Saturday, January 30, 2016

No seeds this year Ei siemeniä tänä vuonna

Viime kesä oli viileä ja pilvinen väritatarta ajatellen ja vaikka sainkin värisatoa lehdistä ihan hyvin, niin kukinta alkoi myöhään ja vaikka olin ottanut kukkivat versot sisälle ennen halloja, niin en saanut niistä paljoakaan siemeniä, nekin mitä sain olivat tavanomaista pienempiä. Epäilen, että kukat eivät olleet tarpeeksi auki ja pölyttyneitä vielä siinä vaiheessa kun otin ne sisälle. Kokeilin siementen itävyyttä nyt tammikuussa ja 15 kylvetystä siemenestä nousi kahdessa viikossa pintaan huoneenlämmössä vain 5 tainta eli itävyys jäi 30%:iin normaalin lähes 100% sijaan. Saan näistä siemenistä kyllä itselleni uudet kasvit taas tulevaksi kesäksi, ja jääkaapissa on joitakin edellisvuotisia siemeniä, mutta myyntiin niistä ei riitä eivätkä siemenet oli tarpeeksi hyviä myyntiin. Jos taimia jostain syystä itää kuitenkin enemmän sitten maalis-huhtikuulla niin voin myydä ylimääräiset taimet torilla keväällä.

Ulkomailta väritattaren (Persicaria tinctoria) siemeniä saa edelleen ainakin samoista paikoista kuin aiemminkin, Saksasta Ruhlemann'silta ja USAsta Companion Plants'ilta. Harmillista, että kukaan isompi firma ei ole ottanut väritattaren siemeniä valikoimiinsa Suomessa.

IN ENGLISH
Last summer was not very good here for japanese indigo (Persicaria tinctoria), it was too cool and cloudy, and although I got good blues from the leaves, the flowering started late in September. I took some flowering stems inside before the frosts in the end of September, but they didn't produce very much seeds. I suspect that flowers were not open enough at that time and they weren't pollinated. Even the seeds I got were small, and now I tried to germinate them. I sowed 15 seed and only 5 germinated in two weeks in room temperature so the germination rate was only 30% which is not good. I will get plants for myself from these seeds and from some from previous year which I have stored in the fridge, but I don't have left over seeds to sell this year.
If I get more plants from my seeds in April that I need for myself I can sell them in the spring at the market.

From abroad you can buy japanese indigo seeds at least from Germany from Ruhlemanns and from Companion Plants from the US. It is too bad that not bigger seed company doesn't sell japanase indigo seeds here in Finland.

4 comments:

  1. I am sorry you didn't get many seeds this year. It must be difficult to get seeds in your climate. In the US there are several people, including myself, who sell seeds on Etsy. I wonder what the rules are for sending them overseas.
    Hopefully, you will have plenty of plants from your previous year's seeds. I have had about 50% germination from one year old seeds, not refrigerated.
    Keep up your good work!
    Nancy Dorrell

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    1. Hi Nancy, yes you are right, our climate is not so good for japanese indigo for seed production even though it grows well in the summer and produces quite a good blues, but flowering starts so late that we get frosts always before the seeds are even close to ready.
      I will keep you in mind if I need more seeds some year. I think japanese indigo is permitted to import to Finland so there is no problem.

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  2. Leena, I bought Polygonum seeds from Rowland Rickette's webstore at this webstore 15 g. for 18$. Good quality seeds and lots of them. They arrived safely in Iceland without any problems. https://squareup.com/store/rickettsindigo.

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    1. Hi Ambra, thanks!
      I have also bought from him three years ago, but I thought that since then he didn't sell overseas. I'm glad to know he does, as his seeds were plenty and good. I hope I will get some seeds from my own plants for myself, I don't need much as I have found out that 100-200 plants is enough for me.

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