As a seed grower, it is important to Lindsay to have access to varieties that are regionally-adapted and able to thrive in low-input systems. She sees the opportunity of open-pollinated seed varieties as a vital tool as the climate changes and modern hybrids may not have the same capacity to thrive in severe weather events. In recent years, the extremes of heat and drought have been a major challenge for many of her long season summer crops, like tomatillos and peppers.

Lindsay was interested in trying shade cloth on her peppers, but wasn’t sure if it would have a negative effect on fruit set or seed production. Lindsay thought that shade cloth may help certain crops produce more flowers, fruit, and seed in the heat of the summer. Since Lindsay grows many pepper varieties and their seed value is relatively high, she wanted to find out if using shade cloth would improve fruit set in pepper plants grown for seed? And how would that impact fruit yield, seed yield and seed quality (germination)?