A Seed Saver's Garden

[Pulsegleaner]

It would have to be municipal sized, or even bigger since, in the scenario I mentioned, it'd have to be big enough to hold full sized TREES, LOTS of them.

Oh, and general update, SOMETHING in my side pot has buds. I just can't tell if it's the tall finely, leafed legume or the five lobed leaf bindweed like vine twisted around it. I'm leaning on the plant, since the bud shape reminds me of Crotalaria or Sesbania, but, given where the vine sits on the stem, it's actually hard to tell.

 

[heirloomgal]

Some wonderful surprises today. I got a visit from the lady who was the original source for the idea of electric fertilizer, and she & I made a tour of the garden together. Aside from the remarkable vigor of the bean plants, there are some other above average performers out there this year that we found. The tomato plants in the pots have put on a remarkable fruit set, and I don't give tomatoes much beyond bare minimum fertility. The pots which have their own individual fertility pole each have the heaviest clusters. This week we ate our first large red beefsteaks. I'm going to do my best to count the number of fruits from the heaviest hitters. I don't think I've ever seen my tomato plants perform so well. First it was foliage vigor, but now it extends also to the fruit both in size and volume. The beefsteaks are much larger than I typically get. 'Klein Early' (the variety we've been eating) is both huge and delicious. And earlies are not typically exceptional in any way for me.


The black currant bush is another surprise. It isn't in good soil, is in part shade so I always attributed fairly modest harvests to those two factors though the plants have been very healthy. Again, in spring plant vigor was unusual (I assumed it was just the increasing maturity of the plant) but I can see from the fruit that it's not just a vegetative burst, the plant is loaded with the hugest currants I've ever had. I harvested a soup bowl full last year. At the time that seemed 'normal'. This year I harvested at least 15 cups!

The greenhouse peppers were definitely set back because of high heat that brought on aphids. But the peppers that were outside from the beginning are also producing better than average. 'Sweet Orange Drop' and 'Orange Bullhorn'. (Needs staking)

We've been harvesting ground cherries for about a week now, which is early for us. The plant last year never got above a foot. This year they're much bigger and the fruit set is 20X. These plants were for seed, but because they're doing so well I'm letting DD have at them. She loves these.

The promises of earlier harvests and larger harvests really seems to be happening.

 

[flowerbug]

At this point nothing the weather could do would surprise me. "Who the Hell Knows" is how I would describe this year.

with the advances in both solar power panels, battery storage and LED lights it may end up being easier to go underground because of the vast heat buffering capacity of the surrounding earth but also to avoid all these crazy side effects of shifting weather patterns. i'd also consider it good training and learning how to live in space.

in my particular location underground is not a good option (i'd need a permanent drainage system).

greenhouses are what i considered a real challenge and i would not use them if you have other options that would be more simple to do.

for one if you are planting only a few crops or varieties it will likely help to increase your diversity of plantings to capture some of the extreme ends. other methods that may help productivity is to interplant and harvest sprouts which take shorter periods of time to grow and then are harvested quickly. planting a lot of varieties of beans is my normal gardening habit because of my interest in cross-breeding and finding varieties which will survive our soils and climate but as a by-product i'm also finding varieties which can survive a fair amount of abuse.

that all said nothing really does great if we get a prolonged drought (like we just had) but the well water will keep things alive until the rains return.

i now have to shift into another era of gardening which includes the check for tomato worms, picking off some Japanese Beetles and other more morning oriented tasks. i'm not a morning person... but it's only for a shorter period of time and the results are worth it... so i get it done. some days better than others...

A number of "climate change refugees" who moved to my state in recent years to escape droughts, fires, earthquakes, and mudslides of the western states are now questioning their decision following a summer here of catastrophic flooding that qualified us as a national disaster, blue/green algae and milfoil taking over our lakes, and air quality compromised by wildfires in eastern Canada.

the entire world will be doing a lot more of this population shifting through time as the coming changes are going to require either people moving inland away from the coasts or some kind of other changes to protect against the rising oceans. personally, i'm very glad where i live. winters don't bother me nearly as much as the heat would.

Your greenhouse idea sounds like a practical solution, especially if you are trying to sell what you grow. I'm not so sure that we are not on the cusp of nothing growing with or without human intervention, but might as well take whatever mitigating steps might work.

wind breaks, partial sun/shade blocks may help or even be required along with mulching to preserve water/moisture and also to keep the soil cooler.

my normal habit of drenching the tomatoes once in a while during the really hot spells does help to set fruits, but then again it also does encourage disease problems (which i generally ignore because we still get enough return for the efforts and i'm not into playing baby the tomato plants when i have so many other things to deal with). this year i'm not sure how things are looking out there. i need to get back into that garden today to check for tomato worms - it's starting to be that time again.

if you have enough moisture higher heat does consume more soil carbon stores so as you head more towards tropical temperatures and if you want to garden the annuals and vegetables many of us really enjoy then you have to work a bit harder to make sure the garden soils are getting enough organic matter. again, mulching will help with that but it also adds more risks of fungal diseases so you may have to adapt or change some things to get crops to finish.

so far my main adaptation is that i have to remember to water regularly during the dry spells. if i'd not have watered this past early summer we'd already be done vegetable gardening for the season. right now things are looking pretty good if behind a little in some ways.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Looks like the identity of the flowering plant on the side has revealed itself, it seems to be Partridge Pea

On the down side, I did a little digging, and it looks like, contrary to what I assumed there is NOT a ton of Mountain Garlic below the surface of the soil. Looks like most of the plants didn't die down, they just DIED (either that, or there is something that really liked them and has been digging them up all this time, but I don't recall seeing any soil disturbances besides the ones I made.

Below is, as far as I can tell the TOTAL crop (with them all being leafless now, I brought them in on the chance the second theory was the correct one. Bear in mind, the biggest of these is pea sized (that's as big as they get)

Other than that, things look good. I can probably start getting seed from the long beans in two to three weeks (the back ones, the ones in the corn patch don't seem to be doing anything). The first cucumber should be ripe for seed collection in another week or so (it might be ready now, but I'm erring on the side of caution). I could start harvesting Spoon tomatoes NOW, but since they are so tiny, it may make more sense to wait until there are enough ripe ones to actually be usable. Then again, birds CAN eat tomatoes, so maybe I should get them while I can.

 

[heirloomgal]

Looks like the identity of the flowering plant on the side has revealed itself, it seems to be Partridge Pea

View attachment 59158

On the down side, I did a little digging, and it looks like, contrary to what I assumed there is NOT a ton of Mountain Garlic below the surface of the soil. Looks like most of the plants didn't die down, they just DIED (either that, or there is something that really liked them and has been digging them up all this time, but I don't recall seeing any soil disturbances besides the ones I made.

Below is, as far as I can tell the TOTAL crop (with them all being leafless now, I brought them in on the chance the second theory was the correct one. Bear in mind, the biggest of these is pea sized (that's as big as they get)

View attachment 59159
Other than that, things look good. I can probably start getting seed from the long beans in two to three weeks (the back ones, the ones in the corn patch don't seem to be doing anything). The first cucumber should be ripe for seed collection in another week or so (it might be ready now, but I'm erring on the side of caution). I could start harvesting Spoon tomatoes NOW, but since they are so tiny, it may make more sense to wait until there are enough ripe ones to actually be usable. Then again, birds CAN eat tomatoes, so maybe I should get them while I can.

A partridge pea! I've always wanted to grow one of those. Years ago I bought a packet of seed but I don't think anything sprouted, or if it did nothing came of it. I like the leaf type, looks like a sensitivity plant which I've always wanted to get.

Is the photo of your Mountain Garlic the bulbs that you harvest, or plant for the next years crop?

 

[Pulsegleaner]

A partridge pea! I've always wanted to grow one of those. Years ago I bought a packet of seed but I don't think anything sprouted, or if it did nothing came of it. I like the leaf type, looks like a sensitivity plant which I've always wanted to get.

Based on what happened, it looks like it may take more than one year for water to get it

Is the photo of your Mountain Garlic the bulbs that you harvest, or plant for the next years crop?

Sort of both. They don't get any bigger than that, so this would technically be eating size, sort of (based on how they are sold, you tend to pick the whole plant when it is green to eat it and cook the whole thing, bulb and all.) On the other hand, there really isn't enough there to make eating worth while, so they'll probably be re-planted in the end. Though, with four other wild garlics on the planting list for next year and limited space (especially if they need to be overwintered indoors the first year, which means using pots I can carry in) I'll have to decide it it is actually worth it.

 

[flowerbug]

Based on what happened, it looks like it may take more than one year for water to get it


Sort of both. They don't get any bigger than that, so this would technically be eating size, sort of (based on how they are sold, you tend to pick the whole plant when it is green to eat it and cook the whole thing, bulb and all.) On the other hand, there really isn't enough there to make eating worth while, so they'll probably be re-planted in the end. Though, with four other wild garlics on the planting list for next year and limited space (especially if they need to be overwintered indoors the first year, which means using pots I can carry in) I'll have to decide it it is actually worth it.

they don't look like there is much of a tunic on those so i would say from guessing based upon other similar species that it probably isn't meant to be a storage crop other than left in the ground. from what i read it should be zone 4 safe so NY should not be too cold for it if you're in the central to southern parts. mulch it also a bit IMO.

 

[heirloomgal]

Based on what happened, it looks like it may take more than one year for water to get it


Sort of both. They don't get any bigger than that, so this would technically be eating size, sort of (based on how they are sold, you tend to pick the whole plant when it is green to eat it and cook the whole thing, bulb and all.) On the other hand, there really isn't enough there to make eating worth while, so they'll probably be re-planted in the end. Though, with four other wild garlics on the planting list for next year and limited space (especially if they need to be overwintered indoors the first year, which means using pots I can carry in) I'll have to decide it it is actually worth it.

Is the Mountain Garlic you're growing the same as the 'Snow Mountain' garlic that comes up when I do a google search? The one from Kashmir? Grows to 30 feet tall?

eta: Interesting that there is a variety of garlic called 'solo' or 'only child', and possibly also called Jammu garlic (not sure if this is a different one). Each plant bears a single clove. I kind of like that idea. I've never been a fan of all that peeling.

 

[flowerbug]

... Grows to 30 feet tall?

i think someone is pulling your leg there...

 

[heirloomgal]

i think someone is pulling your leg there...

No! It's real!!

eta: I mean, it's real according to this website. lol But creativity abounds in the world indeed.

Snow Mountain Garlic And Its Health Benefits

Kashmiri Snow Mountain Garlic is an aromatic spice with a unique taste. It is grown in the Himalayas. The garlic has unique properties, which make it different from other types of garlic. It is rich in Vitamin C, A, B complex, Calcium, Iron, Magnesium, Potassium, Phosphorus, and Selenium. It...

www.kashmironlinestore.com