refugium

"some five thousand morphologically distinct varieties have been identified out of more than thirteen thousand accessions held by the international potato center. over one hundred varieties may be found in a single valley, and a dozen or more distinct varieties are kept by a typical farming household." stephen b. brush. "farmers' bounty"_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________my home weather station tells me it is a crisp seven degrees below zero ( fahrenheit ) outside my windows but it is a uniform sixty-four degrees in my basement ( again fahrenheit )with a relative humidity steady at about fifty-two percent ( forty-nine upstairs )...i am only harboring only four varieties down there...yema de huevos, early blue, ollala, and narino roja...along with five solanum acaule plants...but for those varieties the basement is a refugium and a nursery as well as a learning center...i have grown potates and other tubers ( the relentless jerusalem artichokes leap to mind )but really wouldn't have considered any sort of indoor production if it hadn't become a necessity driven by the tubers' refusal to wait another four months for spring...the yema de huevos up and running actually represent a second generation of indoor tubers...another first for me...and they have taught me the utility of spare watering in a damp and fungus friendly environment...the early blue are showing the determination of dna as they reach for the grow lights and begin to deploy serious leaves to utilize the light...their growth in three weeks or so has been impressive and they are weaving a root system just beneath the surface ( which i discovered accidentally while i was beginning to "hill" them ) that reminds me of the near surface roots that zea diploperennis spreads every season ( and i have to wonder, heavily mulched though they are, whether those sub tropical grasses will survive this harsh a northern winter...i am not sanguine...but still hopeful..if not they provided three great seasons in an alien climate )...i am pleased and pensive about outcomes all around...new territory for me and i am feeling my way...it is much easier to read a plant in the garden than in a bushel basket in artificial light...from watering schedules to photo-periods i am collecting data...the question is can i make any sense of it? we'll see soon enough...more as it develops.