January Newsletter - Winter in Florida and 2024 Seed Collection Launch

 

Winter in Florida

While winter is still strong upon most of us, I have been enjoying the downtime from planting and harvesting to spend more time exploring the beauty of this time of year around where I live. The silence of the cold air is a great time to listen to the low call of a great horned owl in the evening and to watch the sparrows, flickers, and other birds that migrate South. Neighboring fields are turned gold with broomsedge, and a few young pines are quick on the offer of abandoned land and abundant sunlight.

The parsnips are the first to flower this year and have been in bloom for the past month. On warm days, their sweet smell attracts flies, ladybeetles, wasps, and bees. Incredibly, they even survived several hard freezes while flowering. They are a delight to smell and see. 

2024 Seed Collection Launch

With much anticipation, we are finally ready to announce that on February 1st the 2024 Seed Collection will launch. We had 12 seed stewards help to make 29 unique mixes with donations from 90 contributors! We are very excited to present these mixes and to see them grown out by you. 

I am personally very eager about the Cucurbita pepo mixes this year. Being in the Deep South, I have a mostly unsuccessful experience growing pepo squash because of squash bugs and vine borers, but the diversity present makes the success of these crops seem possible, especially with improved resistance in the case of the fertile interspecific moschata x pepo seeds in the mix. I have my fingers crossed that this will be the year I can grow some summer squash and marrows. 

All of the mixes are very special and contain the maximum diversity of a crop species within a single packet. Whether you are just getting started on your adaptation agriculture journey or are a seasoned grower, these mixes have much to offer for everyone.

Popular posts from the community

A few people missed out on the post about Oregon State University’s naked barley mix, but it’s not too late to plant if you want to trial some beautiful barley in a spring planting! Check out this thread for a link on where to request seed and join in the grow-out. Link here.

There is a very interesting conversation going on about what hybrid vigor involves. Scientific research on hybrid vigor suggests it has to do with microbes. Much is uncertain and we may never know, but the mystery behind the magic is worth reading about. Link here.

Lowell + G2S