I want to start by saying I am sorry this update has taken so long. This year brought some very difficult news and changes. We had to leave our farm, which was heartbreaking after all the work that had gone into building the landrace garden. Thankfully, I was able to collect seeds from this year’s Maxima squash patch before we left. Many of the fruits were still unripe when harvested, but the seeds appear to be viable. I am deeply grateful for that small bit of continuity.
When this project began, the goal was to create a Maxima squash that could truly belong here in central Alberta. Our growing seasons are short, the nights can turn cold even in summer, and drought is becoming a regular challenge. Standard seed varieties often struggle to adapt to these extremes, so we started selecting for plants that could handle our unique conditions. Over time, this work will shape a population of squash that is strong, resilient, and in harmony with the land it grows on.
Even with everything that happened this year, the plants taught me a lot. Some pushed through the dry spells, others managed to ripen a few fruits despite the cold. Each year adds new strength to the seed line and brings us a little closer to a truly local squash that can stand up to central Alberta’s weather.
Below you’ll find photos and notes from this season’s progress. It is my sincere hope to continue this project into its third year in 2026 at our new growing location. The story of this landrace is still unfolding, and I am honored to keep tending it wherever I go.
This year’s Maxima patch was planted in a bright open space that received full sun from morning until evening. The area was wide and exposed, which meant the plants faced every kind of weather the prairie could throw at them.
The ground was already home to a thick stand of grasses, mostly quack grass, which made it a constant effort to keep the squash from being crowded out. We used comfrey tea as a natural fertilizer and laid down straw and weed-suppression cloth to give the vines some breathing room. Watering was kept minimal, only when there had been no rain for more than a week. It was a rough but honest growing space .. simple, sun-baked, and full of life. Here is a picture of that plot.
The growing season started out quite positive. We decided to use a mix of early starts and direct seeding to see whether the early starts would make a difference in the final size and quality of the plants. In our area, we chose to do one light tilling using compost that we had stored from last year’s pile. However, due to a lower-than-average snowfall, the ground was more compact than usual, and we ended up needing two rounds of tilling. Seeds were in the ground by May 15, and the plant starts were in the ground by May 24 to reduce the chance of frost.
seeds used: We used 90 percent of saved seeds from year ones landrace project and added in some various blue colored maxima seeds to try and bring in some variety.
an interesting observation for year two was to see how much stronger the plants were in competition to our local flourishing “weeds” certain plants seemed to just rise above and continue strong. The areas where we had weed cloth down absolutely produced more plans but next year I want to continue allowing a portion to be open to growing alongside the weeds without cloth in hopes they will continue to gain strength against them
The plants were off to a fabulous start when we had close to 10 days of heavy rains followed by VERY hot sun. The result was that the plants were stressed from the rains and then dried out from the heat. Despite the challenging circumstances the majority of the plants survived.
They overall success of our 2025 growing year was hindered by an unfortunate need to move. While we were still able to collect viable seeds to continue the landrace project for 2026 we were left with no produce to distribute as all that was harvested was used for seed saving.
The good news however is that we did notice some great improvements from year 2 with the plants. The first improvement was how quickly the plants bounced back from adverse weather. Having suffered from a very dry start followed by heavy rains and then blazing heat - we still had plants that not only survived but thrived!
The second noticeable improvement was the plants ability for select plants to grow alongside the weeds without being choked out… This was a vast improvement from year one.
The third was the germination and survival rate of our saved seeds was higher than the original conglomeration of assorted seeds.
We also observed some peculiar shaped fruits which I will attach in pictures. We also had borage volunteer to seed amongst the plants which brought a plethora of honey bees
Overall we are very excited for the 2026 growing season! We have a large amount of saved seeds and have planned to do a video diary of the 2026 grow season for a more accurate visual of the years progress.
We are incredible grateful for the opportunity to explore landrace gardening and are looking forward to expanding our seed experimentations over the next years!
