In spite of the treatment I got, the seeds being not what I wanted, and the fact that all of the seeds are old (the peas are from 1994 and the beans are from 1987), I intend to continue on with the plan to use them for research. I have set up a research page that lists each variety of seeds I receive from the USDA. Each variety will get its own page with all pertinent information. For right now I'm documenting the basics; seed color, size, shape, number, weight, and where it came from. Once they're planted I also want to add information on germination rate (how many seeds actually produce a plant), as well as a time line for each variety (time from planting to seedling, from seedling to transplant, from transplant to blossom, and from blossom to fruition), and document any resulting fruit (size, color, number per plant, etc.). I hope that our observations are helpful to someone out there.
Today I got my first package back from the USDA for the seeds I requested. Each facility has different seeds, so because I ordered multiple types of seeds, I expect to get seeds from multiple facilities. I'll admit I'm a little upset with the results so far. This particular facility should have sent me one type of lettuce, two types of beans, two types of rhubarb, and one variety of catnip. Instead they sent three varieties of lettuce, one type of bean and one type of pea - none of which are the varieties I requested. They also sent a letter saying they don't work with home gardeners and pretty much told me not to make any future requests. I understand they don't want every gardener to try to get free seeds, but I was very clear that we intended these to be part of our home-schooling curriculum. Yes, it's a veggie garden - but it's also about weighing, measuring, documenting, photographing, and keeping records. As long as we're doing observations, why not do so with rare and exotic plants where our observations may be of some use?
In spite of the treatment I got, the seeds being not what I wanted, and the fact that all of the seeds are old (the peas are from 1994 and the beans are from 1987), I intend to continue on with the plan to use them for research. I have set up a research page that lists each variety of seeds I receive from the USDA. Each variety will get its own page with all pertinent information. For right now I'm documenting the basics; seed color, size, shape, number, weight, and where it came from. Once they're planted I also want to add information on germination rate (how many seeds actually produce a plant), as well as a time line for each variety (time from planting to seedling, from seedling to transplant, from transplant to blossom, and from blossom to fruition), and document any resulting fruit (size, color, number per plant, etc.). I hope that our observations are helpful to someone out there.
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