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Post by heavyhitterokra on Jul 26, 2020 20:25:02 GMT -6
I officially have enough Roselle ready for harvest that I've given some of it away to a friend who hasn't been feeling very well this week.
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Post by macmex on Jul 27, 2020 6:25:16 GMT -6
I need to get a picture. Mine is looking very good. I should have calyxes soon
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Sept 15, 2020 21:49:45 GMT -6
I finally got about 400 Roselle calyces de-seeded and put in the dehydrator today. I've been so busy drying tomatoes that I didn't have any room for Roselle in the kitchen until today.The Roselle is just now coming on strong.This is what I wake up to every day.I'll be picking this stuff every morning for a long time to come. I try to process about 300 to 500 every other day. I'll pick one day, then process the next, until I have enough put up to last all winter.This is the same row as the one above, on May 21st (the day I set out these transplants). What a difference! These are 'feel good' plantings for sure. They put on like crazy every year! Thanks, George, for the seeds that got us started a few years ago. Thanks, Hank, for the transplants that got us up and going early on this year. Now, I'm running on plants that I direct seeded right along this same row the day I took this photo. I'm getting calyces every day like clockwork now.
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Post by macmex on Oct 7, 2020 8:44:01 GMT -6
One of the great things about Roselle is that you can save seed from any or all of the calyxes. When you peal the covering off (the red part) which is what you use, the actual seed pod remains.
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Post by macmex on Oct 7, 2020 9:38:22 GMT -6
When they mature, they're this size. One could pick them before this size, but it would be more work to peal the calyxes off of the seed pods. Try picking one of the larger ones and see if the seed inside is mature.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Oct 25, 2020 5:26:51 GMT -6
If you harvest the calyces of Roselle while the seed pod inside is still green, the seeds will most likely die, a lot like what would happen if you harvested okra pods while they are still green. The immature, white seeds inside shrivel and turn light brown, rather than remaining plump and turning very dark. (Some make it, some don't.) So, it's best to leave the pods on the plants until they reach full maturity. Same with Roselle. Some of the green calyces will ripen after harvest, some will deteriorate.
The seed pod inside the red calyx will become a wheat straw color when fully mature and the seeds inside will be dark brown. ( A lot like a mature okra pod). The red calyx on Roselle will become more papery to the touch, once the seed pod inside is fully mature. If harvested too green, it is likely the pods will mold and mildew in storage, from excessive moisture.
When fully mature, the well dried seed pods of Roselle will open to broadcast seeds via wind or upon disturbing the pods by bumping against them as you walk through the winter killed branches. Though, it is unlikely any seeds left on the plant will survive our crazy, Oklahoma Spring weather. For that reason, I've rarely seen a volunteer Roselle plant in my garden. The young seedlings are very susceptible to frost. I always harvest mature Roselle pods before they open and allow them to finish drying inside the house. If you store them inside a cardboard oatmeal container, the container will help dispel the moisture and the dried pods will open, much like tiny flowers, and disperse their seeds inside the container.
Be cautious when reaching inside the container to gather the seeds, the dried pods have sharp points once the open fully.
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Feb 27, 2021 3:46:39 GMT -6
Anybody out there have a good suggestion about the best time to start your Roselle seedlings indoors, for seed saving purposes?
Last year, I direct sowed my Roselle seeds into the garden in May. I got a bumper crop of Roselle, but no seeds had time to mature before frost.
My guess would be that if a person plans to direct sow seeds into the garden, then they need to start at least one plant, very early, indoors, just for seed-saving purposes. Otherwise, you'll end up with no seed in Autumn, just like what happened to me in 2020.
I had lots of mature seeds in 2019, I just don't remember when I started my plants indoors that year? My best guess would be sometime in early-March.
Any suggestions?
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Feb 27, 2021 4:02:24 GMT -6
A TRIP BACK IN TIME ... Above, I posted a question, then found an answer to it a few moments later, I just went back in time, to page 8, entry #5 of this very thread.
Then, I went to page 2, entries #1, 2,3,4,5,6,7,& 8.
Very interesting conversations from Late-Winter 2017 and 2019.
July, 2019 was a good read as well.
This website makes a 'GREAT GARDENING ARCHIVE.' Who needs a journal, if you've got the Green Country Seeds Saver's website?
Thanks, George!
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Post by heavyhitterokra on Mar 9, 2021 22:50:56 GMT -6
Thanks, for the feedback, Bon. I need to start some Roselle seedlings here too.
I found a new use for the spent Roselle stalks a few days ago. I've suspected that they would burn very hot if broken up and used for kindling, but until last week, I had no idea just how hot they really do burn!
I have a stand of wild rose bushes about to take over the South end of my garden. The fence back there is about 100' feet wide, and in years past, the neighbor's cow pasture has been too heavily weeded for me to set fire to them, so they've kind of gotten out of control to the point that the barbed wire fence has been swallowed in a sea of bristling rose bush bramble.
This year, however, the neighbors have over pastured their cattle and way overgrazed their tall grass. Not to mention that it is still very muddy out there from the snow melt. You'd have better luck setting a grass fire on the moon than on what's left of their soggy pasture, so I found a night with the wind in my favor and decided it was safe to burn my fence row at last.
Last Saturday evening, toward dusk, I started breaking up dead Roselle stalks and piling them near the outer edges of the massive, wild rose bushes; some of the roses had a thorny reach of better than eight feet from the end of their twining branches, back to the main trunks, so I had to burn the bramble back for a considerable amount of time before I could even reach the main trunks to set fire to them.
Fortunately, for me, dead Roselle burns nearly white-hot flames, so by the time I had stacked a few dozen Roselle bushes into the flames I found that I had burned back a considerable amount of bramble. About half an hour into it, I was able to stack firewood right on top of the main rose bush trunks, allowing a deep bed of coals to burn through the night, taking them out by the roots.
At times, the bright, nearly white flames, of the burning Roselle bushes resembled the wide open door of a foundry furnace. From now on, I'll keep in mind that Roselle twigs broken into bundles for kindling fires will be a very effective way to get rid of wild roses and wild blackberry bushes, as well as a very good way to light a wood stove or to kindle a campfire. It will take me a few days of earnest effort to burn each rose bush out, one by one that way, but now I know I have the ammo to get that done.
Too bad It looks like high winds and heavy rain for the next week or so. I'm in the mood to get my fence row cleared out for transplanting some thornless blackberries.
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Post by boiledpeanut on Apr 7, 2021 12:42:25 GMT -6
Wow I wish I had seen this thread earlier!!
I actually want to experiment with roselle growing for colder climates. My hope is to find a day-neutral variety.
I bought two varieties: one from ebay named "Arab" which supposedly has long calyxes and superior pectin production
and one from south exchange named "st kitts and nevis" (productive but long season and noticeably low germ rate).
I am getting ready to soak them for planting today, this is my first time growing them. I'm in USDA range 8 and these types may take long to mature (I don't know about the Arab var. so this is an exciting experiment). As usual - I'm open to giving/trading but emptor caveat these 2 may take long seasons.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Apr 7, 2021 20:44:25 GMT -6
I, too, am growing Roselle for the first time this season. I bought the seeds last summer, and the package was called something like “Zinger Hibiscus.” My oldest loves Hibiscus Tea, and I thought it would be a nice treat to grow the plants if we can. I have five little seedlings planted out now in a small cinderblock bed in my back yard. It’s actually right by a recessed corner of the house, and it gets southern and western exposure, so I needed something that could take heat there. If it does rain, it gets runoff from the roof since there are no gutters there, but I imagine I’ll be doing a lot of watering this summer. I’m hoping for some big plants to shade windows that get hot sun. We’ll see. It’s all sort of an experiment, but it was very fun for me to find this Roselle thread a few weeks back.
Boiledpeanut, what are your frost-free dates? I’m in Zone 8b in Texas Hill Country, and I’ve got about 8 frost-free months on average from mid March to mid November. In a harsh year, the season could go from early April to the end of October. I did start my Roselle inside before hardening it off and putting it out just to give it a little jump on the season. It will be interesting to see what it does in the fall (if it makes it through the summer in my oven/garden).
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Post by boiledpeanut on Apr 7, 2021 23:16:40 GMT -6
Zone 8a chrysanthemum 6-7ish months. Going conservative its supposedly 195 days or 6.5 months starting in April to Oct. I'm actually starting late in the garden this year but I've been trying to buy cold hardier plants that can handle low temperatures in the soil. Off topic but Chrysanthemums were one of my favorite flowers as a kid, have you ever tried growing tong ho / shingiku? Its an edible chrysanthemum of asian origin.
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Post by macmex on Apr 8, 2021 6:51:35 GMT -6
Chrysanthemum, the name given to your seed makes me think they didn't have a variety name. Roselle, all roselle is used for making Red Zinger tea, but there are differing varieties. I think Glen might have posted photos of really huge (by my standards) calyxes, of varieties which are grown in the tropics. I really like Thai Red, which is what I grow. It does great in our climate and latitude.
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Post by chrysanthemum on Apr 8, 2021 14:29:51 GMT -6
I was just working for too long in the afternoon sun (even though it wasn’t really that long, but my skin is tender), and now I’m inside drinking a large glass of iced hibiscus tea from a pot I brewed for my daughter this morning (from store bought tea bags). It will be interesting to see how my Roselle compares to some of the other varieties grown on this thread.
BoiledPeanut, I have heard of Tong Ho but have never grown it. It sounds up my alley in that I prefer my ornamentals to be edible, but I love beautiful flowers. Have you grown it? What can you compare the taste to?
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Post by boiledpeanut on Apr 12, 2021 2:36:57 GMT -6
chrysanthemum sorry I haven't tried them yet but I DO have seeds this year. I am currently focus on some harder to start seeds and tender saplings I need to find a home for I am branching out into the edible ornamental field myself. as always if you'd like to try some let me know in a message: due to go to the post office this week
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