what? more seeds?

recent sub-freezing temperatures have done in the zea mays parvaglumis and the northern tepehuan teosinte...

one of the two northern tepehuan plants flowered late and while it produced numerous ears they are all far too green to have any chance of containing mature seed...i may harvest then as decoration but they will serve no use in propagating more plants next season...

the second tepehuan plant still has ears that look promising so i brought more in today to husk and dry and flense out the ines most likely to be fertile...

along the way more than one ear has shattered as i tried to harvest it and multiple seeds have hit the ground...i am inclined to leave them there to what ( if anything ) happens in the spring...volunteer teosinte would please me...

the zea mays parvaglumis has a much longer season than the northern tepehuan and, because of the late autumn warmth, this year i have actually found ears outside the stems of the plants...a first...

so i brought some in and was not surprised to find the sub ears all contained nothing but very green seeds...i will let them dry but have little in the way of expectation of viability...

finally i have been taking a look at seed structures and find i can sea a hardened sheath fro a sprout wrapped around the outside of these seeds...

sub-ears

seasonal cold has finally arrived and a hard freeze has killed the teosinte plants pout back...there will be no further seed maturation so i have been bringing in the most likely looking ears from the plants and husking the seeds...

the ears are all composed of a variable number of sub0ears, each with a single spike of seeds in its own husk...

this particular ear has six sub-ears...

and rendered forty-four seeds by my count...

and altogether the six ears i brought in this evening left me with around two hundred seeds..the darker seeds are more mature and have more developed endosperm and have the best chance of being viable...i would expect little from the seeds that are still green and, as they dry, i will be sorting them by maturity and getting a better count...with all the ears i have husked int he last three evenings i would estimate i have gathered ( and i am not finished looking over the plants...i have been doing it the failing light of a mid-autumn evening...a better look in daylight tomorrow ) somewhere around five hundred seeds with possibly a third or so with good prospects of viability..once they dry i will be freezing the best prospects and doing a test germination in spring when i can plant any successful ones outdoors.

andean tubers

when i got home this evening i noticed that last mnight's cold had done in the yacon i had growing ina container so i pulled up the tubers...i was pleased to find some sizable ones ion the mix...

further up the root system, towards the surface of the soil, i found three rhizomes growing..i removed them and took them tot he basement to plant in a large container in the plant room...we will be seeing what comes of that...past experience informs me that they are fairly simple to grow down there..adaptable tot he cool, damp, and grow lights...

both varieties of mashua meanwhile are still very green and a tangle of vines, some evincing new growth..this will be grinding to a halt directly as true autumnal temperatures begin to set in...i will have to dig those tubers soon...tomorrow perhaps..certainly by the weekend...a peppery treat for a salad i think.

praxis

the string of frost free days beyond the average first frost date continue but i am thinking their days are numbered...there is a hard freeze forecast for tomorrow night..

daytime highs have been in a "normal" range for the time of year, however the night time lows have, so far, been above freezing...even with the extended season some of the teosinte ears are verdant and will most likely not produce mature seed before the season comes to an end...

other ears have dried on the stalk and split open, ready to shatter...i have been collecting these as i find the...and brining some others that seem to be nearly as finished in to dry out completely...

and as the husks dry and separate i am collecting the seed to freeze...i will be test germinating this batch in the spring in order to plant any that succeed as a second genration...

we'll see how these do ( beyond the couple of green ones in there ) in april sometime.

6 november 2010

seven years isn't what it used to be when i was younger...still...it seems longer since i last saw kathy...she was an educator who cared...who became a mentor...who turned into a friend ( i know we were...she told me )...and i miss my friend..and her humor..and intellect...and support...and input...and gentle criticism ("i'm reigning you in for your own good!")...if you knew her you miss her too..i am not alone in this...peace kathy...take good care.

downturn

it was damp and foggy in the cornfield by the supermarket this morning and the light wasn't the best ( which is a way of explaining some of the following blur )...whatever the case i wadded in ( literally ) and got my feet wet looking at some big grass...

the ears of field corn are turning down...

and so is the ancestor that established the tradition...

clearly the season is ending ( there is finally frost in the forecast..a bit on that in a minute ) and this is a sign both sets of plants are aware..so i am hopeful but guarded ( let's not drag optimism into this ) about viable seed...we will see...no final word yet... as for the rest of the yard ( almost )

the bell peppers are still blooming...

as are the nasturtiums and marigolds...

there is supposed to be a hard freeze wednesday night so the yacon will need to come in beforehand...

the mashua is verdant and showing no signs of autumn on its damp and gren leaves...yet it will need to come in as well...it is averse to cold...

and a wealth of brussels sprouts as well...

the last photo is something i have never aseen in person before..an ear of zea mays parvaglumis emerging from the stalk ( last year i had to rip the stalks open to have a look at the still very green seeds )...since it has was appears to be an infinte season i have not had a climate that supported it to this point before..there will never be any viable seed...however it is gratifying just to see an ear.