Devon Viola

Lofthouse sunroots grew barely taller than shown in this photo. But they still produced more tubers than I planted.

Corn also didn't love my shady sandy field. Some intrepid plants grew tall anyway, only to be devoured by deer. I planted corn elsewhere that did much better. The photo attached is one of the few special corns that survived shade, sand, drought, and deer.

Peppers did quite well-- the same varieties that did well growing under the shade of my corn last year. Buena Mulata and Fish Pepper, which are heirlooms from nearby. I also planted piri-piri this year, and they were great too. No other varieties were productive, but those 3 are amazing.

Direct seed tomatoes grew and they produced fruit on small, skinny plants. Currant, cherry, and a few salad sized tomatoes in red, pink, and yellow. A couple of the fruits were hairy. Tomatoes were not plentiful nor tasty by my standards, as someone who doesn’t like currant tomatoes. The hard part is getting them to also be tasty.

Carrots did ok.

Nothing else in the landrace breeding garden was noteworthy. Except maybe that I tragically harvested no potatoes at all.

I was pleased with garbanzos. First time growing those, too. The plants were so small I expected nothing, but like the favas, they did produce a seed increase.

Hey, a shame I didn’t update this til now, huh?
Between work and finishing my degree, the time really got away from me.

In summary, the whole garden did terribly! Brutal year of selection. But the things I was able to harvest seeds from, now I know they’re tough.

Favas produced a seed increase, but not enough to eat yet. By the time they bore green pods it was hot out, and about half of them died. The remainder produced mostly purple and green seeds. It was interesting to see ants farming black aphids on the stems.

Looking forward to growing them again soon.

Greg Martin wrote:I'd love that!  Do you have some now for sale or should I wait for the fall?

I have some that I harvested in October. If you're interested in those send me a message.

Greg Martin wrote:I ran across this a bit late, but wondering if you find that any of your plants are heavy seed bearers.  I've been hunting down seeds from plants that seem good at doing that in the northeast and therefore can't help but ask

Hi Greg, I appreciate you reaching out.

In my own garden I am selecting heavily for upland tuber production, in addition to seed production. I am still in an early stage of the project, so the best and most productive are the ones I feel inclined to hold onto.

That being said, my hopniss originates from a wild population down the street that is absolutely loaded down with seeds each fall. I can provide you seeds from this prolifically-seeding wild population.

I thought this was going to be a post about businesses buying conventional produce and reselling it as organic. That happens all the time.

I'm not concerned about certification at all, and am not that much of a stickler for perfect purity considering I'm inhaling tires all the time just by existing. But I am concerned that the farmer is farming ecologically and not doing anything toxic, environmentally hazardous or intentionally deceptive.

Nancy Reading wrote:

Devon Viola wrote: I taste-tested by variety-- and then from the varieties that tasted decent, saved the best looking individuals. As they cross in subsequent generations I guess I will have to taste-test individuals and then replant them.

Yes this is something that is getting me stumped as well. How to select future generations without destroying the parents....I made the mistake with my Swede (Rutabaga) of mixing all my starting seed together so I just took roots at random last year. This year I will sow the different varieties in different spots, so I know I have some of each (if I can). I don't think I will cull any at this first stage though - I'm too pleased that something grows!

I think with root vegetables you can cut off a significant portion of the root, replant it, and it will still produce flowers and seeds. I have not tested this with rutabaga. I think for rutabagas and carrots, the top part needs to be intact. You may be able to eat the bottom half, or at least cut some off the sides.
Whereas with a bulb, like an onion, it's the bottom part that must remain intact.

Favas have germinated, and the 9 elderberry cuttings I planted in fall are waking up.
Now I'm planting Carrots, Reckless Brassica Oleracea Mix, Onion mix, Garbanzos, Peas, Cilantro, Dill, Potatoes, Sunchokes, and Hopniss.


Today I transplanted out last year's potatoes grown from true seed(!). The seeds were from Cultivariable and Going to Seed.
The tubers were mostly quite tiny, but I was impressed with a few normal-sized spuds. They all stored excellently in the fridge, even the teeny ones.
In addition to these tubers I collected exactly 4 potato berries.

I've also started a new tray of potato seeds in the greenhouse, and I'm going to try direct seeding some TPS later and see what happens.

Transplanted out my favorite fall carrots. They stored ok in the fridge. Perhaps I should have removed the foliage, some of which started to rot in February or March.
These carrots were grown in hard clay soil. I taste-tested by variety-- and then from the varieties that tasted decent, saved the best looking individuals. As they cross in subsequent generations I guess I will have to taste-test individuals and then replant them.

Easels are great for several reasons, including posture. Leaning over a table eventually hurts my neck. Drawing while standing encourages use of the whole arm instead of just the wrist. I only prefer seated posture for tiny drawings.

At times, since I don't have an easel, I have taped my drawing paper to the wall.

Fabas planted today.
This is my first time planting fava beans so I don't know what to expect. I don't think this is a good climate for them, as in recent years we jumped straight from freezing weather to hot weather. I’ve planted them in the small garden plot where last year I planted corn/beans/squash.

I got this breeding mix from GoingtoSeed.org which I highly recommend you check out if you haven't yet!

Another note on winter/spring weather: The earliest sign of spring around here is the blooming of crocuses. They bloom when hard freezes are still expected for a few more weeks. When I was a kid they bloomed in March.
This year crocuses started blooming mid- February, and are almost finished for the year.
Last year they bloomed in January!