A Seed Saver's Garden

[heirloomgal]

the optical sorters are now getting really good at air puffing out the strange stuff. i used to spend some time every week watching videos of them in action as a way to relax before falling asleep.

Can you post a link to this? I'd be curious to see what that looks like.

 

[flowerbug]

Can you post a link to this? I'd be curious to see what that looks like.

the first one is just funny that popped up...

this is an optical sorter (a small version, there's ones much bigger than this for sure)

 

[Pulsegleaner]

the first one is just funny that popped up...

this is an optical sorter (a small version, there's ones much bigger than this for sure)

NOW you see why it's so hard for me to find alternate color mung and Azuki beans! Nearly every other color they can be is darker than the standard green, so the machine would catch it. And since it also seems to be able to rogue out the broken one, it must also be programmed to reject those that are LIGHTER in color than the standard, so the gold ones would also get removed.
And I assume it's pretty simply to re-set the machine to look for red instead of green, to do the same for Azukis and Rice Beans. You'd also have to be able to re-set the green shade for the smaller mung bean variety (which is a lighter green.)

BTW, the black rejects are soybeans.

 

[heirloomgal]

the first one is just funny that popped up...

this is an optical sorter (a small version, there's ones much bigger than this for sure)

That's pretty cool, I didn't realize sorting technology was so sophisticated.

 

[flowerbug]

NOW you see why it's so hard for me to find alternate color mung and Azuki beans! Nearly every other color they can be is darker than the standard green, so the machine would catch it. And since it also seems to be able to rogue out the broken one, it must also be programmed to reject those that are LIGHTER in color than the standard, so the gold ones would also get removed.
And I assume it's pretty simply to re-set the machine to look for red instead of green, to do the same for Azukis and Rice Beans. You'd also have to be able to re-set the green shade for the smaller mung bean variety (which is a lighter green.)

BTW, the black rejects are soybeans.

yes, they can sort any colors, also remove debris or parts, size, etc. they're getting really complicated these days. if you're worried about metal in stuff they have x-ray, or different kinds of light to show different kinds of plastics, etc.

 

[heirloomgal]

I took care of my chiltepin plant last weekend @Alasgun. It didn’t produce any red fruit, but the plant itself put on real growth. When I pruned the branches to repot it, it was bigger than I realized, 2 feet tall for sure probably a bit bigger. Hopefully I can keep it alive through winter.

 

[Alasgun]

In looking at the girth at the base i’d say that’s as nice a plant as i’ve ever seen (wild grown) and a lot nicer than any i’ve ever fooled with up here. Inside might be the trick? Not being much of a pepper person i’m wondering how it might do going back out in the spring? Those seeds originated in deep south Texas and even with they’re very mild winters, the chilitipen’s would die out at a point.
I appreciate you taking this project on; like most things in gardening, we seem to thrive on the challenge as much as anything! The older i’ve gotten the more my giddiness about new challenges has waned, besides; the near arctic is not perfect pepper environment!

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Harvested my first horse gram pods. Yes, the black seed coats stayed true (on some of them, at least).

Actually, I'm now sort of surprised they weren't all rouged out some time ago, even without optical sorting since it turns out that, once they are ripe, horse gram pods are thin and transparent enough you can SEE if the seed is black THROGH them (it looks like dark spots over every seed "lump")

Also the final mung beans plants (the upright ones) have the start of their first flower buds, and it looks like the one common bean plant that still has pods is going to be a nice color (I opened one, and, based on the small seed it had, it looks like this one is white seeds with a touch of purple around the hilum (not a full ring or a soldier pattern, but a tiny bit.). And the plant next to it is FULL of new flowers (that one must be planning to go all the way until the frost, pity I can't move that pot inside when it comes or I might have beans all winter.)

What the middle mung beans plants lacked in earliness they seem to want to make up in productivity; those two plants probably have as many or more pods than all of the speckled ones TOGETHER.

 

[Pulsegleaner]

Forgot to mention, got my first purchased fall corn on Friday. Not very impressive, just some minis with a bit of opaqueness at the tips, like last year (I have a nagging suspicion that the corn this year isn't going to be all that different from what I found last year, so probably pretty boring stuff.)

There was actually a third bunch I would have bought, since it had an Indian Berries/whatever this multicolored Strawberry Corn-like type is where purple actually WAS the majority kernel color (as opposed to an accent one). But it was fixed somewhere I couldn't get to it, and, while the stand owner was nice enough to let me sort through some of the backup flats that would go out when what was on display sold, I couldn't find another one like that.

 

[heirloomgal]

Forgot to mention, got my first purchased fall corn on Friday. Not very impressive, just some minis with a bit of opaqueness at the tips, like last year (I have a nagging suspicion that the corn this year isn't going to be all that different from what I found last year, so probably pretty boring stuff.)

There was actually a third bunch I would have bought, since it had an Indian Berries/whatever this multicolored Strawberry Corn-like type is where purple actually WAS the majority kernel color (as opposed to an accent one). But it was fixed somewhere I couldn't get to it, and, while the stand owner was nice enough to let me sort through some of the backup flats that would go out when what was on display sold, I couldn't find another one like that.

I admire your adventurous spirit when it comes to planting gleanings you've found @Pulsegleaner. It is certainly a good way to find things that you won't find in seed vendor listings. I almost never see any really nice decorative corn being sold around here, but I did look at some little fall decal corns I got somewhere at some point yesterday and think....hmmm, wonder if I could grow this. The tricky thing is corn is so sensitive to seasonal length that I doubt if many would succeed here being so far up north. And that would mean, possibly, one year is a total loss for a corn. Which is a huge loss considering you can only grow one per year.

Speaking of which, I have new rather 'unfortunate' development in my corn growing journey. My elderly neighbour the last couple years has been noticing my corn patch over his back fence, and mentioned it to me a few times with great curiosity. This isn't exactly corn growing country and while he does have a small garden, he doesn't generally do 'big' crops. More like low growing peas, radishes, carrots. When he saw that I was succeeding with pumpkins and potatoes he did start growing those in a little plot we tilled up for him behind his yard, which was great, I'm not a huge pumpkin/squash grower anyway and I've been able to share my more unusual seed potatoes with him a few times. I start all his zucchini and cucumbers plants too, and give him nearly all my extra tomato & pepper plants for both him and his family members.

But last week he asked if I had harvested all my corn, to which I said yes. He was elated to ask if he could have some to grow next year! The giving some to him part I'm more than happy to do, I share lots with neighbours and family and even passersby, but the cross pollination!!!!! Argh!!! I believe he thinks I'm growing the same corn every year. This puts me in quite the pickle. I think I'm going to order a bunch of Lofthouse Astronomy Domine corn and give him some of that so we can both grow it. I don't need to make a point to mention, yet, that I try new stuff every year. I know he thinks I'm growing standard yellow sweet corn, which I don't actually do much, so it'll have to be something sweet and edible. Probably not a too out there color either. DD & I had our hearts set on growing the Green Oaxacan Dent corn in 2024 - which is gorgeous - or even Earth Tones Dent but there is no way he would want that. The really fly in the ointment is I imagine he'll only want 6 -12 plants. Most of his garden is to give away to family and those few little corn plants would be just enough to mess mine up completely!!