William Schlegel

stephen lowe wrote:Hey Joseph I got some of the true potato seeds from you but I'm not 100% sure how to go about planting them. Should I start them in a small container and transplant or do they do better direct seeded?

I got some TPS from Joseph a couple years ago and tried it both ways. I got nothing direct seeding but it worked great from transplant. Plant the seeds shallowly. Keep moist. Lots of light or they will get spindly.

Depends, well stored older seed might be worth it. Some of your older seed lots might turn out to have better germination than your newer seed. I would plant it, eat it, give it away, trade it, or compost it depending on my needs and space.

You could also germination test it. That might inform your decision.

For 20 year storage it can be dried down and frozen. Dry it further, then freeze in a tightly sealed container. Bring to room temp before opening.

Carol Deppe has detailed instructions in her "Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties"

My collection has exceeded my capacity to grow. I need to freeze part of it.

Bryant, it seems to me that Joseph has a few new types. Do you mean Fairy Hollow? Or one of his new clades?

From the pods it might be Camelina microcarpa but the leaves are very different from that.

First look your soil series up or call your local NRCS office up and ask. How much clay is in the upper horizon? Then consider piling amendments on top and not working them in.

I would say leave the leaves unless you want them to decompose in a specific area.

What stuff I.E. amendments are available and at what cost? If you can get anything free or at least free for the hauling that's what I would use the most of.

That should be a fun wide cross. The F1 might be a bit boring maybe a saladette sized red, but the F2 should be pretty exciting with yellows and reds, a range of sizes up to that of Cherokee Purple and several shapes and flavors.

What's your goal or goals from the cross?  

Constantinos Avgeris wrote:Where can I get fruit tree seeds to grow? I just did a quick search and didnt find any seeds.

https://oikostreecrops.com/products/seeds-ecos/

Here is one source I've bought from.

Mostly I just save seeds from fruit, especially homegrown fruit.

One full year of composting detoxifies a lot of things. In this case that would mean one full year from removing from the chickens.

Another thought. In Will Bonsall's gardening book he explains how he uses Humanure to fertilize corn and squash by digging a deep trench and burying well composted humanure compost.

Handling your chicken compost like Will handles his Humanure would be considerate. Corn would be an excellent choice because the edible part, the cob, is far off the ground.

So my thought is: compost it another year, then bury it in trenches under your 2020 corn patch.

Speaking as someone who misses having chickens, are you sure you can keep a flock around with her allergy getting this bad? Maybe you could pass them on to another permie nearby?