As part of our association, we are currently setting up a project to grow and, above all, produce biennial seeds in a tropical climate. To do this, we are looking for vegetable seeds (carrots, radishes, onions, parsley, etc.) that are suited to this type of climate, with little or no need for vernalization. Do you have any seeds that meet these requirements? Have any trials been conducted in this area? Are there any particular varieties that you would recommend?
We thank you in advance for any advice you can give us.
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Hi Philippe,
This is a great project and I’m excited to see what comes of it. I can offer a few suggestions on seed varieties. In our Global Seed Bank catalog we carry ‘Uberlandia’ carrots (and a further improved version bred by an ECHO partner) which set seeds as annuals. The roots are not quite as palatable as a biennial carrot, but they certainly fill a niche. Something else we offer is what we call Ethiopian kale, Brassica carinata. This is a large shrub-like kale that also produces seeds without vernalization.
Another potential option, based on the experience of one of our volunteers, is the ‘Violet de Galmi’ onion from Rare Seeds. It’s a short day onion; my volunteer planted them in November here in south Florida and had full heads of seed by June. Our dry winters here meant he was able to keep them in the ground, but it was a very mild winter so I was quite impressed to see them produce seed. This is just one instance so it could be a fluke, but might be worth looking into.
I hope that helps!
Emma