NS/S Partner Gardening Project – Click here for the application
TOG has been asked to participate as part of a new gardening partnership project being formulated by Native Seeds/SEARCH. NS/S is seeking low desert gardeners who can help to grow out chiles this monsoon and fall season, and harvest seeds to return to NS/S. These seeds will help to preserve this variety for the future and to make more seeds available to gardeners through donations and sales.
Here are the details:
Variety to be grown: Del Arbol de Baja California chile
Description: The chiles are thin and approx 4″ long and of medium heat. The plants can grow to 3 or 4 feet tall (hence the name tree chile). This variety came from a communal farm in Baja CA.
NS/S commits to:
- Provide partner growers with up to 10 chile starts (more may be available for those who have additional space.)
- Hold a training session at their Conservation Center in Tucson on July 18, 6:30 – 8 pm to share information on how to grow and save seed from chiles. Starts will be handed out then.
- Be available for consultations on social media or email throughout the growing and seed saving process
- Hold a seed processing event this winter where gardeners can bring their chiles to clean and process seeds together
Partner Gardeners commit to:
- Attend the training in person on July 18
- Plant chiles in their home garden (below 3500′ elevation) in ground or in pots at least 1 gallon in size. -care for the chiles throughout the growing season
- Isolate the chiles by 300 feet from any other chile or chiltepin plants, OR cover plants with row cover or other isolation methods to prevent insects from cross pollinating
- Return half of their seed harvest to NS/S; the rest of the chiles and seeds are for the gardeners’ use.
