What did you do in the garden today?

[LittleLakePhil]

I know... Hybrids have been around forever.... They aren't inserting DNA from other organisms into them just cross-pollination methods

 

[AlHawk]

I was a little slow to pick up on the high number of hybrids atJohnnys. ANd at first I was taken aback... but with some further thinking, I see value in the old heirlooms AND the hybrids. Much to be said for both. NOT talking about GMOs here. But varieties bred to resist diseases and pests when production is a must and not an option. Fruit and veg heading off to9 market need durable characteristics that often heirlooms that only needed to make from garden to table, or even shorter, garden to mouth. lol This year I have added hybrids to my long list of heirlooms.

I had to do the same this year. NONE of my Bell Peppers germinated. I had to go buy Hybrid Green Bell Peppers at the farm store. While I was there, I also bought hybrid Beefsteak tomatoes to bolster my heirloom Cherokee Purple, Roma and Amish Paste tomatoes. I read on GMO vs. Hybrid and kinda got turned off of hybrid too but have come back around (obviously). My hybrid beefsteaks dwarf my heirloom plants already. Hoping for a good crop of large juicy beefsteaks.

One thing I don't know is "Can I save the seeds from hybrids and grow them next year or are they a one season plant only?" Or is this question too simplistic. Do you need to know species, variety etc? Does anyone know or can point me where to look?

 

[jerryse]

One thing I don't know is "Can I save the seeds from hybrids and grow them next year or are they a one season plant only?" Or is this question too simplistic. Do you need to know species, variety etc? Does anyone know or can point me where to look?

You can try . Some turn out good . Big Boy , Brandy boy and sweet 100 have done good for me . Juliet gave me long sausage shaped tomatoes with little flavor . Pink girl I did not like the texture in F2 . Kind of stringy .

 

[Beekissed]

You can save seed from hybrids and most often they will grow well and most often will reproduce their own kind well....but, being hybrids, they may not produce "true", meaning they may produce fruits that are more like the original plants from which they were mixed. There are many hybrids out there I really like...this year I'm growing Jetstars, an older hybrid that always delivers uniform, large and many tomatoes. We've grown that type since the early 80s and really like them. Other good hybrids I've liked were Big Boy, Early Girl, Better Boy....

has been in existence for more than 50 years and is a Guinness[1] record holder for amount of fruit produced from a single plant.[2] Noted for its superior flavor, the fruit grows from an indeterminate plant and is about 12 ounces, typically ripening in 72 days.[3][4] Due to the high yield of tomatoes, it is recommended that Better Boy varieties be sturdily staked in the garden.[5]

Other good heirlooms I have grown and liked very much are Mortgage Lifter, Hillbilly~both were developed right here in WV, German Giants, Mr. Stripey, etc.

 

[GardenNut]

While it was raining and snowing today, I planted flower seeds: petunia, marigold, cosmos, Mexican sunflower, and zinnia, and put them under my grow lights. The snowflakes looked like cotton balls, melting as soon as they hit the ground. As soon the precipitation stopped, the blustery wind returned. Strangest spring I can remember!

 

[jerryse]

While it was raining and snowing today, I planted flower seeds: petunia, marigold, cosmos, Mexican sunflower, and zinnia, and put them under my grow lights. The snowflakes looked like cotton balls, melting as soon as they hit the ground. As soon the precipitation stopped, the blustery wind returned. Strangest spring I can remember!

Sounds like what we had yesterday . My peas are up .

Got to 25 overnight . No damage on the peas . Not sure what it did to the plum and apricot blooms . They are not black so wait and see .

 

[Bugseye]

The peas--was I supposed to soak them first??? Mine haven't come up, and I'm not so sure what's going on with the lettuce and spinach. Inside, though, things look good. Tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, squash, and cucumber are up. Hope I didn't start the latter too soon. I suspect they'll be fine. I sprinkled Azomite on the soil earlier this week and continue to tie the raspberries to the trellis. The strawberries need some work too. I suspect the slugs are already at work based on some missing leaves.

 

[Arielle]

My BIL is an accountant. He says he'll always have job security. whether the market goes up or down, he says they'll always need bean counters! When I was in Guatemala this summer, I came face to face with the 3rd world vs US philosophy, relationships and way of living. When I first got there, I was taken aback by the squalor, and by the folks just sitting around, not involved in the hustle and bustle that we consider to be a necessity. It took me a while to realize that 30 years of civil war had stripped their country of finances. While they still had the natural beauty, they didn't even have means at their disposal to clean up their yards and streets. No public transport to take the garbage away to non existent land fills. And, the joy those people had, not being tied to the hustle that we live with!

THey have lost the understanding that they have their own two hands to change their world. Hard when big government has taken away the ability of the people to act.

When there is MORE than enough land per person......I think of a now small group of native people still living in S. America that live in huge hovels, carefully maintained common ground stretch between homes, and lots of fish in the river to trap and food to gather in the surrounding jungle. And a friend to visit with. Family close by.

I have recently realized that we Americans are headed for a deadend....

I am not at all saying that I am anti hybrid. I use hybrid veggies. (and make some of my own!) But do appreciate the stand that Fedco and a few other seed companies are taking to not purchase seeds contaminated with GMO.

Sorry LG. I brought up the hybrid angle.... didn't mean it as a diss toward you.. rather another point of discussion. Sorry.

GMOs can have a purpose... years ago I was impressed that with a change using GMO methods rice could be altered to have vit A, and as rice was the primary food source, it saved the eyesight of those that ate it. I always thought this was a valuable method to help save eyesight. BUT the use of GMOs has taken on a life of its own..... and big agriculture companies are in control when they should NOT be.

I watched a utube video of a couple in FL that was forced to remove their front yard garden because the neighbors objected to the view... with fines at $50 per day, they had no choice but to rip out their food source. OMG!!!!!!!! ( ANd yes, I think the source was credible.) Added fuel to my fire to improve the abililty of my land to be self sufficient.

And to realize that the stripping of land of its minerals is the price of big agriculture....and small, if we are not careful......

 

[GardenNut]

Planted inpatients, moon flower, and more cosmos, and petunias in trays today. A

 

[ChickenCanoe]

No offense but that's what my wife calls them. Impatiens are neither restlessly eager nor showi a tendency to be quickly irritated or provoked.

Today I repaired all the fencing so the chickens couldn't continue to dig up what I had just planted nor eat all the tender plants.