Branching Out's Seeds and Sprouts

[Branching Out]

I am having to triage my garden now. Yesterday watering was direly needed, but there was a sprinkling of rain in the forecast so I figured I had better harvest seeds instead. The other day I punctured my finger while trying to crush sharp, dry lettuce stems-- so this time I wore leather rose gloves to thresh the seeds. After I had worked most of the seed loose in some instances there was still a fair amount of seed stuck to the fuzzy lettuce fluff-- so I scattered the chaff over the spot where that lettuce variety had just grown. The seed will likely sit dormant until February or March, and in that way I will be able to make note of how long it takes for each variety to sprout in late winter or very early spring.

When I cut the seed stocks I like to leave them in bins for a few days under cover, so they can finish ripening and drying down. I have cleaned about a dozen varieties so far, and I have another eight maturing in the shade of the carport. Almost all of the lettuce has set seed now, with some varieties generously producing almost 1/2 cup. There is a new seed library at one of the local public libraries, and I plan on offering them whatever I don't need for myself. I will have to give them a heads up that fresh lettuce seeds can have a built in thermal dormancy that prevents them from germinating; I would hate to have them toss the seeds out, thinking that they were not viable. Chilling the seeds or the seed trays for 48 hours is recommended, to help break dormancy.

 

[Branching Out]

Cilantro has produced a lot of seeds as well, from volunteer plants that sprouted from last year's crop. Some will be for seed, some for cooking, and I am finding that I am using a lot of coriander in my ferments as well.

 

[heirloomgal]

Beautiful seed harvest! I didn't know that you were such a dedicated seed saver!

 

[Branching Out]

Yes, I am quite enthusiastic about saving seeds; every flat surface seems to have a dish of seeds drying on it at the moment-- even the piano. Lol. Lettuce seed in particular is easy around here, and good for sharing with both new and experienced gardeners. Good timing too, because purchasing lettuce at the grocery store is becoming increasingly difficult; at first it was high prices, and now an outbreak of the cyclospora parasite in imported lettuce (apparently this parasite is not known to be present in the locally grown lettuce). The challenge will be in how to catalogue and keep track of the different varieties-- so I am going to try using a numbering system with lettuce, similar to what I did with tomatoes this year. With my new high tunnel and a bit of tinkering there is a good chance that we will be able to grow some greens year round; having my own seed will make it affordable to experiment to see which varieties can survive our wet, cold winter climate.

 

[Branching Out]

I have fallen in to a nice morning routine of putting a few kinds of tomato seeds to ferment in either little glass jars or plastic take out cups, and at the same time rinsing and cleaning the ones that have completed their fermentation so that they can dry on a saucer. (This is all accomplished in an area we call The Clutter Counter-- because no matter how hard we try to keep it clear it is a magnet for clutter). Recently I read that tomato seeds continue to mature inside the fruit after harvest which apparently results in better germination, so where possible I try to keep the seed tomatoes on the counter until they are a bit over ripe. If they are still in good shape after I scoop out the seeds I turn what's left in to a toasty tomato sandwich, with lots of mayonnaise and black pepper. If you look closely Heirloomgal you will see the first harvest of four Goldilocks Dwarf tomatoes, grown from your seed.

 

[Branching Out]

One of my friends is so very excited to be growing a Cheyote Squash plant this year, but she was concerned that it is not producing any fruit. I took a close look at it this morning, and I can see what looks little tiny flowers! Not sure how long it takes for them to set fruit and ripen. Fingers crossed that it can be accomplished by the end of September.

 

[Zeedman]

One of my friends is so very excited to be growing a Cheyote Squash plant this year, but she was concerned that it is not producing any fruit. I took a close look at it this morning, and I can see what looks little tiny flowers! Not sure how long it takes for them to set fruit and ripen. Fingers crossed that it can be accomplished by the end of September.

I grew chayote when I lived in California. Flowering is triggered by short days (the approach of the Autumnal equinox). Once triggered, a female flower & a cluster of tiny male flowers will appear at each new leaf node... the squash reach harvest size in October. Unfortunately this makes it impossible for me to grow here, outside of a heated greenhouse; of all the things I can't grow in this Northern climate, I miss chayote the most. In milder Maritime climates such as yours @Branching Out , you might be able to nurse it along under a hoop house, with a little supplemental heat on the coldest nights (even nights in the 40's F. / 4-5 C. will damage the fruit). Provided the ground does not freeze, the roots will survive & resprout the following Spring when the weather warms.

It may or may not require 2 plants for pollination, I can't say because I always grew 2. My guess is that it will self-pollinate like most gourds & squashes. The yield can make any TLC required worthwhile, since you can get 50+ chayote per plant.

 

[Branching Out]

Such helpful information Zeedman-- thank you. From what I read it would appear that the plant produces both male and female flowers, so as long as there are pollinators visiting the blossoms it should be okay. I had never heard of this plant before, and now I am very curious to see these gourds grow.

Meanwhile, the other day while I was harvesting dill seeds I found so many juvenile lady bugs on and around the dill plants. I made sure that I left a few seed heads in each patch, so as not to completely remove their habitat.

 

[Branching Out]

Lots of pulling horsetails today, and cutting back ornamental sunflowers that are finished. I plan to save a few heads for next year's flower seed -- as long as the critters don't find them first. The seeds seem to be really popular with Stellar's Jays.

 

[Branching Out]

Found a bunch of ripe pickling cukes when I was watering. That was a big surprise. I made a batch of Bread 'n Butter pickles and refrigerator pickles (cheated a bit on the recipe to save time, but I'm sure they'll be fine). There were still aphids in the water after rinsing the dill heads about ten times; any that remained at that point got pickled too!