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Originally Posted by BigVanVader
what would you say is the minimum melon varieties I would need to grow to get enough genes for a good landrace? I love melons more than anything but they are nearly impossible to grow here w/o pesticides.
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Depends on the genetic diversity of what you start out with. If you start with a landrace, chances are pretty good that there'd be enough genetic diversity in it that something might work for you. When planting a packet of landrace seeds, it's like each seed is a unique variety, so it's an easy way to trial lots of varieties at little cost.
I trialed about 80 commercial/heirloom varieties when starting my muskmelon landrace. Most of them didn't even produce fruits, though some of the non-fruiting plants contributed pollen.
These days, when I start new landrace projects, I feel really content if I have about 5 different varieties in the beginning.
I really like getting seeds from the local farmer's market from farmers that are growing organically. Even if they are using commercial seeds, at least they are choosing varieties that do well under local conditions. In my initial muskmelon planting, I included seeds from melons obtained from 5 different local growers.