Posted on 08/26/2016 3:57:46 PM PDT by greeneyes
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I goofed and bought a pack of San Marzano tomato seeds from 2011. I started them indoors and almost all germinated. Mr. Sg transplanted them in the garden and we’re still getting a good yield. Planted too many cantaloupes and we’ve had more than enough for ourselves, friends and neighbors. Zukes are done. Lots of jalapenos and sweet banana peppers. Sugar snap peas don’t seem to like this climate, but we had three batches that were delicious. We actually got five eggplants this year, only to discover that Mr. Sg doesn’t like them. Marigolds came up; nasturtiums didn’t. We’ve been very blessed this year.
If freezing damp seeds cracks them, how do seeds “in the wild” get dry before winter hits?
Keeping viable seed from year to year is fairly easy if you keep them in a dry, fairly stable cool temperature, and away from sunlight
A basement generally meets these requirements.
As was stated , just make sure they are stored after they are absolutely dry, or they will mold.
Always conduct a germination test on saved seed, unless recommended only to direct seed;
your garden productivity may depend on it, as frequently crop loss timing does not allow for optimum re-seeding.
Two websites about seed longevity for information:
Life Expectancy of Vegetable Seeds Chart ( Iowa State University)
www.ipm.iastate.edu/ipm/hortnews/1999/4-2-1999/veggielife.html
Seedman.com (info on storage,germination, # of seeds per ounce, and chart of seed longevity)
www.seedman.com/veggerm.htm
Hang in there !
The first flowers from Curcubits are males (stamin) - needed for pollination.
The next set of flowers should be female (ova)- which will develop into fruit.
The female flowers should be slightly more bulbous at the base of the flower, and will develop into the fruit.
Aha! thanks for that!
The bees are loving them, so pollination is happening! :-)
Generally, annuals don't make it if exposed to wet and freezing temps, except in compost piles, or naturally occurring "micro-climates".
Compost as it breaks down releases a warming gas, especially if nitrogen is present.
Natural occurring "micro-climates" exist near heat sinks, sandy soils, southern (sun exposure) walls, stone walls (warm mass),
or where there is protection from winds, or covered by leaves in the fall.
Glad to hear that !
Some folks here, who overwinter crops indoors, will get 'Q-tips' to collect the pollen from the male flowers now, put the pollen laden 'Q-tips' in the freezer in a baggie,
and then use the 'Q-tips' to pollinate crops indoors during the winter.
The male pollen remains viable during the freezing.
Some people plant flowers just to encourage pollenaters to visit their gardens throughout the year.
Yep...lots of big fat furry bumblebees.
I planted echanacia, which also attracts pollinators.
Thanks for the “tips” LOL! :-)
Planted some marigold seeds in May that came up and are still going strong. They do well in any weather even 90 degree heat spells.
Yeah...Marigolds are MAGICAL! :-)
Only a few russets left to die completely & be dug; the German Butterballs are starting to wind down..
Still a few onions that haven’t fallen over and given up the ghost.
Beans are still producing; 5 more pints on the stove as I type; that makes 28 pints plain, and 8 dilled. The shelling beans are finally loading up & beginning to mature.
Tomatoes are finally coming into their own, except the Rutgers; it only has finally set 3 or 4 little ones so far.
A few days ago, I tilled in another couple of swaths of chicken & rabbit manure/litter. Today, I planted the bag of onion sets I had saved from this Spring, to over-Winter. Soon, I’ll get around to putting in the garlic there, too.
Acorn Squash vines are loaded, and the cocozelle are still producing, as are the cukes.
Chard has finally gotten a cooling incentive to grow, as has some volunteer lettuce and a Napa type cabbage.
Apple crop will be very disappointing, but at least we’ll get wild plums this coming week.
My flint corn is starting to dry down. One disadvantage of growing the older varieties is that they don’t all ripen at once. I’m having to judge ripeness by the ear instead of harvesting the whole patch in one go. That’s ok, it just means it’ll take longer. This year is an expansion year, so most of the corn is marked for seed, but there should be enough to cook up for a taste test.
Next year I definitely need to treat with a fungicide. I lost about 20% of my corn to either corn smut or mold, sometimes both. I’ll be researching non-toxic preventatives this winter.
The dry bean I tested this year, Beefy Resilient Grex, has exceeded expectations in terms of productivity. I haven’t cooked any up yet, but this is the closest thing I’ve found to an everbearing bean plant! Usually when the first beans ripen, the whole plant shuts down, but these just keep pumping more out, it’s amazing! And they’re colorful, too. About half are black, but the other half are every possible color. Green, yellow, brown, red, purple, pink, speckled, striped, mottled, you name it. It’s like Joseph And The Amazing Technicolored Bean Plant! I’ve got about 4 pounds shelled already, and they’re growing faster than I can pick. Definitely going on my list for survival plants!
The strawberries have slowed down some, but they’re still coming. Just a few per picking now. The blackberries I planted have about 8 berries ripening already. Birds got most of the elderberries, but I picked enough to make my elixir.
Speaking of elixirs, chocolate mint makes a great mojito. Just saying.
Still behind on getting the hayfield cut and tilled. I’m hoping to have help with that this weekend.
Oh, and Dad’s garden has more tomatoes than he knows what to do with, so I’ve canned about 20 quarts so far. With several more batches to go!
Depends somewhat on the variety, but even just storing them in the corner of my bedroom, I have 90% germination on seeds more than 10 years old. Go for it.
Some seeds actually have better germination if the seed coat is cracked by freezing. Just FYI.
In general, if it’ll sprout in the compost bin, it can handle more abuse than most people think. Tomatoes and squash are both notorious for that.
Nice!!!
4th photo down looks like you’re teasing the poor chickens!
as for my garden, tomato plants are drying and dying...they did produce some tomatoes, all smallish...those were in containers and they made beautiful green plants but seem to wimp out soon...
the few tomatoes in the garden boxes are hanging on, tomatoes a little larger....
next year I'm going to do more deliberate plant shopping...beefsteak for sure...
I've harvested some Anaheim, some potatoes, some small onions, and today picked my hops and drying them as we speak...my little dehydrator can't do so many at once so I have 4 cookie trays with them on too....at least for tonite...tomorrow I might run to goodwill and get another dehydrator (I foolishly donated my other since the one I have now is better...lol)
I do have some bell peppers coming along, lots of zucchini and some yellow zucchini too...one big hubbard and a few smaller squash plus two trombones but is there enough time left in the summer?....who knows...
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