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Mar. 11th, 2019 09:56 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unicorndukeI'm having trouble deciding if I care about isolation of certain things in my field.
This is mostly important for my vine crops, squash and watermelons and melons. I've got all these varieties and I'm not sure if I want to try and maintain them as a variety (requiring hand pollination care probably) or if I should just let them all cross.
I've just found the solution while typing this out: both.
For melons and watermelons and squash, as long as you catch certain flowers early enough, you can tape them closed, self pollinate and get pure breeding varieties. But then if you let the bees do the rest, you can get a mixed population out of it.
I think I still need to figure out what I want from these things, because right now I don't know much more than: tasty.
Actually, for the squash, I've got a couple of different things going on. I've got a bunch of different types of winter squash and one summer squash. Now there's three types of cucurbita and generally they don't cross unless you're really trying. I've got one moschata (Seminole), one maxima (Jarrahdale) but I've got three pepo's listed for planting (Cornell Bush Delicata, Tondo Scuro de Nice, Winter Luxury). So for squash, the only things I need to do the isolation work is the pepo and given how different all of those varieties are, I really do need to hand pollinate them. Okay, well now I know.
Melons. This is primarily canteloupe types because that's what I like. The varieties I've got are Bender's Musk, Charentais, Iroquois, Minnesota Midget, and Tigger. One thing I found out when I was looking at the melon varieties is that Charentais will split or burst if it gets overripe, which is fucking hilarious. I am very concerned about getting fruit that I can eat from the melons and watermelons because I can't be at the farm much. I really enjoyed the Minnesota Midget I grew last year, it was palm sized and fucking adorable and nice and sweet. I think I'm going to ditch Bender's Musk, it apparently is a parent of the Iroquois variety so why bother. Hmmm. Again, these are all different types. I should probably do the isolation of most of these for this year and see what happens next.
Watermelons. I've only got two varieties I care about, Royal Golden and Winter King & Queen. Royal Golden has a yellow skin when ripe, but it's still a watermelon, which I find intriguing. Winter King & Queen is a storage watermelon and can be stored until Christmas (apparently). I can confirm they store at least a while even when sitting in the field. They had a bad year (I literally pulled every plant out by the roots while weeding and didn't do a good job putting them back in and I also didn't water them at all or really weed them properly) but they produced small watermelons and sized up by June and I didn't harvest them until end of August and the flesh inside was still tasty and sweet. Not as sweet as a regular watermelon but if you want to have something that last into the fall for some lovely watermelon surprise, I think that's a good way to go. So I will isolate these two and let the other four varieties cross.
I won't be able to trade or list the stuff that crosses because I know people like consistency. But I'll have plenty of other things to work with.
I'm not sure how I feel about maintaining heirloom varieties of things. I know it's good to do that but I find it to be such a pain in the butt, and I don't know if they're that much better than anything else I might shove in that space. I'm intrigued by the idea of landrace varieties and I suspect that's the direction I'll be heading with some things. But again, some varieties have cool traits that I want to keep separate. idek. plants are cool.
If I'm not sick, I'll be heading to PA this weekend and I can get a good look at my winter plants and see if they're alive or not and see how much fun it will be to tromp through all the mud.
This is mostly important for my vine crops, squash and watermelons and melons. I've got all these varieties and I'm not sure if I want to try and maintain them as a variety (requiring hand pollination care probably) or if I should just let them all cross.
I've just found the solution while typing this out: both.
For melons and watermelons and squash, as long as you catch certain flowers early enough, you can tape them closed, self pollinate and get pure breeding varieties. But then if you let the bees do the rest, you can get a mixed population out of it.
I think I still need to figure out what I want from these things, because right now I don't know much more than: tasty.
Actually, for the squash, I've got a couple of different things going on. I've got a bunch of different types of winter squash and one summer squash. Now there's three types of cucurbita and generally they don't cross unless you're really trying. I've got one moschata (Seminole), one maxima (Jarrahdale) but I've got three pepo's listed for planting (Cornell Bush Delicata, Tondo Scuro de Nice, Winter Luxury). So for squash, the only things I need to do the isolation work is the pepo and given how different all of those varieties are, I really do need to hand pollinate them. Okay, well now I know.
Melons. This is primarily canteloupe types because that's what I like. The varieties I've got are Bender's Musk, Charentais, Iroquois, Minnesota Midget, and Tigger. One thing I found out when I was looking at the melon varieties is that Charentais will split or burst if it gets overripe, which is fucking hilarious. I am very concerned about getting fruit that I can eat from the melons and watermelons because I can't be at the farm much. I really enjoyed the Minnesota Midget I grew last year, it was palm sized and fucking adorable and nice and sweet. I think I'm going to ditch Bender's Musk, it apparently is a parent of the Iroquois variety so why bother. Hmmm. Again, these are all different types. I should probably do the isolation of most of these for this year and see what happens next.
Watermelons. I've only got two varieties I care about, Royal Golden and Winter King & Queen. Royal Golden has a yellow skin when ripe, but it's still a watermelon, which I find intriguing. Winter King & Queen is a storage watermelon and can be stored until Christmas (apparently). I can confirm they store at least a while even when sitting in the field. They had a bad year (I literally pulled every plant out by the roots while weeding and didn't do a good job putting them back in and I also didn't water them at all or really weed them properly) but they produced small watermelons and sized up by June and I didn't harvest them until end of August and the flesh inside was still tasty and sweet. Not as sweet as a regular watermelon but if you want to have something that last into the fall for some lovely watermelon surprise, I think that's a good way to go. So I will isolate these two and let the other four varieties cross.
I won't be able to trade or list the stuff that crosses because I know people like consistency. But I'll have plenty of other things to work with.
I'm not sure how I feel about maintaining heirloom varieties of things. I know it's good to do that but I find it to be such a pain in the butt, and I don't know if they're that much better than anything else I might shove in that space. I'm intrigued by the idea of landrace varieties and I suspect that's the direction I'll be heading with some things. But again, some varieties have cool traits that I want to keep separate. idek. plants are cool.
If I'm not sick, I'll be heading to PA this weekend and I can get a good look at my winter plants and see if they're alive or not and see how much fun it will be to tromp through all the mud.
no subject
Date: 2019-03-11 05:31 pm (UTC)But like. If we get to the point where everyone's growing it, then I want to try getting fiber from it. :)
I have to take a class on paper making, so I plan to corner the instructor and interrogate them extensively. (I mean> I don't "have" to, but it's a good excuse to sign back up for a membership at the book arts center which is a great place and my friend is director now.)
Spinning is harrrrd *whine* LOL.
no subject
Date: 2019-03-11 05:52 pm (UTC)Paper making seems like sorcery to me but that would be extremely cool. You should do it!
No offense to my drop spindle but I kinda can't wait to see if I actually get that free spinning wheel because it would be much easier. Bobbins! to change out yarn!
That's my current problem. I only have two drop spindles so I can only do two sets of yarn at once and my new drop spindle is extremely light and I can't figure out how to spin on it. I probably should make another niddy noddy too. ugh. at least that's easy.
no subject
Date: 2019-03-11 06:06 pm (UTC)He has the problem that he planned on growing corn in a particular field, but the field has a spring in it and the soil's so often too wet to work, and so if you can't spray weedkiller on and have to go back and till over and over for organic weed control then there's no way, you'll lose a whole tractor in there. So I keep trying to think of how to use that field for something else...
I hope you do get a spinning wheel, I want an excuse to get one and I want to see yours, LOL.