Patti, you're an angel! Thank you!

>> but if it were me I would hand pollinate just to be on the safe side.

I can't do it today, but I'll do some searching and type up something about how to hand-pollinate. Unless someone who already knows how gets there first! Is it about the same for watermelons and antelopes?

I'm thinking that we should make a couple of different pools:

1. bagged and hand-pollinated (I have organza bags and will share)

2. grown isolated from nearby neighbor watermelon patches

3. not sure about isolation.

4. grown right near XYZ varieties, so expect some interesting offspring

The third pool would probably still be pure enough for seed sharing, whether that is 90% pure or 99%. But it seems desirable to get the cleanest possible seeds when they are coming right out of one seed vault and then being offered to the USDA and NCSU research breeding programs.

Dave also volunteered, on the other thread!


Woofie,

>> Have you tried to enlist volunteers from the Heirloom forum?

Yup! I put similar posts both here in "Edibles" and in "Heirlooms".


>> "How many seeds would be reasonable to request"

I think you're right. Tonight I can say "we have so-many volunteers right now, and don't want any risk of losing it again. If we get 5 volunteers, do you think it's reasonable to ask for 100 seeds, or can you spare more than that? "

I would assume they would archive more than an ounce, hence more than 700. But how many do they save to plant out every 6 or so years?

I wonder if they would trust us to do their 2014 multiplication for them? Like we send them back more than an ounce of seed, labeled by each location it was propagated at? That would feel prestigious!

Yes. I think it would be better to ask their opinion, rather than appear either too greedy, or too small-time. Heh, and would also serve to draw them into our project. Wish I could volunteer to help, but I have had no luck growing melons of any sort here in the frozen northland.
And, at least with morning glories, hand-pollinating is just a matter of a small paint brush. Although, I'm sure there are considerations about the optimal time of day to pollinate and beat the bees to it!

No reply back from Dr. Gashkova this morning. I said that we would split however many seeds she sent over several growing sites. I also mentioned that two sites were already identified with over one kilometer of isolation.

On the other thread, Chelle and Jay / Horntoad have also volunteered to grow them out!

My guess is that "for sure" they can spare a few grams, and if so, we would have enough for another few volunteers.

How wonderful, Rick! All of your hard work has been rewarded with success!

Please sign me up as a volunteer if you are still needing growers.

I would love to volunteer but I can't because I grow other melons for market AND I'm really not having much luck growing them either!

Thanks, Christine!

When we find out how many they consider reasonable, we'll divide them up.

Interesting: the volunteers are four Texans, one Oregonian, and one Indianan. Indianaian?

Good news! Dr. Irina says "yes" but needs permission form her boss, and he needs a letter from us or from an institute.


Dear Mr Richard Corey,

I shall prepare this accession for a dispatch.It is long. I need your
e-mail-letter with address of your post but better if will letter and
address of a institute or a other establishment. Our first boss has e-mail
[email protected], you send your letter for Nicolay Dzubenko. I must
have a permission of my boss for this dispatch. You write, that 1
accession of water-melon need for a study and a trials of field, give a
number of accession, a name and a origin. All!.

Regards,

Irina Gashkova


Ideally, I would give the return address of some "institute or other establishment".

Bob Jarret at USDA / ARS / said:
>> I think it would make a useful addition to the USDA collection – so we’d be pleased to add it,

So I think I should ask him to email the boss at Vavilov and request seeds, then forward some to us for multiplying. First I'll ask Irina if sending to the USDA gene bank is a problem. If so, I could ask Dr. Wehner at NCSU – Raleigh to ask for us.

Irina has never commented on numbers of seed, so I'm not going to rock the boat. Best if they just do whatever they usually do.

What do y'all think?

I think that sounds like a good plan!

That sounds like a good plan.

Great, I'll ask Irina today and then probably Bob tomorrow.

Rick, have I told you lately that you're amazing?

"Watch me pull this rabbit out of my hat!"

Good one woofie!

and

Stacy, you must be getting pretty excited!

yes, i'm super excited! I'm blown away by all the work that Rick has done. There really aren't words to express how thankful we are...

I found Schochler Watermelon seeds at Seed Saver Exchange: http://www.seedsavers.org/onli...

Way to go, Patti! Did you by any chance order some?

I just ordered me a pack.

woofie said:Way to go, Patti! Did you by any chance order some?

I did

Yea! I got a letter from them in the Spring, but my kids threw it away before I could respond to her. I couldn't remember which company it was. THANK YOU SOOOOOO MUCH!!!
Stacy