Farm Stories and More
There's so much to report on right now that this might be a two part post. But I have to start somewhere, so here goes!
This is a picture of one of Nate's breeding projects. He's in full swing doing crosses between different varieties of one species, or different plants of the same variety. He goes out in the later afternoon or evening, after the plant has done all of its growing. He tapes the flowers of interest shut, then does the rest of his chores. In the morning he goes to the garden and untapes the two flowers involved in a particular cross. He hand pollinates one with the other, then puts a piece of flagging with the cross written on it above the flower. He has a total of 11 different projects going right now. Four of them are a "self" cross to increase the seed of a rare or failing line. The other crosses are for either making new and yummy varieties, or to take old and yummy varieties and make them better. It's a lot of work for Nate, but he loves the mental challenge and planning combined with the practical hands on experience. Plus we get to taste test the results! 
Channa on 07.31.07 @ 09:10 PM PST [more...]
