Hello everyone, I’m proud to attempt to preserve this unique strain provided by @Upstate.
These seeds like lots of water to germinate. The largest underwater avalache recorded was partially caused by the massive (1-in-50yr) floods and rain october-december in 2019 in the DRC. It hasnt slowed down much and has washed away much of the top soil into the Congo basin and then into the ocean.
Fun Facts:
The U.S. Forest Service, found that seed from trees growing at 2,000 to 3,000 feet contained 18% more moisture than those at 6,000 to 7,000 feet, although he dried all the seeds under the same conditions.
This lower water-holding capacity of seeds from higher elevations supports Nicolai A. Maximov’s theory that plant tissues that must survive severe cold usually contain less water than those of warmer climates."
This will be the second try at germinating these seeds. They did best in flooded soil that was not rich in composition.
Tonight is a full moon…it’s said that seeds will absorb more water during the full Moon and the new Moon, when more moisture is pulled to the soil surface. This causes seeds to swell, resulting in greater germination and better-established plants. The Moon also impacts plant growth through geotropism—which is how plants grow in response to gravity.
High temperatures may kill the seed, too. The seeds with a high content of water are less tolerant of high temperatures. Sometimes, however, high levels of oxygen are not required by the living cell to obtain energy from its chemical compounds. Some seeds have an abundance of the anaerobic enzymes, which function without oxygen. These enzymes produce enough energy for certain life processes.
I added some h2o2 a few days ahead to wick up plenty of o2. Alpine spring water mixed with spring water from 1,000ft elevation. These are a farmed landrace. Not sure you can call the Congo Pointe Noire farmed. They “farm” themselves. Basically wild. May be a tougher nut to crack…
Thanks @Upstate for sending another batch of seeds for a second attempt.
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Good luck! This is really interesting. Id love to follow along. Did you soak the beans in water or between paper towels before planting?
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Is this from Tropical Seeds? Very nice sounding strain, I’ll be watching, good luck!
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I’d love to see what you do with these!
In for the ride,I have never grown land races yet so ill be paying attention to your soil and feeding
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From instagram. Benofromcongo.
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Usually with the wilder types, the plants feed themselves. Hands off is the best approach as feeding can and will quickly and easily screw things up. Normally plain old garden soil with some compost and perlite will do the trick. Any food should be placed outside of the root Zone well in advance of the roots being there. The plant will decide if it wants to eat or not.
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No. I had to hand crack all the seeds last try. Two made it then i fried them with nuits
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Interesting and enlightening, following along here!
Soupy mud in those trays, at first glance I thought you were building a stone walkway or something. Haha
Best of luck!!
Grace and Peace
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Red clay. Also a ph buffer.
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In most places the soil is sandy clay or sandy clay loam, ranging in colour from reddish brown through ochre to yellowish brown and even white. The soils are acidic, and the layer of humus is thin. If exposed to the strong equatorial sun and high rainfall, as when the forest vegetation is cleared by Bantu farmers, the soil deteriorates rapidly, recovering only if it is again taken over by secondary forest. Traditionally, farmers have practiced “shifting cultivation” to allow the fragile soils to regenerate.
The trees of the forest range in size from small saplings just inches in diameter to gigantic hardwoods reaching to heights of 170 feet (52 metres). Like the pillars of a Gothic cathedral, these giant trees are buttressed; roots run down their sides and extend great distances across the forest floor, making the ground a labyrinth of roots that anchor the trees and grab scarce nutrients from the shallow forest soil. In places where the high canopy is nearly continuous, only small, elusive patches of sunlight reach the forest floor. The lack of light at lower levels is accentuated by the darkness of the foliage of the few shrubs and small trees that can grow under such shaded conditions. Where gaps occur in the upper canopy, herbaceous plants with long leaves resembling those of the banana plant take advantage of the available light and grow in dense stands.
Always there is the sound of myriad insects. Cicadas perch on tree trunks and emit an irritating buzz that seems designed to drive any intruder to madness. Army ants advance in columns, audibly cracking the bodies of their insect prey. Seemingly endless lines of migrating butterflies flutter through the understory and sometimes congregate in colourful displays along streambeds. The buzzing of bees, busily plying the treetops in search of sweet nourishing nectar, is ever present.
While magnificent, the forest with its constant high humidity and dark interior may seem oppressive to some.
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I just chatted with Beno, and he says he plants straight into soil. Two seeds to a pot. Germination is pretty good… Looks like the landrace team is carrying this Congo now if you want a decent description. These were collected in Buenza… flowering time 14 to 16 weeks
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Thats incredibly helpful. Thank you for getting more info so i can accurately recreate the environment as closely as possible.
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Fygtree and eclectic weeds on IG have grown it. If you reach out to them I’m sure they’d be willing to share anything they learned. I think plain old garden soil would be best for these, cut with some perlite for air
Believe it or not, even plain old black gold garden soil will work. If anything, throw some compost in there in small proportions. Plants were selected in the field on a large Plantation where the plants pretty much care for themselves
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Don’t be afraid to reach out to Benofromcongo on IG. Tell him Landracer3 sent you. Same thing with the other guys, tell them your affiliation with myself and Beno
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I have a dumping place for my used soil that gets very little sun. Its been tilled with the soil/clay from the valley. Didnt register much nuits when i checked. I’ve germinated carrots and water melons in this exact soil a month ago. I let them die off last week to make sure any extra nuits got used before i started. Only added black bull 1-1-1 to it when i dumped the last recycled soil 2+ months ago. It was well drained before I started the carrots and watermelons.
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So far ive followed what you and he has recommended. Ill be doing research today on the area and I’ll find gentleman you have mentioned and find out their own experience’s.
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I do the same thing. Use my soil up for hybrids, and once it’s good and weak use the land races in it
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No need to hand crack this time. Things are looking good so far. Maybe some helmet heads but no hand cracking.
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Ive read into the irrigation techniques their useing. Soil is a bit more sandy in that area then what i had posted earlier in the thread. Eucalyptus plantations sounded interesting and i figured if these are being cultivated seeds and then sold chances are it’s not in the middle of a jungle. They seem to have a scientific approach to soil management on these plantations. The southern one is close to a very large rain forest. But the plantation soil is much different.
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Had to hand crack these buggers. But the soil did seem to work a little better. (Compared to peat pucks)
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