Post by billw on Jan 17, 2017 1:44:39 GMT -5
Another year, another thread! You can find last year's here: alanbishop.proboards.com/thread/8642/andean-vegetables-2016
My projects for this year:
Achocha: Growing out seeds from last year's mass cross. I'm looking for earlier fruiting, tender pods, 4 inch or longer pods at maturity, mildew resistance.
Ahipa: This project is proceeding at a glacial pace. I will be growing all plants in a tunnel this year in order to hopefully accelerate seed production, which was minimal last year. I was able to make a few crosses and I'm pretty excited about growing those out.
Achira: I'll be growing out a bunch of plants from crosses made last year, hoping to discover something that makes me like eating this plant more.
Arracacha: The beatings will continue until seed is produced. I am extremely happy to have two varieties to work with this year, which means that I have double the chance of not producing seed.
Maca: I have made some real progress with earliness and root size in yellow maca. I will keep trying to achieve the same with the red and black landraces, which so far have resisted selection.
Mashua: I like mashua more every year. I really enjoy eating the tubers now. I got a good amount of seed in 2016 and will grow as much of it as possible. I will keep selecting for milder flavor, interesting appearance, and good tuber size. Mild flavor and colorful tubers appear to be at odds.
Mauka: I'm not sure what is next for this plant. I have a good amount of it now. I have some crosses to grow out, but with only two varieties, I don't expect any big surprises.
Oca: I am continuing the grind of growing several thousand seedlings indoors under controlled lighting and looking for those that tuberize at day lengths a few minutes earlier than what I already have. This process seems to be yielding results, if slowly. Outdoors, I continue to focus on finding varieties that flower reliably through warm periods in the hope of producing some that can flower in other climates.
Tarwi: I have only grown a little bit of tarwi in previous years, but I will do a fairly large sowing and mass cross of a dozen different varieties this year. It took some experimenting to figure out how best to process it, but now that I am comfortable with that, I like it a lot.
Ulluco: I'm making very good progress with ulluco, with potentially exciting developments. It seems like one of last year's seedlings might be a day neutral tuberizer. I'll test that this year. I'll also grow out about 1000 seeds, expecting 30 to 40 seedlings.
Yacon: I will retest 80 of the 140 new varieties that I grew last year and grow another 50 plants from select seed lines. I will probably end up on a two year cycle with this plant, with a large sowing followed by a selection year.
What are your plans for the coming year?
My projects for this year:
Achocha: Growing out seeds from last year's mass cross. I'm looking for earlier fruiting, tender pods, 4 inch or longer pods at maturity, mildew resistance.
Ahipa: This project is proceeding at a glacial pace. I will be growing all plants in a tunnel this year in order to hopefully accelerate seed production, which was minimal last year. I was able to make a few crosses and I'm pretty excited about growing those out.
Achira: I'll be growing out a bunch of plants from crosses made last year, hoping to discover something that makes me like eating this plant more.
Arracacha: The beatings will continue until seed is produced. I am extremely happy to have two varieties to work with this year, which means that I have double the chance of not producing seed.
Maca: I have made some real progress with earliness and root size in yellow maca. I will keep trying to achieve the same with the red and black landraces, which so far have resisted selection.
Mashua: I like mashua more every year. I really enjoy eating the tubers now. I got a good amount of seed in 2016 and will grow as much of it as possible. I will keep selecting for milder flavor, interesting appearance, and good tuber size. Mild flavor and colorful tubers appear to be at odds.
Mauka: I'm not sure what is next for this plant. I have a good amount of it now. I have some crosses to grow out, but with only two varieties, I don't expect any big surprises.
Oca: I am continuing the grind of growing several thousand seedlings indoors under controlled lighting and looking for those that tuberize at day lengths a few minutes earlier than what I already have. This process seems to be yielding results, if slowly. Outdoors, I continue to focus on finding varieties that flower reliably through warm periods in the hope of producing some that can flower in other climates.
Tarwi: I have only grown a little bit of tarwi in previous years, but I will do a fairly large sowing and mass cross of a dozen different varieties this year. It took some experimenting to figure out how best to process it, but now that I am comfortable with that, I like it a lot.
Ulluco: I'm making very good progress with ulluco, with potentially exciting developments. It seems like one of last year's seedlings might be a day neutral tuberizer. I'll test that this year. I'll also grow out about 1000 seeds, expecting 30 to 40 seedlings.
Yacon: I will retest 80 of the 140 new varieties that I grew last year and grow another 50 plants from select seed lines. I will probably end up on a two year cycle with this plant, with a large sowing followed by a selection year.
What are your plans for the coming year?
