarly mixed up mess with my non-sweet corn. My general goals for both is short season (two generations per season), long slender ears, large kernels, colorful, disease and drought tolerant and so screwed up to be bullet proof as far as genetic depression goes.
Now to beans and carrots and melons and potatoes ....
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Post by reed on Feb 25, 2016 20:18:26 GMT -5
I wanted to sort my corn and select out what I'm gonna plant this year but I gave up. Here is what I'm dealing with and this is just the sweet.  The little bags are from individual ears form last year. I only kept track of particular ones as mothers Aunt Mary's, AD and the various flour types that I detasseled. The jar and bags at the top are those flour types F1 generation with no sweet looking kernels. At the very bottom are are F2 generation of ((flour x sweet) x itself) which produced about 30% sweet looking kernels. Also the second generation ((OAG x sweet) x sweet)which which also produced about 30% or maybe a little more sweet looking kernels. There on the left are left overs from what I started with and the two new Homozygous SE with the RM disease resistance that I'm adding in this year. I'm gonna have to trim it down some already because of space issues but I think it is too early to leave anything out for example by selecting against smaller kernels. Especially since both types that produced two generations in one season have the smaller kernels. So, I guess I'll most likely include it all but just larger numbers of seed form some of my favorites. For now I'm calling it Reed's Hoosier Homestead Dazed & Confused Composite Sweet Corn but am thinking about other names (ANY SUGGESTIONS?) because if things go right, in couple more seasons I might offer it under the OSSI pledge. Heck if I'm lucky and get a larger crop of the two generations in one year I might offer some out this winter. It is intended largely to make it possible for people to save their own seeds from populations far smaller then normally recommended so I don't want it to be anything close to stabilized. |
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Post by steev on Feb 25, 2016 21:08:35 GMT -5
RHHD&CCSC; wow! That's a bigger mouthful than most of the corn I've gotten these past droughty years.
I'll note that although no corn I planted did well, Joseph's Cherry Sweet did the best.
This year, I'm going to plant out many varieties that are aging, not having had the nerve to take a chance, due to water issues. Segregation will be an issue, due to the number of cultivars I need to shoehorn into the fenced irrigated area (the only area safe from rabbits/deer/elk/pigs), but I will trust in Joseph's claims of pollen-drop-range (~30'), separating blocks by NLT 30'.
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Post by reed on Feb 26, 2016 9:00:07 GMT -5
Yea, don't think that would be very appealing to people. Maybe if I could throw in a vowel or two I could come up a catchy sounding acronym. Kinda like they did with the patriot act.
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Feb 26, 2016 14:02:44 GMT -5
"Reed's Hoosier" would work for me.
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Post by oldmobie on Feb 26, 2016 14:30:41 GMT -5
"Reed's Hoosier" would work for me. Or, incorporating the "promiscuous pollination" concept, "Reed's Hoosier Daddy?". |
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Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Feb 26, 2016 16:30:08 GMT -5
Or, incorporating the "promiscuous pollination" concept, "Reed's Hoosier Daddy?". Now that's funny. I'm going to go ahead and award that comment with this month's gold star!!!! |
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Post by reed on Feb 26, 2016 19:38:15 GMT -5
Can ya give it two gold stars? Only thing wrong is I didn't think of myself.
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Post by steev on Feb 28, 2016 20:55:16 GMT -5
Well played, oldmobie!
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Post by reed on Mar 21, 2016 19:45:15 GMT -5
I have few lettuce and spinach plants that lived through the winter so yesterday I transplanted them into a little corner to see if I can get seeds. Don't know what will come if it but I got the want for winter hardy crops. These plants survived a few nights near zero F without snow cover so I hope they are a good start. Unfortunately I didn't have any Swiss Chard survive so I'll have to start over with it.  Not the best picture but I'm real pleased with how the carrots came through. They were bigger before the cold nights but most have recovered. There are plenty of weeds but most of the green is carrots.  Some kinds came through better than others but that is OK. Even the ones that had high mortality were not completely killed so they can stay in the mix. I have seven kinds in all. I need this spot for other stuff so am thinking of transplanting a lot of them into large pots with some of each kind in each pot. That was the plan but I got to thinking if any happen to have CMS it might be easier to catch if I have a pot for each kind. Today I transplanted a bunch of winter survivor turnips into a seed patch. Discovered last year how tasty the pods are so I'll have something to snack on while working. It's still too wet to till but I worked up spots a few days ago for lettuce, radish, carrots and the like. Just turned over the weeds with a shovel and spread a little dry compost on top, usually works pretty good. Too tired and too dark for turnip pictures, they sure are pretty though. . |
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Post by reed on Mar 27, 2016 7:14:33 GMT -5
Yesterday I started about twenty kinds of tomatoes, more than I really wanted to. One thing is clear, I don't have enough space to do all that I would like to do. Also I am not organized enough to keep good track of things like I should, O'well. To start my plants I mix up compost and garden dirt with some peat and a little sand to fill pots and just sow the seeds. They are in an unheated cold frame. I just pull them up to transplant.
With the spirit of not letting perfect get in the way of doing I am simplifying tomatoes by planting in phenotype groups. I do have a few I will plant at least ten each of and keep track.
F2 generation Plum Regal and Mountain Merit (disease resistant)
Utah Red Bottom, medium to large yellow/red similar in taste to pineapple but better and with firmer texture (Lofthouse) (open flowers)
XH - 9 (Lofthouse)
Dr's Office Ox Heart, given to the Dr. next to my office by an old lady and supposedly a local heirloom
Utah Heart, large Ox Heart type that survived and produced under extreme neglect. Stood up above the weeds without support. (Lofthouse) (open flowers)
All the rest will be planted in groups divided as best I can by phenotype class. 1. Medium fruit determinate - to can. 2. Large fruit - to eat fresh and 3. Cherry and other small fruit - for snacks and salad. I also want to experiment this year with a new class - good for drying.
I also started some thicket beans (Phaseolus polystachios) in the same cold frame to see what happens. Planted some of them direct a few weeks ago and saved twenty or so to direct seed a little later. Planted the last of my TGS but left them out with the TPS. I will just cover them at night or bring in if it looks like it will get too cold.
Started transplanting seed carrots into pots, they look beautiful but already figured out I probably can't bring myself to destroy the rest so that spot is likely not to be used for anything else this year until they are done. I think I'll use the part I did clear out for garlic or onions.
I'm seriously considering planting corn and melons today, it's only six weeks till our official frost free and I have plenty of seeds.
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Post by reed on Mar 28, 2016 3:48:10 GMT -5
Finished up transplanting the seed carrots into pots. Got 8 pots each with a minimum of fifteen plants, they're crowded but I think that's OK since they are for seed. That's way over 100 and seven kinds so it should make a nice mix of genetics. Was able to do a little selecting of root type by examining roots of some that I completely lifted individually. I favored shorter, thicker ones and ones with darker orange but didn't eliminate any, just kept more of the favored ones. Found some red and purple in the Lofthouse mix but don't know if any are in the seed pots cause I didn't remove the dirt on the ones I replanted. I did segregate out some with fuzzy stems to keep an eye on, that's why I have 8 pots for 7 kinds. Somebody told me "the queen has hairy legs".  Transplanted broccoli and cabbage into where I dug them up but there are probably still a couple hundred left in the ground. Expanded the fence a little around the borrowed garden and tilled it. This year I left a five foot perimeter around the inside of the fence and down the middle to keep mowed for better access and easier coon trapping. Last year they had secret entrances under the fence, hidden by tomato vines and weeds. Now I have two nice plots each 15' x 85' with easy access. At least one whole one will be corn. I didn't till another part at the gate end about 10' by 40' but will plant just using the shovel. Last year my biggest corn patches were flour/flint/field but I'm thinking of reversing that this year because sweet seed doesn't keep as long in storage and I have some genetics that didn't get mixed in last year. |
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Post by reed on Apr 13, 2016 20:04:02 GMT -5
Happy to see my Patience Dock plants sprouting up new leaves, not sure what to do with yet, figure it out after it gets established good.  Pretty sure these are sun roots, at least I hope so. Just two kinds up so far.  Some cabbages that I planted last fall and lived through winter. Never did much but the leaves taste good and now they are getting ready to bloom. Bet they have yummy seed pods. Some turnips are blooming nearby, will have to look up and see if they cross. I learned I can get cabbage seed without having to over winter a mature cabbage, cool.  My little pea patch, Sweet Magnolia and Amish Snap, cold tolerant for sure!  Seed carrots, regretting a little bit that I potted them up, not growing as fast as the ones I left alone and I'm already having to water. O'well I spect they will make seed just fine.  TPS, thinned down to just one or two per pot, don't know what happened to the one in the empty pot. These critters sure are slow to get going.  And last but not least the tomatoes are coming along.  |
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Transplanted broccoli and cabbage into where I dug them up but there are probably still a couple hundred left in the ground.