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Post by Tucson Grower on Mar 26, 2023 19:39:05 GMT -6
A few days ago I presoaked and paper towel/ziploc treated all of my remaining SIR seed (about 30). Only one sprouted, so I planted it. I am now soaking 30 seed of my recently acquired SIR seed. I already have about 6 SIR plants, growing well in cell-paks. I would like at least 20.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Mar 27, 2023 15:06:29 GMT -6
Much earlier I planted a 6-pac of SIR and was rewarded with 5 strong seedlings, the most advanced of all my current okra plants. Yesterday I planted them in my F1 hybrid generating site. I planted 1 at position 7 in the first row and the other 4, two on each end.
It consists of 2 rows of 14 planting holes, 18 inches apart, with each row offset from the next, so that a planting hole in one row is 1/2 way between 2 planting holes in an adjacent row. The first row begins with a SIR followed by HH, then the pattern repeats. Each row begins with the opposite of the row before. Each position is marked with a plastic plant label, green for HH and red for SIR. This morning I discovered the birds don't respect the labels, they had plucked some out of the ground.
Since my inventory of SIR and HH seedlings seems to unexpectedly be increasing, I believe I'm being guided to create 2 more rows of F1 generating plants - so I will adjust my plan accordingly.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Mar 27, 2023 16:02:14 GMT -6
This morning after I noted the improvement in SIR germination from a short time at 80F, I planted all those with pronounced radicles (an even dozen), then about 20 minutes later, checked again, and added 6 more to the 36-cell capacity cell-pac. A little later I will check again. Maybe I can plant out the entire 36-pac, before my other batch of SIR begin to germinate. Yes, this is why I need to add two more rows to my F1 garden - maybe even more.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Mar 27, 2023 21:58:03 GMT -6
And after checking the germinating seed, there were more than enough to completely fill my largest single cell-pac of 36 cells with SIR seedlings. Tomorrow I am going to need to find more space on the heat mat for the others. I wonder where I'll put the newest batch of 30 SIR seedlings when they begin to sprout (which could be any time now).
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Post by Tucson Grower on Mar 28, 2023 10:08:52 GMT -6
I was outside, just after sunup prepping for another two rows of HH/SIR planting holes. I checked the ziploc ensconced seed - they're moving too fast.
In my mind's eye, this project seems quick and easy - in practice there are many more variables and the details take time.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Mar 29, 2023 0:15:20 GMT -6
If I can consistently keep everything moving, in my preferred direction, I just might be able to squeeze 2 plant generations in one year, from time to time. The bottle neck would be if it gives me enough time to properly evaluate the plants before selecting them for seed production. I'd hate to be invested in a plant that later doesn't qualify to be a seed donor for continuing the breeding line.
Besides the color component, one of my strongest motivations for this line of breeding is that these pigments are said to be some of the most powerful antioxidant phytonutrients. Of course, for those benefits you'd need to eat okra, my favorite way, fresh and raw. Since heating/cooking destroys them. I continue to be mystified concerning any aversion as to the natural texture of the fruits - coming up with various ways to ameliorate it. I find it to be wonderful, just the way it is.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Mar 29, 2023 12:04:10 GMT -6
Okay, the initial 2 rows are planted, both with HH and now SIR. I only used the newest batch of SIR pre-germinates, I left about a dozen seed still in the older ziploc batch. I only finished planting the first 2 rows, I have yet to complete preparations of the 2 additional rows I will be expanding into. As with the pre-germinate HH seed, I placed 2 per planting hole, but this time, at the last hole, there were about 20 remaining (I crowded them in - to be thinned later).
With the HH, there was only one extra seedling crowded into the last hole. If all goes well there should be more than enough small seedlings of HH and SIR to populate the 2 additional rows. I will plan to plant them, later.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Apr 1, 2023 22:53:22 GMT -6
Some of this discussion was continued in the thread, "Okra hybrids".
From that aside; it seems appropriate, for a side project, in line with the breeding efforts here, is to also work, to see, if SIR can be bred concurrently, in an attempt to increase its, "intensity of red color", by selecting the most intensely colored individual SIR plants, and not only using them as parents with HH mother plants, but among each other, to see if doing so might increase the intensity of red in the SIR strain, in case it becomes appropriate to do some back-crossing at any point.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Apr 1, 2023 23:04:10 GMT -6
Of the direct sowed, pre-sprouted HH seedlings, 21 have now fully sprouted. The 5 SIR pre-germinated seedlings, all are continuing to grow; they appear to be doing well. None of the other pre-sprouted SIR plants have shown signs of emergence, yet.
The 2 new rows are progressing slowly. Due to earlier landscaping efforts, there was a curved burm of earth, from earlier excavating, by hand, running East - West. It curved sharply to the North on its East end. Due to that, the two new rows converge, on their East ends with the existing 2 rows. Due to this, once the plants begin to grow, the 4 rows will be closed on their East ends. Too close together for access or egress.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Apr 2, 2023 1:07:53 GMT -6
As I was looking around the seed world I noticed an okra variety I hadn't heard of before, 'French Quarter Red'. I ordered some seed, to give it a try in my garden, see if it lives up to the photo's used to promote it. Though I am presently planning to continue my plans with SIR. However, if this variety is actually the deep dark purple/red as depicted in its photos, I may just incorporate some of its genes into my red 'Heavy Hitter' okra breeding program. It appears to be the shade of red my minds eye is looking for. Very nice that someone already selected an okra variety with the genes for just the color I desire. Too bad it's a dwarf variety; hopefully, when out-crossed to HH, enough times, it can lose that bad habit. After all, I just need those genes for that wonderful, intensely dark reddish/purple color. HH already has all the other traits I would want in this up-and-coming new okra variety. It's probably not too early to start thinking about what I'd like to call it. Possibly something related to my late wife. She is my inspiration for this project, among others.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Apr 2, 2023 12:41:22 GMT -6
I've been thinking more about the prospect of incorporating the variety 'French Quarter Red' (FQR) into my okra breeding project. It may be a carrier of the color I'm searching for.
There is one aspect that could complicate the process of transferring the genes that control that intense purple/red. That is because the variety FQR is also a dwarf variety. The complication is, screening for the color trait, must be done in conjunction with screening for the other HH traits, desired in this new variety. If I were to screen seedlings, en mass, just to ensure the color genes were being transferred, I couldn't be sure they weren't somehow linked to the dwarf aspects, unless I also grew them out. So, although as young seedlings I could be fairly sure they were expressing the desired color traits, until I grew out, to adult, I couldn't be sure they weren't carrying dwarf traits, too. I don't know if the dwarf trait is dominant or recessive. I'm hoping it is dominant, if so, I would know that any plant not exhibiting dwarf traits, is not a carrier of dwarf gene(s) and would be able to easily remove dwarf genes from the gene pool.
This project keeps getting more complex than it needs to be.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Apr 3, 2023 8:09:42 GMT -6
For labeling seed pods, I was thinking of using the typical vinyl plastic plant labels, but connect them to their respective seed pods by hog rings. I have loads of those, I use them to keep poultry from injuring each other and to fasten plastic shade cloth to poultry wire netting (chicken wire). This allows the shade cloth to maintain some usefulness, even as it deteriorates from exposure to the sun.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Apr 10, 2023 12:41:57 GMT -6
A few of the SIR pre-sprouts have begun emerging. I decided the okra planted in the ground doesn't like my soil pH. I have some garden sulfur for that. I sprinkle a little around each plant, then use a 1/2" diameter iron stake, like a smooth piece of rebar with a pointed end, poke a few holes near the plants (about 4 inches deep), then gently water some of the sulfur pellets into the holes.
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Post by macmex on Apr 10, 2023 15:32:55 GMT -6
I tried to grow okra in the high desert of the Mexican state of Hidalgo once. It languished, barely producing. We had white alkali soil there. I would spread a 40 lb sack of sulfur on my garden once a year, just to keep the alkalinity down a bit.
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Post by Tucson Grower on Apr 10, 2023 16:45:37 GMT -6
macmex, That sounds like the problem some of my other Tucson friends have. I'm fortunate at my location here and even over at my mother's old place. Both locations are almost entirely sand, with a little silt and clay mixed in - basically a sandy loam. Others in this area have caliche, which sounds like your Mexican highland stuff. It's difficult enough adjusting the pH of my sand, but it's almost impossible to even work caliche.
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