This is the haul of beans that were shucked from the mother...or what's left of them
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You can see I have them separated by grades. This being my first attempt and no experience, I pulled down to early. I was left with unmatured beans about a third of the batch. I have been using these lower grades in all my personal see pops. I have basically been testing a dozen different germination methods. I have to say, it's been pretty nice having a few hundred seeds to mess around with, and that's what gave me the idea to direct sow in the first place. I think I dropped about 40 of the lower grades about 3 inches apart. Here's what it looks like after the viable ones came up:
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a week later
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I am fairly happy with how this has gone but, I definitely gathered a ton of information for improvement. I am only ending the selection process but here are a few examples:
1. Consistent germination. -Meaning, a better comparison can be made throughout the process if the plants broke ground at the same time.
2. Should use the most viable seed. -This plays into the first one but is just as important. No questions with full genetic makeup in the final selection.
3. More is better. -This has been said before, but after dipping my toes into the water myself, I would have to agree. The variations in these poly-hybrids can be vast.
4. Cull Harder. -By nature, every plant is precious, especially if it cost you cash for the seed. But, in the end I feel I am at a better place with better plants.