This one Chard was in a packet of Beetroot. It has outperformed any other Chard we have, & flourished all through the Winter.
Seems sensible to try to save seed. Any advice?
I'm not sure but I think Beet needs isolating...
:-\
Quote from: tim on April 26, 2008, 08:39:40
This one Chard was in a packet of Beetroot. It has outperformed any other Chard we have, & flourished all through the Winter.
Seems sensible to try to save seed. Any advice?
chard is biennial so you'll need to wait awhile, pick seed pods when brownish and then dry completely and gently (some people microwave their seeds but ????)
This was sown at this time last year.
QuoteI'm not sure but I think Beet needs isolating...
It will require isolating from any other beet in flower within wind blowing distance, but how many beetroot normally run to flower at a similar time. With just one plant it may be practical to cover with some sort of muslim bag and just give an occasional shake. Well worth the attempt.
Quote from: tim on April 26, 2008, 10:49:23
This was sown at this time last year.
oh well not long then, especially if it gets warm and dry now ::)
Beet? We're talkng about Chard?
Certainly no other similar thing within a stone's throw.
Now I know this says beetroot but read on:
QuoteSaving Beetroot Seed:
Beetroot seed is fairly easy, provided you don't have any chard or leaf beet flowering nearby.
Beetroot flower in their second year, so you need to either leave them in the ground overwinter,
or dig up your beetroots in Autumn. Lay them all out so you can compare them, and select the best 10 - 15 roots:
Make sure you choose ones that are true-to-type: right colour, shape & size.
If your area has cold winters, store them in sand or sawdust in a cool but frost-free place, and plant out in spring.
(the ideal is about 5-10 C and 95% humidity). Otherwise in milder areas, replant them straight away where you want them to grow.
The next summer they will flower (to about 5 foot high!). They will probably need staking so that they don't fall over.
Remember, that they will cross with any other flowering beetroots, chard or leaf beet nearby. The flowers are wind pollinated.
... Your seed will be ready in late summer. Just rub the seed off when it is mostly brown.
You will get huge amounts of seed: dry it well, and it will be good for 3 or more years.
from http://www.realseeds.co.uk/beetroot.html of course.
Quote from: tim on April 26, 2008, 13:03:00
Beet? We're talkng about Chard?
Certainly no other similar thing within a stone's throw.
same family but it sounds like it will be fine with no other nearby - it is always good and fun to save your own seeds but it does mean that the plants are in the ground for a longer period of time taking up precious room so not always easy to do :)
Quote from: Eristic on April 26, 2008, 11:56:26
QuoteI'm not sure but I think Beet needs isolating...
It will require isolating from any other beet in flower within wind blowing distance, but how many beetroot normally run to flower at a similar time. With just one plant it may be practical to cover with some sort of muslim bag and just give an occasional shake. Well worth the attempt.
What's a muslim bag please?!
I think it's a muslin bag.
QuoteWhat's a muslim bag please?!
I did run it through the spell chequer, honest.
I believe beetroot will cross polinate with swiss chard. This may have been what created the plant in the first place.
I was shown a way once by an avid seed collector.
After flowering, before the seeds dry out he would pick the stalk with a seed head on it then hang it upside down and suspend a brown paper bag to catch the seed when it dried.
That's the joy of spellcheckers Eristic, they never pick up words spelt correctly, even if they are the wrong word!
Beetroot, Chard and Leaf Beet are all botanically the same but just selected for different bits so they will all interbreed, but also gives Tim a good chance of having a crop of "improved" chard for the future... could even market it if he can stablilise it!!. It was a random change in a packet of "BEETROOT" seeds.
;D