Can’t believe i’m back to this. Like if we didn’t have enough rain allready! Anyway the beans need warmth to grow faster than the snails can eat. Although those get bigger too!!
Good seed-germination rates!
Protection of grex of bush beans.
Why? They’d have all of them. I’m still in the seedsaving/multiplication phase. Next year i’ll have a lot more to reseed and sélect for snail resistancy.
Dry climbing beans in hoophouse. Insurance of multiplication. I got enough of those and did a mini mass planting outside of 200 or something. The common ones on the outer ring, the spécial ones more towards the centre.
They said warmer weather next week like they said last week.
Sunflower grex is getting tested for snail résistance. Half is gone in only two nights.
While the whole of Europe is basking in a heatwave we’re back to april showers , april températures and thick grey cloudcover. As if 7 month of rainy weather hadn’t been enough!
So the covers are still on the beans, and loads of cucumbers i planted out got eaten by the happy snail convention. But some… Not.
Which gave me the idea to seed a lot more of them. I’ve collected tons of seeds last year, which didn’t fond their way to other membres. So, they need to be put to the snail test. Made a nice mix.
Beans mass plantings don’t do too bad given the cold weather. I decided to seed three seeds for every devoured bean carcass i find.
I’ve seeded a row of onion grex, a row of leek grex, three kinds of Basil because non of the gifted seems to be doing much but remain stunted two leafers.
I harvested the cilantro grex a tat early to make space for Sikkim cucumber sowing. I transplanted a row of cucumber grex. The ones i didn’t plonk in the manure pile that is. We checked on the beehive and got stung. Me two times, the beekeeper seven times.
I tried snowpea crossing without tweezers, but with saucagefingers. If it works, i’ve marked the flowers i’ll do a little film if i can get someone to hold my phone.
Speaking of film. In case it interests anyone, i’ve put up a couple of those. To really geta measure of the project i share. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hupSYKLC0n4&
These are a variety called ‘reine de puree’ or ‘queen of mashed potato’. It’s from seed and attracts less potato bugs than others. I grow it in straw and hay. It will leave a structured soil. Ready for whatever groundcover i fancy after…
Never leave your garden! Three weeks I’ve been gone and look at it!!! It’s chaos.
Some good surprises though! Some bad ones too. But bad always means adaptation! So everything is good.
And seeds are flowing in, streaming I should say.
Fava, lettuce, parsnip, snow peas, dille, beans. Sunflowers happening, potato’s, and I’ve seeds maturing, cardoon, berries etc. It’s a celebration of life!
@Hugo
Happy to see your groundcover and protection of the soils, its so very important. How is the earthworm community? Lots of good microbes in your soil. We use manures and wood chips similar to your utilizing of straw. I thought imputs were Ok as long as they are organic or biodynamic, feeding the soil microbiome? And your plants? Maybe there are several layers to landracing where the genetics are mixed, the landrace variety pops out, then it moves to a more wild state with less inputs? Then moves to growing STUN…Glad to see your work anytime and its refreshing to know people around the globe caring for the soil and saving seeds.
It’s great to see that with so much absence the plants in your greenhouse are not dead… it was between 28 and 35°C almost every day in the region…
Genetics made you solid plant to resist without care or watering!
PS : painted mountain corn dave christensen via Stéphane. Let’s put the genies in their place I’m just a messenger
Thank you for the compliment!
Earthworm community has exploded over the years. I’ve been using some woodchips, but it’s a lot of unpaid work that. As the farmer leaves strawrolls out and forgets them then they come my way. It’s pure wormfood.
I use it on pathways mostly. I got woodslaps/crusts as well. All trying to block grass out more or less.
Ground cover of white clover mostly in the beds. I try to mix a lot of plants together. Lower with higher mostly. Got rows of herbs as mini hedges.
I do amend the soil with some compost but only one time mostly. Microbes have a great time in my soil food web and I’ve speeded things up with local mycelia from beautiful trees . just take a bit of soil of a gorgeous oak, beech, alder poplar wold apple or whatever I come across on occasional walks. Some will stick. Water canned them around or do aerated vermicompost with that added… Every time people give me seeds from elsewhere they bring new microbes along. Which play unknown roles in switching on genes, speeding up adaptation. Then I give others diverse seeds and off go communities.
Some plants are feral now. Lettuce parsnips, salsify, swiss chard chamomille, oregano. Get as many in the mix to see what supports each other. I’d like to use those in an experiment to build soils up next year. Dump straw to kill the grass, remove and sow in there
You are welcome, so very glad you have earthworms as they do so much good for the soil. Its also good to feed your microbial life with the straw and add colonies from forests and outside seed…it really makes a difference and is the magic of healthy soils. Im not able to grow clover but do put legumes of some sort throughout the garden to help fix nitrogen, and I also inoculated the seed as well. Mixing plants too… it all works, tall peas with spinach in the shade on one side and carrots on the other, then a row of sorrel, it looks graduated and everything grows really well. But in the spirit of keeping it simple, direct sowing has worked well for me. Im curious if seeds actually germinate and pick up microbes from the soil…during germination as compared to starting in potting soil. Its just on my mind to create grexes with genetically diverse soil…or at least move in that direction when possible. The good soil bacteria and fungi are as equally as important as genetically diverse seeds…Im thinking they go hand in hand.
Im also curious to know if you think a particular grex would be stronger, “switching on genes, speeding up adaption”, as you have mentioned, if the soil microbiome is healthy and diverse? The inputs are specialized, soils from healthy forests, from riverfront areas, from land that hasn’t been commercially farmed…and from seeds all over the globe. Ok, I’m getting off topic…I realize seed is heavily inspected to cross country lines…maybe there are organic companies that ship internationally?
Hi Kim. I’ve learned plants transport their most important partners in the bacterial world from the root tips through the plants onto the seedcoats of their seeds. To ensure immediate partnering for their offspring.
So by exchanging seeds we’re exchanging these microbes.
I’ve learned from an Austrian lady scientist in the spearhead of soil microbiology that microbes can create different phenotypes , switch on and off DNA so to say. She noticed remarkably more adaptation in her experiments when she improved her soils. I’ll pm you her podcast when I remember.
I’d love to use the plants that are self seeding into a soil recovering ground cover mix to prepare new soils to grow upon. In time ideally we would crimp this very diverse ground cover and direct seed crops into it.
But I’m afraid we’re long time off there.
Although if enough people take on plant breeding and permaculture we might get there together a lot faster.
Also many people are lone wolving unaware of what we’re discovering and sharing in the hive mind of the adaptive gardening breeders communit. And it seems different people have come to the same kind of conclusions worldwide.
Indeed, and Im glad there is an awareness and studies of the soil and contributions for the seeds. I’d be interested in the podcasts too concerning synergistic microbial life and positive influences for seeds and plants…as long as they aren’t too scientific…lol. I’m thinking too, I’ve followed permaculture, and regenerative agriculture as I approach growing landrace vatieties as I have always lived on soils that were formerly commercially farmed. I keep focused on the soil as well as the seed planted and want to be mindful of the way forward. Are there any landrace seed companies besides in the US? Or do we continue to share heirlooms, indigenous heirlooms, and regional heirlooms? And seed bank seeds…wouldnt they have lost microbes in their seed coats over time…with only the germplasm remaining active? There are formal university seed banks and private existing seed banks too, but how often do they need grow out those seeds to maintain the microbial component of the seed? Im thinking I’d like to know more on the origins of accessions as well as the resulting swarms and grexes from combinations planted. Keeping a journal too…
Still going strong. A bit low on Maxima’s and Moschata pepos were great. All sunflower family happy as can be. Topinambour/sunchokes, yacon, silphy, sunflowers.
