Birth Announcement We Have Tomato Sprouts

While most were out celebrating on New Year's Eve, I was planting tomato seeds.  This might seem very early to begin planting, but I plant out my tomato seedlings in mid-March, they will be large strong plants by that time and able to withstand the cooler temperatures.

Photo's taken on January 6, 2014

Green Zebra (2) Dr. Wyche's (2) Gold Medal (2)

German Queen (2) Cherokee Purple (4) plants

 San Marzano (3) Southern Night (1) Flame/Hillbilly (2) plants

 Not showing yet is Green Grape (1)  Brown Cherry (1) Sundrop Orange Cherry (1) Bi-color Cherry (1) plants.  In the middle is Poha (Physalis peruviana) also known as Cape Gooseberry and Peruvian Groundcherry (2) this is seeds I saved from my plants last year and I sure hope they come in because the fruit is delicious.

Not showing yet is Big White Pink Stripe (2) Black Krim (2) Chocolate Stripe (2) plants

 This is the same group of seedlings with photo taken on Jan 8.  Some seeds are not coming in so I will re-seed again.  Some of the seed packages I have are a year or two old and may not make it. I have plenty of seeds to germinate and plenty of time yet to try.  I am giving these a few hours of sun from the window each day now. I also will hook up a grow bulb tomorrow to give them more hours of light.

This tray still not showing their faces, Big White Pink Stripe, Black Krim, and Chocolate Stripe

Still no sign of Green Zebra, will need to re-seed this one as it is one of our favorites.

This tray is a no show yet.  These are a blend of cherry tomatoes called Rainbow Blend from Botanical Interests.  The seeds are several years old and may not show. I will plant more in here and see if they will come in.

Henderson's Ponderosa is coming in very well with most seeds already up.  I will have at least 6 of these plants. One of my favorites, very prolific and is really nice for canning and freezing whole.

At least two of German Queen is up now and this was seed that I had for 2 years from Seeds of Change.  Cherokee Purple is from Botanical Interests and some seeds I saved from years past.

San Marzano and Flame, also known as Hillbilly coming in strong. I will have at least four San Marzano.

I have already used all of my canned and frozen tomatoes so this year I will be planting far more tomatoes. In the past I have had at least 12 plants, but last year I only put in 6 plus two cherry tomato plants. Not enough!

Still Picking Tomatoes...

I am picking about 100+ tomatoes every other day, or so.  My dining room table has become the holding place until I can get to them to can and freeze. So far I have put up 16 quarts.  About a third of these are stewed tomatoes and the rest whole or cut tomatoes and a few pints of sauce. 

The San Marzano tomato plants were pretty much a loss this year. Most ended up with blossom end rot.  I have planted two more plants in different locations in the hopes that we will have a long summer and they will produce the wonderful plum tomato I like to use for roasting for sauce.  If not I will just use the tomatoes we are so lucky to have now.

This year the Ponderosa, a new variety for me, is really doing well.  The plant is loaded and for the last week I have been picking daily.

Mortgage Lifter is another heavy producer but these are salad size tomatoes and take a lot of time to fill a jar for canning.  I don't think I will bother with this one next year. If you are looking for a good salad tomato, this would be the right one to choose.

Gold Medal is a large yellow tomato with red stripes, a beefsteak tomato.  We have two or three of these plants and they are all producing huge fruit, I picked one a couple of days ago and it weighed in at 1.5 pounds.

Big White Pink Stripe is not a white tomato at all but a yellow with red stripes.  Huge fruit and very meaty like a beefsteak.  I like this one and it is visually pleasing on the plate.  It is very similar to Gold Medal.

Also doing well is Green Zebra and Black Krim. Black Krim is another beauty when sliced.  I have canned all but the Green Zebra as it is just ripening now.  The Black Krim, Cherokee Purple and Annas Russian Pink look beautiful in the jars. Black Krim of course is gorgeous with the dark purple color and green seeds.  Probably the prettiest canned tomatoes I have ever made.

Paul Robeson Black did not produce well for me but what I did get was good and very pretty.  All of the tomatoes I planted this year have had wonderful flavor.

Persimmon, a yellow/orange tomato is not ripe yet but should be coming in soon.  The plants are sparse with fruit; not sure what happened but last year I had a lot of this variety.  German Queen is ripening now and will be a good one to can. 

Purple Russian is one I will repeat next year. It is a dark purple egg shaped fruit and is very meaty.  I made some sauce with this one and it was very tasty and the color was fantastic.

Southern Night is another dark purple tomato.  The plants are loaded with fruit, I am picking over 12 a day.

I also managed to make some Peach Jam and Jalapeno Peach Jam.  

I Bought A Pet Tomato

I bought a pet tomato
and I tried to teach him tricks,
but he wasn't any good at
catching balls or fetching sticks.

He could never catch a Frisbee,
and he wouldn't sit or speak,
though we practiced every afternoon
and evening for a week.

He refused to shake or wave or crawl
or beg or take a bow,
and I tried, but couldn't make him bark
or get him to meow.

He was excellent at playing dead.
However, he couldn't jump a rope.
When he wouldn't do a single trick
I simply gave up hope.

Though I liked my pet tomato,
I returned him with regret.
Boy, I sure do hope this watermelon
makes a better pet.
 -Devang Gandhi

105 Tomatoes in Two Days

They are really coming in now.  I picked a total of 105 on Sunday and Monday.  Many of these were small, but I was able to get a few large Cherokee Purple and Southern Night.  Some of Ponderosa are coming in now too.  San Marzano continues to struggle and I will probably pull it out.  I do have two that I planted a couple of weeks ago and hopefully these will do better. I think the problem with San Marzano may be due to the cooler weather this spring and summer. 

The last couple of nights was down to 61 degrees, days only reaching around 79.  Seems very cool for the middle of July.  This is the reason I keep planting more tomato seedlings that I still have left.  I feel that we will have a late summer and why not add more plants...I pulled out a couple of the summer squash plants that had started to spread.  When this happens I know the plant is beginning to slow down. I can't see using up that space when I would only get a few squash a day. I still have plenty in the refrigerator and I do have several other summer squash plants still growing and supplying us with plenty of squash each day.  I will plant another German Queen and maybe another Ponderosa or Black Krim.  I am hoping to have a huge crop of tomatoes to can and freeze.  Not sure how many I will be roasting this year as I think my oven is on the blink (again).  It is an electric Kitchenaid stove.  I had one of the heating elements replaced a year or two ago, but when I went to roast a pan of squash on Sunday, the oven didn't seem to heat up.  I guess I will call a repairman again and see what's up.  Appliances just don't last very long anymore. You are lucky to get 5 years out of them!

 "For him in vain the envious seasons roll
Who bears eternal summer in his soul."
-  Oliver Wendell Holmes, The Old Player

 Better get busy outdoors now.  Here are a few photos just to keep my blog up to date for review.

Tomato Update, Shabby Window Project, and Flowers!

Planted by a Feathered Friend

A feathered friend planted all these Sunflowers for us.  They are taking up some of the space I would have used for vegetables but I love them so much and since they are a gift from one of our hardworking birds, we will leave them.  I am sure they will really enjoy the fruits of their labor when the seed heads start drying.

A few Black Radishes I picked this morning. Most are bolting to seed now so I don't think I will get many more like the large one.  We did have a good winter/spring crop tho and I am grateful for these to add to my sandwich tomorrow.

The tomatoes are growing super fast this year, I have 22 planted and still have some back-up seedlings to find space for.  You never know when a disease will hit and I don't want to be short of tomatoes.  I will include some pictures to keep my blog updated.  We also planted Orange Watermelon Seeds and  Charentais Cantaloupe Seeds, but they are so small I didn't take pictures.  We are also growing two types of Eggplant, a slender white and purple; these are behind the tomatoes along the driveway. I will get pictures of these later and add them.

Bed # 1 has 2 San Marzano, 1 Purple Russian, 1 Paul Robeson Black, and 1 Persimmon Orange.  Swiss Chard along the front row.

Bed # 2 has Green Zebra, Cherokee Purple, Big White Pink Stripe, Gold Medal, German Queen Pink and Anna Russian Pink

Bed # 3 has Gold Medal (replaced Flamme Orange) Crimson Carmello, Mortgage Lifter, Black Krim, and Big White Pink Stripe.

 

View of all 3 Tomato Beds

Bed along driveway.  This is Swiss Chard and a Ponderosa Tomato.  Onions in the background and an Iris on the left, which I need to relocate in the fall.

 Tony made 4 new Tomato Cages for me. I really like these because I will be able to relocate them on my own.  The larger ones in the raised beds are tough to store and I need help when putting them in the beds.  I hope he makes more of these for me.  They measure about 18 inch square and are 7 feet tall.

New Tomato Cage

A volunteer mystery tomato, probably a San Marzano but will be happy with whatever..  Garlic on the right of tomato. 

2 Southern Night Tomatoes and 1 Gold Medal Tomato

Cocozelle Zucchini

White Scallop Squash growing under Tangerine Tree

White Scallop Squash and 3 Colors of Patty Pan Squash

Onions we're growing from last years seeds.

Tony is growing 6 miniature corn plants. These are in Bed # 4 along with the onions.

Back up tomato plants

 I recovered my chair cushions and made a couple of small pillows to go along with them. I think they turned out nice.  Cheaper than buying new cushions!

Shabby Window Project

 I finally finished two of the windows I bought at an estate sale more than a year ago.  I hung one by the chairs (above) and this one by my purple table.

Violets are blooming

Front Bank with Nasturtiums, Calundula and Iris, among others!

Heartsease self seeded from last year

Sour Grape Penstemon

Penstemon, Scabiosa, small Hollyhock plant

Rose Campion and Violet Pathway

Cherry Parfait Rose on West side of house.

Marmalade Skies Rose on front bank

Tigress Rose on West wall of house.

Shabby Chair Project (the cactus to the left is a Crested Cactus from Tonys' collection. It is in bloom now)

 Now I must get going on my shabby chair project. I have stapled chicken wire to the chair and will line that with coconut fiber and plant succulents in it. I started to paint the chair a soft shade of  purple, but have decided to go with Behr brand (Home Depot) paint called Cilantro Cream.  I think it will look better with the succulents next to that color than with the purple.

"...the love of gardening is a seed that once sown never dies, but always grows and grows to an enduring and ever-increasing source of happiness."

-Gertrude Jekyll