channeling chapman

i procured a quarter pound of northern tepehuam teosinte seeds this season intending to become the john chapman of teosinte...at least in lake county indiana...as a part of this i went out to the pgp on campus this morning and planted both northern tepehuan and some zea diploperennis ( just in case the stand did not overwinter )...so there will hopefully be two locations on campus with "wild and weedy ancestors" of maize on display...theh zea diploperennis seeds ( second photo ) have been consistently darker in color than those of the annual variety...some of the research i have read suggest that the darker the seed ( at least in the case of teosinte ) the more viable it is...empirically there may be something to this...i have had a much higher percentage of planted zea diploperennis seeds germinate compared with the lighter colored northern tepehuan teosinte ( top photo ) which are much more fickle ( which explains the quarter pound of seeds and the idea of planting in multiple locations...my back yard will have some seeds too ) after i was done planting at the pgp i strolled over behind lindenwood hall to the community garden and, with my green sharpie marker which i remembered to bring along, i tagged the seeds i planted yesterday...the snow that covered the beds last weekend has disappeared and this late in march i wouldn't expect to see them covered again ( a sure way to invite a blizzard, no? ) and inn a few weeks there will be asparagus and potatoes to keep the grass company...i can smell the new season