Ranunculus: New Methods & Ideas

[@s.azpillaga4320]

Thank you for the information. Excellent resource!

[@BareMtnFarm]

Thank you so much. Very nice to hear! Thanks for watching.😊

[@dgraham4966]

Hi Tony, Great video yet again!! What plant material are you using for the Cal Phos FPJ?

[@ArtByKarenEHaley]

Man I really love ranunculus. I plan to experiment with flower breeding this year. I will be trying it out with zinnias. I had some red single zinnias cross naturally with some pink doubles in 2020, in 2021 I grew a lovely partly double magenta red from those seeds. I'd love to learn how to do it with ranunculus, although I have found hardly any information on saving ranunculus seed or sprouting seed. Seems most people propagate them with the corms.

[@BareMtnFarm]

Well, from a cut flower standpoint the corms are true to the variety. They do produce seed but I have a feeling that it could be challenging but fun to try creating your own varieties. For stability and staying genetically true the asexual reproduction through corms would be they way to go.

[@ArtByKarenEHaley]

@@BareMtnFarmGood point, it would make sense that growing true to form is important for the cut flower grower. I imagine it's the same for the home gardener, the typical person wants to know what they are getting. I suppose that must be why it's much more common to find information about starting them from corms, since it's the most widely used method. But to get new varieties someone else has probably grown them from seed, since like you said the corms are asexually produced and are copies of their parent. In the fall I plan get some seed from Park Seed- it's the only place I've seen with seed available. and get some corms. I'll see if the seed started varieties and corm grown varieties will cross breed and create viable offspring.

[@ElderandOakFarm]

I'm experiementing with them in a few different areas this year, and starting them at a few different times, but for the hoophouse where I'll have MOST of them, I'm trying to figure out when to start them to try to get them to where they are blooming as soon as the tulips are done blooming. I dont have a very large customer base, so I don't have the need for a ton of blooms per week, so if I can maximize my plantings to where they're not all blooming at once, that'd be better for me... I know I have heard people say they take about 90 days from presprout to bloom, but I don't know if that's growing them in the spring into summer, or winter into spring or either way. I am thinking about presprouting them mid December, planting them out beginning of January, in the hopes that they will be finished blooming before the heat hits late april, early may.

[@Whipporwhill]

Do you still aerate the corms with a fish tank aerator prior to pre-sprouting?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Yes, we still use the aeration method with air stones. Bubble for about 3 to 4 hours or till plump. Thank you for watching.

[@ElderandOakFarm]

Do you think putting some water from my hose into a barrel for a couple days will be sufficient for the chlorine to be out of the water?

[@elaineelmore9522]

Do you think that starting now is too late for us in Zone 9b? We are low 70s to mid 70 through June... I’ll presoak and presprout... Thank you so much for the help!

[@ElderandOakFarm]

Do you have a special water coming out of your drip or is it regular water? Im curious if it's even worth trying to build all of the biology in my soil if I have chlorine in my water coming out of the hose and drip...?

[@FlowerFarmerAmy]

Interesting to hear how you handled the tomato crop; did you removed the branches and just leave the roots in the ground to decompose? We had 2-3 ft high debris left from the tomato crop.

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Amy Crawford We were pruning the tomatoes to a central leader all throughout the season so by the end year the debris level wasn't that great. We simply chopped the-plants into pieces laid it on top of the hay/straw mulch and covered it with the urban compost.

[@jonathanleiss914]

Can you show some details on your drop-down curtain design?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Jonathan Leiss Sorry I'm so late on this but check out our video on Garden Hacks if you haven't already seen it. We talk about the side shield on our tunnel

[@rachelnafis3862]

What are your thoughts on making JMS (all the same ingredients) but aerating it? :)

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Rachel Nafis. Well you can aerate the inoculated JMS but it would no longer be JMS but what is known as Actively Aerated Compost Tea(AACT). The two processes yield two completely different cultures or microbes. Traditional JMS which has no aeration will yield a culture of some aerobic bacteria, a high degree of facultative anaerobic bacteria, a good culture of protozoa , fungal spores and actinomycetes. The AACT selects for mostly aerobic bacteria, some actinomycetes and fungal spores. Both have beneficial uses in soil biology. However, the JMS process is simpler and requires no equipment other than a bucket, water, a potato, and a mesh sack for inoculating the water.😀

[@dddev641]

Can you reccomend any books on KNF and Jadeem principles ?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Deb D It is a little difficult to find specific books on Korean Natural farming as developed by Han Kyu Cho. However if you join the Korean Natural Farming facebook group this site has a lot of great info to get you started. Regarding JADAM which was developed by Youngsang Cho who is Master Han Kyu Cho's son information to get you started on his system is available at his KZbin Channel kzbin.info/door/pLIq2dhpu34qkIyyaeEGxw and you can purchase his book on Amazon. If you like you can use our Amazon storefront at www.amazon.com/shop/baremtnfarm?listId=30RMMTKNLFXN3

[@elaineelmore9522]

What do you use for your low hoops?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Elaine Elmore The hoops used over the ranunculus are made from Utility grade 3/4" black poly irrigation pipe that we purchased from Home Depot(Hardware store) Its purchased in 100' rolls at about $20 USD. we cut these in 8' lengths and suspend them over 3/8" fiberglass fence rods.

[@dddev641]

Can you explain what JMS is please ?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Deb D JMS stand for Jadam Microorganism Solution . What this is a non-aerated tea made from biologically active leaf mold soil, sea-salt, and a boiled potato as a food source. This tea is highly bacterial plus a healthy dose of soil protozoa and is used primarily as a soil drench preplanting to help loosen soil and provide a boost to soil biology.

[@gapey]

What kind of pests are attracted to ranunculus?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Gapeys Grub. I'm sure there is a long list. However, our most common pests in western Oregon seem to be aphids, earwigs, slugs/snails, and voles. As for diseases it seems the plants are hypersensitive to salinity levels so ph that is alkali could be a hinderance. as for diseases there is Botrytis, root rots like pythium or erwinia ,and of course powdery mildew. The key is watch your watering and keep good airflow, don't plant too densely and watch the use of plastic ground covers that can impede airflow and retain too moist of a soil environment. Other than all these things there a snap to grow.....😉

[@splishshinesplash]

@@BareMtnFarm I recently planted some ranunculus and have been seeing holes in the leaves or entire leaves gone. Wondering if this is from insects? If so, any tips that you can share on how to manage this?

[@BareMtnFarm]

Hi @Shiwen Chen most likely your describing slug damage. Make sure the areas around the plants are as clear as possible of dead but uncomposted residues also make sure the area has a chance to be well ventilated and get sufficiently surface dry between waterings. Over watering and high humidity plus residue to hid in during the day make for great slug conditions. If the infestation is bad, you may want to use something like Sluggo which is essentially iron phosphate pellets.