|
|
Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Sept 22, 2018 16:25:14 GMT -5
Cool. I look forward to seeing how your peas do next spring. 'Large Podded' was both the largest peas and the best tasting peas for me in 2018.
It is an adapted mix of 'Carouby de Maussane' from Canada, 'Bijou' sugar peas from England, and 'Green Beauty' from Kapuler's Oregon.
|
|
|
|
Post by gilbert on Oct 2, 2018 16:39:17 GMT -5
Cold weather is closing in, and we'll have snow by the beginning of next week. I harvested a bunch of landrace Maxima squash, some moschatas (the first time I've managed that here!) and a few Tetsukabuto squash. I don't think they are ripe, but I hope they have viable seeds, and they may have well crossed with either the Maximas or Moschatas, since they were growing side by side. I also harvested a bunch of cantaloupes from Joseph's landrace, and saved seed. I brought in around 10 watermelons, but none of them look ripe from the outside. I planted a mix of Keen's watermelon landrace and Citron hybrids, so I'm not sure what is what. And I brought in four giant edible luffa gourds, and some zucchini and delecatas that I planted to cross.
Questions:
Quite a few of the moschatas have a green tinge over part of the rind. Are these ripe, or not? On Joseph's website, there is a picture of moschatas with a range of green to tan coloration; are the green ones any less likely to be ripe than the tan ones?
If the watermelons are indeed unripe, would it help seed viability to wait a few weeks before opening them?
How would I tell the difference between an unripe watermelon and a ripe citron? And more generally, how would I tell if a particular fruit has citron ancestors? What are the tell-tale signs?
Of my three surviving tomato x neandermato hybrid plants, only one bore fruit; the others appear to be sterile, or perhaps self-incompatible; they had closed flowers. The one plant that bore fruit is a sprawling, extremely open plant with very fine leaves, and strongly indeterminate. The fruit was yellow/ brown, a little smaller than a ping-pong ball, and slightly fuzzy.
I planted buffalo gourd and malabar gourd to cross, but neither flowered. Next year, the buffalo gourd will be more established, and my greenhouse will be finished (I hope!) so that I can give the malabar gourd more heat.
|
|
|
|
Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Oct 2, 2018 23:52:19 GMT -5
Cold weather is closing in, and we'll have snow by the beginning of next week. I harvested a bunch of landrace Maxima squash, some moschatas (the first time I've managed that here!) and a few Tetsukabuto squash. I don't think they are ripe, but I hope they have viable seeds, and they may have well crossed with either the Maximas or Moschatas, since they were growing side by side. I also harvested a bunch of cantaloupes from Joseph's landrace, and saved seed. I brought in around 10 watermelons, but none of them look ripe from the outside. I planted a mix of Keen's watermelon landrace and Citron hybrids, so I'm not sure what is what. And I brought in four giant edible luffa gourds, and some zucchini and delecatas that I planted to cross. Questions: Quite a few of the moschatas have a green tinge over part of the rind. Are these ripe, or not? On Joseph's website, there is a picture of moschatas with a range of green to tan coloration; are the green ones any less likely to be ripe than the tan ones? If the watermelons are indeed unripe, would it help seed viability to wait a few weeks before opening them? How would I tell the difference between an unripe watermelon and a ripe citron? And more generally, how would I tell if a particular fruit has citron ancestors? What are the tell-tale signs? First try visiting my thread: alanbishop.proboards.com/thread/9187/colorado-seeded-citron-watermelon-hybridsDomestic round watermelons for me are generally ripe when the three closest tendrils near the melon are brown and dry. one near the melon and one on either side. If all the tendrils are brown all along up and down the vine then it is probably over ripe. If the three closest tendrils still have some green probably not ripe yet. Long or Oblong watermelons take longer to ripen and do not really stick to the "three tendril method". I usually also try to do the sound thump test. The deeper more hollow sound usually helps identify a ripe watermelon, at least at the store. With smaller melons this method does not work well at all as the smaller size makes hollow sounds harder to hear and interpret. Theoretically i would think seed viability could be increased by letting the fruits sit and the nutrients keep flowing into the seed. Theoretically even if you cut into a melon too early you could leave the cut pieces to sit and the seed still mature before harvesting seeds. Generally the seeds will have dark color and be plump sort of like a small pumpkin seed. Those are fine to harvest. Thin white seeds are unviable and will mold quickly. They should be separated and discarded. I usually strain my seeds under cold water in a metal strainer and put them on a paper towel to dry. Washing them helps wash the sugar off the seeds so mold will not grow. Partially unmature seeds can also be left on a paper towel to dry and often start to develop more color and the week progresses as they dry down. There are a few tell tale signs for a full citron melon, but unless you have grown some you may not have the "sense" to "just tell". keen101.wordpress.com/2017/11/05/new-watermelon-breeding-project-2018-and-beyond/Citron melons have a distinctive pattern. With dark green stripes and white almost spotted stipping that moves all over in strange ways. I think they sort of look like cauliflower. These white dotted "Stripes" often develop a sort of yellow glow to them over time. Often starting to get yellow on the top pf the melon. Over time the white "stripes" become more and more yellow-ish. I think that means citron melons have a gold rind gene of some sort. As i am finding out citron hybrids are segregating so wideley that sometimes i can not even tell what is what unless i keep track of what was grown where. Some seem to be segregating for yellowing fruit rinds which is a useful trait, some are segregating for citron-like rind patterns, some are segregating for in-between patterns. some are segregating for full domestic watermelon patterns but with citron qualities inside. Some have colored flesh, some have hard flesh, some have soft flesh, some have white flesh (also may be unripe), some citron hybrids seem to be ripening earlier that others. Most citron hybrids do not seem to adhere to the "three tendril rule" for domestic watermelon ripening wisdom. Some have thick white part of the rind, some have NO white part of the rind! |
|
|
|
Post by gilbert on Oct 3, 2018 16:36:02 GMT -5
Thanks!
None of my melons had dried tendrils, nor did they have a yellow cast; I'm pretty sure none of them are ripe. (Even though one of them is 24 pounds!)
I'll take a look at your threads and see if I can figure out what I've got.
|
|
|
|
Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Oct 4, 2018 7:52:56 GMT -5
Thanks! None of my melons had dried tendrils, nor did they have a yellow cast; I'm pretty sure none of them are ripe. (Even though one of them is 24 pounds!) I'll take a look at your threads and see if I can figure out what I've got. Wow! 24 pounds sounds awesome! Please take photos and share (i use flickr)! Yours might have even done better than mine this year! But i didn't put much effort in either. Lol. P.s. i added a new photo in the other thread just for you  |
|
|
|
Post by gilbert on Oct 4, 2018 17:23:19 GMT -5
After carefully looking at your pictures and at my melons, I think almost all of them are citron descended; I have the "standard" types, with white cauliflower markings on green, and some of both the light green mottled and the dark green on white types seen in your photos. The 24 pounder and a few others do have a slight yellow cast in the white areas.
I didn't put any effort into them; no fertilizer, probably inadequate water, late planting, and the patch was totally overrun by weeds so that I could hardly see the vines in the thicket. The only thing going for them was that we had a warm Fall.
I've got photos; I can't post them just now, but will soon.
I'm going to wait a week or so before opening them in hopes of more mature seed.
|
|
|
|
Post by Joseph Lofthouse on Oct 4, 2018 22:39:34 GMT -5
gilbert: Thanks for the grow report. I figure that if I smash my fingernail against the skin of a squash, and it doesn't penetrate, then it is mature, and the seeds are viable. If I can let them go longer, I do, figuring that they are like corn: The seed becomes viable a long time before it is mature. The first year I harvested moschata squash, the fruits were still very green when frost arrived, and they still managed enough viability to be the beginning of my landraces. The green/yellow/tan skins on the moschata squash don't seem to me to have much to do with maturity. The dark green pigment just takes longer to dissipate than the light green pigment.
|
|
|
|
Post by gilbert on Oct 5, 2018 15:58:18 GMT -5
Thanks Joseph! That's helpful.
About half my mochatas, which were the usual tan color when harvested, have abruptly turned a mottled purple/brown color in the last day or so. They are all still firm and solid; the discolored patches are not slimy or fuzzy.
Have any of you seen this happen before? Should I eat them quickly? I was going to cure them for six weeks.
I've got pictures; I'll try to get them on here soon.
|
|
|
|
Post by gilbert on Oct 5, 2018 17:45:51 GMT -5
William, that sounds hopeful.
|
|
|
|
Post by gilbert on Oct 5, 2018 17:51:06 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by gilbert on Oct 5, 2018 17:52:38 GMT -5
The year's harvest of citron/ watermelons. Most have the citron "cloverleaf" or "cauliflower" pattern. (And two of the Lagenaria gourds. Do you think they'll have viable seed? I really liked the white night blooming flowers.) www.dropbox.com/s/5qvyz9h7j1odcyl/IMG_6266.JPG?dl=0 |
|
|
|
Post by gilbert on Oct 5, 2018 17:55:08 GMT -5
|
|
|
|
Post by gilbert on Oct 5, 2018 17:55:37 GMT -5
The tomato / neandermato fruits are already crushed up, so no pictures of them, and they were boring anyway.
|
|
|
|
Post by gilbert on Oct 5, 2018 17:59:50 GMT -5
I'm particularly interested in what the seeds from the Tetsukabuto squash do. They are all on the small side, but the rinds seem as hard as a store bought squash.
We ate a store bought red kuri squash today, and I thought it was superior to anything I'm currently growing. I'll mix some into the landrace to try incorporating the dry, almost crumbly flesh texture.
|
|
|
|
Post by keen101 (Biolumo / Andrew B.) on Oct 5, 2018 19:57:12 GMT -5
The year's harvest of citron/ watermelons. Most have the citron "cloverleaf" or "cauliflower" pattern. (And two of the Lagenaria gourds. Do you think they'll have viable seed? I really liked the white night blooming flowers.) www.dropbox.com/s/5qvyz9h7j1odcyl/IMG_6266.JPGCool! Those look awesome! excited to see what is inside all of them and everything! Either way looks like you will be getting a decent amount of seed! |
|
