A Seed Saver's Garden

[heirloomgal]

Hard freeze!

But I learned some things last night. Sorghum is surprisingly frost tolerant (to what degree I don't know) and kenikir flowers are definitely not!

Also, that water freezing actually releases heat, which is called an endothermic reaction.....or was it exothermic?

 

[Pulsegleaner]

No frost here yet, but I'm dealing with another problem, withing producing one or two fruits, each cucumber vine is withering up and dying. Now the horned melon is doing the same, while its FIRST fruit is just starting. It's as if the cucumbers don't WANT to reproduce, and are aborting themselves as quickly as possible.

 

[Zeedman]

No frost here yet, but I'm dealing with another problem, withing producing one or two fruits, each cucumber vine is withering up and dying. Now the horned melon is doing the same, while its FIRST fruit is just starting. It's as if the cucumbers don't WANT to reproduce, and are aborting themselves as quickly as possible.

In years past, my cucumbers & gourds have shut down like that late in the summer - usually after their first taste of nights in the 40's. Better results this year, I picked the last cucumbers, bitter melon, and luffa yesterday (except the luffas let go for seed). The zucchini is still alive, but the baby squash are not growing.

The pumpkins, as expected, have now gone into turbo-ripening mode... I hope the remaining pole beans do the same.

 

[heirloomgal]

Day 3 of the self etching watermelon seeds

Looking for help from the watermelon growers!! Is it true that once watermelons are removed from their vine all ripening is stopped?

 

[meadow]

I don't know if this will help... but the person I purchase watermelon seed from harvests hers (at the end of the season) ever so slightly under-ripe and holds them in her garage for fresh eating through November. So I'm hazarding a guess that they do not continue to ripen.

 

[heirloomgal]

Thanks @meadow! I had a feeling this was true, and read somewhere once it was, but was hoping that maybe someone had a different experience.

 

[heirloomgal]

Oh, oh, oh! Had SO MUCH fun with DD collecting chufa nuts for the 1st time today! It's been awhile since I tried something with such a unique twist!

I think the row is about 8ft, and I really packed a lot of seeds in there. There is so little info out there on this food plant -growing specifics- that I just winged it, though some say 6 inches between plants. Well, after about 2 hours we barely got through 2 feet! You really have to be careful going too quickly as they are small and look just like clods of dirt! They are a superfood though, so I felt it was worth it. But I'm very happy with the production so far, AND while harvesting the grass clumps I could smell.....tiger balm? I looked and looked? Then I sniffed the roots, WOW! An incredible, medicinal, wonderful aroma much like tiger balm, but gentler, more herbal, more aromatic. Oooooh, it was heavenly even though I was smelling a clump of dirty roots! I couldn't believe it.

The tubers were much larger than I expected, the dried nuts are the size of raisins. These were comparable to small Concord grapes. Very dirty little nut clumps, and nearly IMPOSSIBLE to see the skin on them when dirty, unlike potatoes. I had to use a screen as a precaution.

I'm just so happy they grew so well!

I found some time in the sun made them more visible in the dirt. But still,not all those bumps are nuts. Maybe I'll dump a bunch of sand in the bed next time.

I didn't even know if I should wash them or not, so I went with general tuber protocols - let then dry first.

More to do tomorrow...

I also found some seeds in my cotton balls! I think they need to be worked out manually from the fluffy tufts. I did some research on 3 sectioned bolls and I think this is called Pima cotton.

First time I planted these years ago, nothing sprouted. The next time I tried, I got sprouts and ultimately no plants. This is the third time, and I got one Serpent Cucumber! I wonder if the seeds will be viable.

A tale of two...plants.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Oh, oh, oh! Had SO MUCH fun with DD collecting chufa nuts for the 1st time today! It's been awhile since I tried something with such a unique twist!

I think the row is about 8ft, and I really packed a lot of seeds in there. There is so little info out there on this food plant -growing specifics- that I just winged it, though some say 6 inches between plants. Well, after about 2 hours we barely got through 2 feet! You really have to be careful going too quickly as they are small and look just like clods of dirt! They are a superfood though, so I felt it was worth it. But I'm very happy with the production so far, AND while harvesting the grass clumps I could smell.....tiger balm? I looked and looked? Then I sniffed the roots, WOW! An incredible, medicinal, wonderful aroma much like tiger balm, but gentler, more herbal, more aromatic. Oooooh, it was heavenly even though I was smelling a clump of dirty roots! I couldn't believe it.

The tubers were much larger than I expected, the dried nuts are the size of raisins. These were comparable to small Concord grapes. Very dirty little nut clumps, and nearly IMPOSSIBLE to see the skin on them when dirty, unlike potatoes. I had to use a screen as a precaution.

Sounds like me and the mysterious "truffles" that started showing up in the vegetable garden a few years back. If you just dig one up, it just looks like a tiny dirt clod. It's only if your trowel goes THROUGH one you see the moisture, and noticed the fine white inner threads. And it isn't until the next DAY or so that I can SMELL them. And BOY, do they smell! (I'm one of those people who HATE the smell/taste of truffles (real ones, chocolate ones I have no quibbles with.) What smells deep and earthy to other people smells like diesel fuel to me. Then again, I don't really mind the smell of stinkbugs (it just smells like really strong cilantro) and am violently repelled by lantana (so much so I have actually forbidden my parents from planting it.)

 

[flowerbug]

so far the effects of some roots have bothered me (chive root smell actually makes me ill to my stomach - even if i like all forms of onions just something they have in them that bothers me badly), speedwells, sow thistles... and then there are those reactive plants i have to be careful of like lilacs, russian sage and lavenders.

 

[digitS']

Hhmm.

I just learned that some people make use of anise hyssop roots. I won't be trying that in 2022 because there are only 4 plants. They grow easily for me but there is certainly a difference between plant flavors and fragrances. I don't care if fragrance does in fact influence flavor. There is more to it ... including the decision on adding a "u" to the word, or not .

Silly Also ... perhaps, are my thought processes that go into enjoying foods. It required years before I could actually appreciate purple potatoes. Just enjoy the flavor and texture and stop fidgeting. Even gold - looking at them made me think "butter flavor" and the absence - oh! So, put some butter on them.

Names. I ain't gonna spend on a radish named Rat Tail!

fidgety digitS'