Signs of spring are popping up across the farm: 🌷 first flowers of the year are here: tulips and violas 💧vernal pool sampling is taken for water quality and population monitoring 🐷 livestock are transitioning to fresh forage 🌱 spring radishes are thriving in the greenhouse 🪚 peach trees have been pruned (fb)

Tsai tsai seed saving! This purple stem mustard is a genetic mutation off-type that occurred many years ago in our greenhouse, which means we can’t get the seed anywhere else. Every year is a labor of love as we make selections and save seed based on traits that thrive in our environment. This year we are exploring new diversity as we make selections from the F2 generation of a recently made hybrid cross. This means we are working with more genetic diversity than ever and choosing from a pool of many different traits. Selecting for: Thick stems Knobby stalks Late bloomers Selecting against: Thin stems Spindly stalks Early bolters And, as always, we are selecting for flavor. Over the years we hope to stabilize the genetics of a new variety that is uniquely acclimatized to the Hudson Valley. (fb)