A Seed Saver's Garden

[Zeedman]

DW had zero interest in yellow watermelon. I showed her the listed days to maturity for some that were surprisingly shorter than the reds, suggesting that they might be suitable in our garden. She may have been influenced by my failures at growing some short season reds. Her disinterest continued.

Then, she bought a yellow watermelon by mistake at the farmers' market. She was willing to eat some of it but continues to resist. Of course, I could make the decision by myself but she is certainly more of a watermelon fan than I am. If she is happy with the supply available in the soopermarket, that's okay. I have very little confidence that our garden could match or exceed what's available.

An important melon growing region in NE Oregon is only about 300 miles south. I suppose these places are likely to have problems with other crops that I know nothing about. I tell myself, before venturing into more of the foolish and inopportune.

Steve

That's a shame, about your DW's dislike of yellow watermelons. Yellow Doll is one of the two watermelons that have done well in my short summer (Blacktail Mountain being the other). Of the two, the hybrid Yellow Doll is the most reliable... and given my preference for OP vegetables, I don't say that easily. It has a thin rind, seldom gets "hollow heart", and ripens at least a few melons even in bad years. Yes, the seeds are pricey, and seem to be getting considerably more expensive since I first grew it in 2005. One of only 2 hybrids that I will grow... the other being sweet corn.

 

[flowerbug]

DD went on a Keto diet this year. I will ask her how to frost a cake without sugar.

just wave the frosting over it. don't even have to open the can.

i'm pretty sure some of the foods we buy they do that at the factory with flavorings and additives.

 

[heirloomgal]

Watermelons....not the easiest crop. Success is so dependant on weather. One year I grew quite a few all in one raised bed - Orangeglo, Petite Yellow, Yellow Doll, Cream of Saskatchewan, couple others I can't remember. That was the only year I ever dedicated a whole area to that one fruit. I just got really lucky, it was a nice hot, long summer. I had watermelons coming out of my ears, I was giving them away to neighbours who were surprised that watermelons could be grown here. That characteristic - CRICK - sound of a breaking shell as the fruit is being lifted was pretty funny. But if I hadn't been blessed with that fantastic weather it would have been a significant waste of space. Which is why I'm always on the fence about growing them. I recall DD & I really enjoying Cream of Saskatchewan, so I'm sure I'll grow it again someday. 2022 will be for my 'designer' watermelon seeds. lol

 

[heirloomgal]

Because I've run out of jumbo size jars I decided to remove the kernels from the Blue Jade corn for storage. I usually leave corn on the cobs if I can. Some came off pretty easily, some of were attached a little more firmly. I hope that isn't a bad sign in terms of the seeds viability. I've saved only Tom Thumb popcorn seeds and they can hang on too so it might be alright. I planted almost exactly 50 plants and collected 2 pickle jars full, 1 litre size each. Corn it turns out is a very good crop to grow for lots of seeds!

s
Next year I think I'm gonna grow 'Pink Popcorn'. I bought seeds this spring that were discounted online at Salt Spring Seeds, so won't need to track them down. I also have a packet of the same variety name from a different company, and I'm tempted to plant both so I have more plants - I like at least 50 - but I don't know if they are the same. I think they may not be, as one is 5 feet tall and the other is described as 'tall and stately'?

 

[flowerbug]

Because I've run out of jumbo size jars I decided to remove the kernels from the Blue Jade corn for storage. I usually leave corn on the cobs if I can. Some came off pretty easily, some of were attached a little more firmly. I hope that isn't a bad sign in terms of the seeds viability. I've saved only Tom Thumb popcorn seeds and they can hang on too so it might be alright. I planted almost exactly 50 plants and collected 2 pickle jars full, 1 litre size each. Corn it turns out is a very good crop to grow for lots of seeds!
View attachment 46103s
Next year I think I'm gonna grow 'Pink Popcorn'. I bought seeds this spring that were discounted online at Salt Spring Seeds, so won't need to track them down. I also have a packet of the same variety name from a different company, and I'm tempted to plant both so I have more plants - I like at least 50 - but I don't know if they are the same. I think they may not be, as one is 5 feet tall and the other is described as 'tall and stately'?View attachment 46104

purty!

 

[ducks4you]

Watermelons....not the easiest crop. Success is so dependant on weather. One year I grew quite a few all in one raised bed - Orangeglo, Petite Yellow, Yellow Doll, Cream of Saskatchewan, couple others I can't remember. That was the only year I ever dedicated a whole area to that one fruit. I just got really lucky, it was a nice hot, long summer. I had watermelons coming out of my ears, I was giving them away to neighbours who were surprised that watermelons could be grown here. That characteristic - CRICK - sound of a breaking shell as the fruit is being lifted was pretty funny. But if I hadn't been blessed with that fantastic weather it would have been a significant waste of space. Which is why I'm always on the fence about growing them. I recall DD & I really enjoying Cream of Saskatchewan, so I'm sure I'll grow it again someday. 2022 will be for my 'designer' watermelon seeds. lol

ONE THING I HAVE IS SPACE!! I saved seeds so I will be trying to grow it again in 2022. I will probably be asking YOU for advice!

 

[heirloomgal]

Seed mail!

'Retrija' soup pea

'Kiagara Mame' pole bean

'Cekirdegi Oyali' watermelon seeds. They are the real deal! What is really surprising is they have this etching on both sides of the seed, and the etching is completely different from one side to another.

'Peruano' bush bean

 

[heirloomgal]

I see a lowland OP rice being offered in a seed catalogue here called 'Akamuro'. Apparently it has a wonderful smell, ripens to dark orange and can mature from transplants in zone 4. Has anyone grown this rice, or any of the dryland rices? I'm wondering if it's a worthwhile crop to try. Some descriptions say 30-50 stems (tillers) per plant and each stem will make about 100 grains. That alone seems to suggest production would be good.

'Duborskian' rice is also available and that seems a popular variety as it is often sold out. Birds would probably be a problem tho for any kind of grain....


Blue Grey Speckled Tepary beans also look interesting. I've never grown any tepary beans. Autumn here can be wet though, and they like it dry it seems, especially near the end of their life cycle, so I wonder if a few plants in the greenhouse would work?

There is an unusual pepper that is new out there too, 'Rezha Macedonian'. Looks like it might be good for drying as it 'grows' dry anyway. Not much juice in the flesh with all the striations.

In an effort to up my legume (SHTF) seed stocks I'm going to dedicate most of my garden to beans and peas again, with a few other things thrown in there too. It's really too bad only one corn at a time can be grown since there is a really pretty 'Floriani Flint' & 'a Dakota Black' corn available right now that I'd like to buy. The only vegetable I can think of which is made 100% of seeds! But I already have too many corn seed packets that have been bought and await growing.

@ducks4you I forgot to mention this at harvest time, but you were totally right about the corn and bean situation. I forgot to pull out my bean plants from the corn patch (they were only semi-runners too, not even pole) and by the time I noticed, the corn was taller and spaced pretty close so I didn't want to trample around. What a mess that turned out to be. The corn needed to be pulled before the beans were dry, the beans were pulling some of the corn plants down and when I harvested the cobs all the bean seeds were destroyed because they were so tangled up in there. Lesson learned!

@jbosmith sad news, Tatiana's Tomatobase was affected by the floods in BC so she won't be offering any tomato seeds again this year.

 

[jbosmith]

I see a lowland OP rice being offered in a seed catalogue here called 'Akamuro'. Apparently it has a wonderful smell, ripens to dark orange and can mature from transplants in zone 4. Has anyone grown this rice, or any of the dryland rices? I'm wondering if it's a worthwhile crop to try. Some descriptions say 30-50 stems (tillers) per plant and each stem will make about 100 grains. That alone seems to suggest production would be good.
View attachment 46200
'Duborskian' rice is also available and that seems a popular variety as it is often sold out. Birds would probably be a problem tho for any kind of grain....


Blue Grey Speckled Tepary beans also look interesting. I've never grown any tepary beans. Autumn here can be wet though, and they like it dry it seems, especially near the end of their life cycle, so I wonder if a few plants in the greenhouse would work?

There is an unusual pepper that is new out there too, 'Rezha Macedonian'. Looks like it might be good for drying as it 'grows' dry anyway. Not much juice in the flesh with all the striations.
View attachment 46198
In an effort to up my legume (SHTF) seed stocks I'm going to dedicate most of my garden to beans and peas again, with a few other things thrown in there too. It's really too bad only one corn at a time can be grown since there is a really pretty 'Floriani Flint' & 'a Dakota Black' corn available right now that I'd like to buy. The only vegetable I can think of which is made 100% of seeds! But I already have too many corn seed packets that have been bought and await growing.

@ducks4you I forgot to mention this at harvest time, but you were totally right about the corn and bean situation. I forgot to pull out my bean plants from the corn patch (they were only semi-runners too, not even pole) and by the time I noticed, the corn was taller and spaced pretty close so I didn't want to trample around. What a mess that turned out to be. The corn needed to be pulled before the beans were dry, the beans were pulling some of the corn plants down and when I harvested the cobs all the bean seeds were destroyed because they were so tangled up in there. Lesson learned!

@jbosmith sad news, Tatiana's Tomatobase was affected by the floods in BC so she won't be offering any tomato seeds again this year.

I've grown Duborskian, Loto, and a couple of others and have a friend named Sylvia who leads the area in dry land rice experimentation. You have to transplant it here to make sure you get a long enough season and for whatever reason I've never been good at grass transplants that grow slowly so I've never had great results. She seems to though!

This is part of Sylvia's experiments: https://www.experimentalfarmnetwork.org/project/11

I've been watching Tatiana's weather saga unfold on Facebook. I feel bad for that whole area.

 

[heirloomgal]

I've waited nearly 40 days and no sign of life. Then FINALLY - lift off! These are 'Inca Red Berry' and 'KS Lemon Starrburst' peppers so I knew they might take some time given the heat they possess. Thank goodness I'm not 20 anymore, because I don't think I would have waited this long for 2 pots to sprout. lol My experiment with garden soil vs. some potting mix for starting seeds is over, and it seems the potting soil is superior. Not really a surprise I guess. There was a bit of dampening off in the garden soil and it is much more crusty when dry as well.

The others are about a month old. Little bit of yellowing just starting on a few leaves, time to give them some food. It's nice to have some seedlings to care for at this time of year. They should be a nice size by May, and I'm going to be pruning them really hard in the coming months in the hopes of some nice branching. Pepper seedlings are one of my favourites because they do so well indoors. The leaves stay a shiny bright green with fish emulsion () and don't get scraggly with cutting. So far I'm doing pretty good with keeping a limit on how many plants I'm growing.

Made my first nut tart tonight. It was half pecans & half walnuts in a maple syrup filling. It was good, though a bit sweet; the aroma is incredible though. I found that the nut filling was a bit hard to cut through, the top of the filling that is. Is that how pecan pie is? A bit difficult to cut through? The filling was poured in a zero gluten crust - after 12 years going without any pastry (because there didn't seem to be any good alternatives) I've FINALLY found an excellent pastry crust. I'd say it's actually better than the wheat version. It's so good I've made shortbread cookies out of it. Main ingredient is brown rice flour.