Landrace seed saving - PEP BB gardening.iron.landrace

I used to stare longingly at the photo and article on Painted Mountain Corn in the Garden City Seeds catalogue in Missoula when I was a teenager. Nobody called it a Modern Landrace back then cause Joseph hadn't invented it yet. Though thats what Dave's fantastic corn of many colors was and is. Finally I got a packet. Still growing its descendents. Painted Mountain Corn is many colored and was started from many flour corn varieties I started selecting it for only blue kernels at least by 1998 or 1999 maybe earlier. I grew it out every so often. Sometimes with up to five years of working out of state without a garden in between growouts. Also got it mixed with a flour corn called black mandan from a guy at the old Missoula farmers market by the railroad tracks. Selecting slowly towards bluer kernels. Though the dark red of the Black Mandan seems to alternate ears with the blue ears. Then in 2017 I was able to buy Papa's Blue from a breeder in Bozeman who worked much faster than me at the same project! Though I totally mixed it with mine.

Second picture below is a tub of landrace squash I harvested last fall. Food security. The Moschata is a mix of Lofthouse and a Thai squash. The seeds inside were probably pollinated by other Thai cross, Lofthouse, Autumn's choice, or possibly a landrace from Native Seed Search. I should cut it open and extract the seeds as I want to select from butternut shaped fruits- more efficient. The flesh is a little stringy compared to Lofthouse. My goal is to reclaim the fabulous Lofthouse flavor, flesh color, and texture but with stripes and the two colored fruit of Autumn's choice in some individuals.

The maximas are about year three of a mix with parentage from Lofthouse small medium and large, Arikara, Hidatsa, bitterroot buttercup, lower salmon river, Lofthouse buttercup, uncle Davids Dakota Dessert, and Rio Lucio. Also a couple maximas from farmers markets- not all seed comes in packets. I thought Rio Lucio was good. I grew it on and off from 2000 to 2016 fairly reconizably. I think their are still the ocassional recognizable Rio Lucio in my grex. It got a little contaminated by giant pumpkins, Lakota, and maybe Bitterroot  buttercup before I started mixing in stuff like crazy in 2016 with the Hidatsa and 2017 with Lofthouse and 2018 with Arikara and Bitterroot Buttercup and Lower Salmon River. Hmm, Lofthouse is best! All those years of effort to make a inferior squash. I bet with three more years of effort I could weed out the squash with stringy flesh and lower amounts of carotene and get it back where it was. Good thing Joseph just sent me fresh packets! I think I'll grow em out for seed and share em!

When forming a landrace, the origin of the starting seed packets may matter a great deal. A seed packet from very far away might not be very useful.

So if you bought 12 seed packets of a species it is possible that when seed saving only the local packets would survive to save seed from.

In net that is a waste, especially if you have to buy all twelve.

A better thought in my opinion is to find a seed source that grows local seed locally (typically you will be able to grow this seed to seed yourself). Then add diversity from there, particularly by seed trading.

Having seed to trade and then trading it for more diversity is an integral part of the process. Trying to muscle through the process by simply purchasing all your starting seed- is wasteful and will net you far less diversity then will seed trading with like minded landrace style seed growers.

If you have never grown your own seed before, a good place to start would be to buy that local seed, perhaps two varieties that sound good from each species. Growing those together closely in the hopes that they will cross. Saving the seed, and then trading some of that seed for more varieties.

Look for seed companies in your area, if none, broaden out to nearby areas, get a few packets from the nearest source, grow it seed to seed, and then offer some of your increase in trade.

If you are a experienced seed saver, start with the varieties you currently seed save and just trade for more diversity.

Thanks William!  I adjusted the requirements a bit regarding the starting seed source so it's not 12 seed packets.  I was thinking you wanted wide variety to begin with and if you don't know a landrace gardener nearby, it was a good way to go.  Now I think we're covered either way

I certainly see the expense issue with buying lots of seed packets but without any seed companies local to my area it's not really possible to find local seeds. I've also been surprised on occasion on how well seeds from far distant and very different places do for me. A Mexican landrace corn called Zapalote Chico grows as well or better than any other I've seen. A tomato I got from Joseph Lofthouse reliably produces an abundance. A local "heirloom" similar in some ways is always horribly effected by what what I call moon crater disease, it so bad the local heirloom isn't worth growing. Musk and watermelons from hundreds of miles away and 15 degree latitude difference are fantastic.

Still there is much to be said for local adaptation but in the absence of local seed availability I sometimes work around that at the farmer market. The seeds of that great pepper or squash was likely purchased by the grower from who knows where but it did well enough for him or her to bring it to market and if it tastes good, I keep it's seeds.  One of my absolute favorite beans came from a store bought soup mix. Seed sources don't have to be limited to buying packets and yes, trade, trade, trade.