hello @julia.dakin Julia, I was wondering where to put my growth report on the 2024 GTS quinoa grex that I received from Malcolm and the team, and sowed a couple of weeks ago . But I fear if we mix all the mixes, we may not be able to exchange between testers. Let me know what you and @MalcolmS think about this.
In the mean time, just a quick update on the quinoa. I would like feedback from others that are growing this grex.
I put them in the fridge for one week.
I sowed about 120 seeds in small alveoles and kept them inside the house, next to an East-looking window, to keep an eye on them.
they started germinating quite quicky up to 50% germination rate (about 60 visible seedlings)
then they seemed to stop growing and germinating and some of them even died. (I am down to 40 seedlings)
the seedlings that remain seem to stay at the cotyledon stage and don’t make leaves…
I wonder If I did anything wrong:
did I sow too early ?
is an East window not enough light ?
was it a bad idea to put them outside the house during some sunny days to give them more light ?
can a change in temperature explain this stop in growth ? (temperatures dropped)
It sounds like not enough light to me… do you have more seeds to plant some outside?
True that mixing all the mixes mean there is less specific info, so I find that when possible/somebody is willing it would be nice to keep track of things, even if they’re planted next to each other.
Can somebody speak to Quinoa’s outcrossing rate?
I agree it could be lack of light. I have carried them with me in a trip to visit a farmer friend and when I arrived, I put them in his greenhouse. 5 days later, some seem to be developing again, I can see baby leaves forming. Crossing fingers.
Yes I have more seeds. Following Jospeph’s advice, I never plant all I have when it is difficult to find again. These were difficult to obtain indeed. They crossed the atlantic ocean and the customs barrier so they are very precious !
I did sow outside my own seeds from last year. We shall see if they survive slugs predation… I did not want to expose the GTS grex to this risk. When I go back to my place, I will see how mine developped oustide and then decide about a second sowing of the GTS grex.
Hi @isabelle, Have you had any more luck with the quinoa? Sorry that I haven’t been around much, I’ve been very busy with spring gardening season.
I generally find that quinoa is fussy about germination conditions, and can easily get “stalled” by unfavorable conditions, after which it tends to immediately flower/“bolt”. You might have more luck with direct planting rather than transplanting.
And thanks for starting this thread! I’m about to plant my quinoa, and will post updates on this thread.
I sowed about 100 , about 60 germinated withing a few days . Then I had this lack of light and/or excess watering . those that were too weak died, and the rest already show diversity in their development.
I sowed them indoors, because I wanted to track them and because I am unsure about good outdoor conditions for them.
In parallel, I sowed my own quinoa outdoors and none survived. So I’m rather happy I did not risk yours outdoors.
How do you direct plant them ? what soil preparation ? what depth ? do you cover them with a bowl until germination is accomplished ? what do you pay attention to ?
It is still time to sow and I have more of my own crop from last year, waiting.
I just use a hoe or rake to make furrows, sprinkle in the seeds (thicker than I eventually want them) and then lightly sprinkle soil over them, since I think it would be easy to bury them too deeply. Then I carefully keep the soil surface moist until they start germinating. The seedlings are typically rather weak and slow-growing, before the surviving ones undergo a growth spurt and the plants rapidly develop. Once I have enough seeds to be growing on a field scale, I will have to figure out how to plant them more efficiently.
Yours are looking good; I would probably harden them off and plant them outside sooner rather than later, since in my experience they can get pot-bound and stunted easily. Unless you are still expecting a hard frost.
no more frost expected here (britany is very temperate) so Ok I will plant these young ones soon. What do you mean by "harden them off " ? you mean putting them outside the green house a few days before planting them outside ? or reducing watering for a few days ?
and I will try again direct sowing, with more attention to surface humidity.
By hardening off, I mean gradually getting them accustomed to outdoor conditions; if they are used to the filtered light, still air, and more even temperatures of an enclosed area, they could be shocked by moving outside suddenly.
thank you, that’s what I guessed.
The weather forecast is mild. little wind, little rain, the light was not so shaded in the greenhouse, so change is not dramatic.
I did transplant half of them today and left the rest in the greenhouse, just in case .
the GTS seedlings are transplanted and doing fine.
I also sowed a new series of my own mix from last year, very close to the GTS ones. the glass pots are for humidity preservation during germination.
@MalcolmS I sort of remember you suggested that any successful trier should return some of his or her crop to GTS so that GTS can dispatch them again, correct ?
In general, that is the case; seed should be returned to GTS. But since you are overseas, that might be different. Customs will be a problem, and I’d personally rather not deal with trying to receive seed from abroad. So if you’d like to keep yours, that’s fine, I think. I assume we will get plenty of seed returned from other participants.
It has been an unusually early and warm spring here. We’ve had a lot of precipitation, which is normal.
I direct seeded into a bed that had squash and cowpeas last year, and into another area nearby that had a scruffy mix of onions, fleabane, and plantain last year.
These beds are only about three years old, having been grass before that. In general I have had a lot of pressure from birds and voles. So far I have not seen the aphids I expect to see at this time of year but I know there are some other insects eating foliage that I haven’t spotted yet. I didn’t spot any of these pests bothering the quinoa area but those are among the possible issues.
Good, I agree with that. Now we have the mix in europe, in case of success, I would gladly dispatch to other european quinoa growers.
I was asking also for Mark, good to know that he may have a second chance next year.
I planted in mid-May, to avoid hard frosts; in general, fall is our driest time of year. Quinoa that matures in August/September would be best for my climate.
