Here is a picture of the pumpkin I grew.  I usually have lots of them, but this year, I only had 5.  This was the biggest one.  It was a fun one.  My son weighed it for me and it weighed in at 47.5 pounds.

I have already received the bulk of my 2016 seed catalogs and have already began choosing the new varieties I want to grow.  I can't wait.  

Friday, 4 September 2015

Yay.  I have more pictures.  Harvesting is the best part of gardening.  So rewarding.


Below is a picture of my Super Fantasics.  I think these are beautiful.  They are blemish free, disease resistant, and uniform in size.  The flavor is also great and they make a great slicing tomato.  This is my first year growing this variety and I'm liking what I see and liking how they taste.  I grow Celebrity every year.  It has always been my favorite regular tomato but this may well be a tie.

  SUPER FANTASTIC

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Here is a picture of my Big Beefs.  These taste great as well.  It is hard to determine the productivity of these.  I have neighbors who help themselves and these are right by the fence we share.  Next year they will be grown in my other garden....far far away from greedy hands.  So I can measure productivity more accurately then.

BIG BEEF

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Here are my romas.  These Yaquis are amazing, wonderful, and just plain fun.  Both pictures are of the same variety.  The tomato on the left is "store" normal.  The one on the right is so much

larger and is the biggest one so far this year.  While this variety grows many "store" size tomatoes,

it also grows many larger ones.  The one on the left is just one of the smaller ones.  

YAQUI (romas)

YAQUI (romas)

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This picture is one of the new varieties I tried this year.  It is a Speckled Roman.  It is kind of pretty with the yellow streaks.  While this plant isn't even in the ball park of productivity as the Yaquis are, these were quite tasty as far as romas go.  I will try these again next year.  Maybe we will have a normal weather summer.

SPECKLED ROMAN

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I've also picked some Big Zacs too.  I love the taste of these beefsteak tomatoes.  They are wonderful and probably my favorite as far as taste goes. This variety is also one of the biggest varieties I grow.  I usually take pictures when I pick them, but when my husband or my children pick them, they all go into one big bowl.  Then I don't know which is what.  

Jetsetter produced tomatoes earlier then the majority of my other plants.  However, they didn't produce a bumper crop.  I question the weather or if that is normal for this variety.  I will grow those next year as well.

31 August 2015, Monday

I was out in my garden and I have two more pictures to post.  Below are my yellow tomatoes.  I love these.  They are very mild in flavor.  Lemon Boy is my favorite yellow variety.  I've tried others, but these perform well, are disease resistant, and for the most part, blemish free.

LEMON BOY

Here are some cucumbers I picked today.  I haven't picked any since Friday, so they are huge.  Even that chubby Armenian on the left side.

CUCUMBERS

31 August 2015, Monday

This is Kinley.  She is 3 years old.  She is the reason I have absolutely no peppers this year.  When I plant my seedlings, she knows that where ever there is a plant sticking up from the ground that directly beneath that is a fun little squishy ball (i.e. my peat pellet) to play with.  She dug up every last one of them.  But just look at that face.  How could I be too mad at her?  Besides, I knew she would probably do that because this wasn't the first year for that kind of behavior.  I usually fence them off so she can't get to them. However, this year, after I planted them, I had to go do jr. high carpool, so I brought her inside for the 20 minutes I would be gone.  But dear old hubby let her out while I was gone.  I tried to  salvage some of the pieces, but peppers aren't particularly hardy to that kind of trauma.

The weather was wonky this year.  I can't say my tomatoes thrived.  I always have tomatoes by mid July.  This year it was more like mid August and I still have plants that have yet to produce a red tomato.  My romas did well though.  I think they were able to set the most fruit before the 100 degree temperatures hit, which this year, came a month earlier than usual.

YAQUI (romas)

So far I have been able to can about 26 lbs.  I've made mostly tomato sauce (on the left) and diced tomatoes (on the right).  I won't be doing any salsa this year because I have no peppers.

My zucchini did well.  I planted 3 types of summer squash.  The two varieties I plant every year is Magda and Barq.  Barq, by far, outproduced Magda, so this is the last year for Magda.  The new variety I tried this year was Golden Egg.  I don't recommend this variety because it isn't very disease resistant.  If you have pristine dirt, then go ahead.  My dirt has lots of "wilt".

BARQ

The above picture is the Barq.  I love the color.  Below is the Magda. And the ratio captured here is pretty much the production ratio.

MAGDA

My cucumbers also did well, in spite of the wonky weather.  I grew several types.
I grew:  Armenian, Japanese, Barese, Sweet Slice, Sweet Success, and  Sweeter yet.  The Armenian cucumbers were interesting to look at.  They are the color of the Barq squash.  They were firmer in texture, but they weren't as sweet as the regular cucumbers.  So, I probably won't grow those again.  The Japanese cucumbers tasted great, but their shape was a little weird.  They were much bigger on one end than the other.  I probably won't grow those again, only because I get better production from the 3 regular varieties I grow.

This picture above is a little dark.  The one on the right is the Armenian.  Below is the Barese cucumber. This was a great novelty cucumber.

BARESE CUCUMBER

The taste was great and texture was slightly firmer than that of regular cucumbers.  I gave one of these plants to my sister in law and her kids loved them.  Mine did too.

Now the other 3 varieties I listed above are truly my favorite "regular" cucumbers that I grow.  They are never bitter, even when they are completely overgrown because they were hiding under a leaf until they outgrew it.  The seeds are a little more expensive, but IMHO, they are definitely worth it.  I will grow these every year.  YUMMY!





Now for the tomatillos.  I love my tomatillos.  These plants are hardy and so very productive.  I only had 4 plants this year, but they are covered with these cute little tomatillos.

TOMATILLOS

I've already turned 5 - 6 lbs of these into my Green Enchilada sauce.  And I have more to come.

My cherry tomatoes have been fun.  They are great additions to salads.  I also take a handful in my lunch when I go to work.

This year I planted a new variety of bean.  It is called the Red Noodle.  In the picture below they look black, but they are actually a burgundy color.  When I steam them, then they look black.  I have put them in stir frys this summer.  They are a novelty item.  I don't think I will grow them next year. They weren't as sweet as the green varieties or the trionfo violetto ones (they are purple).  The Red Noodle pole bean is fine for a stir fry but I don't think I would want to sit down and eat a helping of them on their own.

RED NOODLE POLE BEAN

Here is a picture of some of my garden treasures.

Pictures of my pumpkins are too come.  They did not do so well.  I usually have 30 pumpkins on my porch every Halloween.  This year, instead of a lot of little to medium sized pumpkins, I only have one great big one.  It weighed in at 47.5 lbs.  While it is fun to look at, I wish I had more.

Tuesday, 7 April 2015

I have a shelving unit in my craft room with lights attached.  I start all of my little seeds under these lights.

This flat contains my petunias.  I use the small peat pellets for these.  I also use the small ones for any spring veggies that I grow and also for most of my herbs.

The pictures below are of my tomato seedlings.  When my plants get too tall for the above shelves, I move them to this stand where I can adjust the light height.  The leaves tend to burn and curl when allowed to stay in contact with the lights.

I also use the largest peat pellets I can find for these.

Thursday, 2 April 2015

I need to get my pictures posted.  My tomato seedlings are big.

My romas all came up except 2, same with my cherry tomatoes.  My tomatillos didn't perform as well.  Only half came up.  The seeds were only a year old, so I'm not sure what the deal was there. All of my other tomatoes came up very well.  So they are thriving too.

My peppers are still coming up.  So I will post those results soon.

My herbs did well, except thyme.  I reseeded those peat pellets on Monday.  So hopefully they will come up.  I planted:  Lemon Basil, Genovese Basil, Sweet Large Italian Basil, Summer Savory, Sorrel, Marjoram, Sage, Fenugreek, Greek Oregano, Italian Oregano, Summer Thyme, Flat Leaf Parsely, Cilantro, Cress.

My flowers, especially the petunias, did very well. Dichondra also came up.  The others are still coming up.

I built a new light station for my taller plants, so they wouldn't get burned when they started touching the lights.

I will try and post pictures, once I get my taxes done.

22 February 2015

I started my tomato seedling.  I planted the following on 2-14-15:

tomatillos - 8

Tomato (cherry)
yellow pear - 1
sweet 100's - 3
sweet million - 3
Mexico midget - 1 (first trial run)
sweet gold - 3
sun Sugar - 3
sugary - 3

Tomato (determinate/romas)
Heinz 1370 - 6
Yaqui - 20

Tomato (indeterminate)
Early Girl - 1
New Girl - 1
Goliath - 3
Park's Whopper -  4
Celebrity - 5
Park's Beefy Boy - 3
Superfantasic - 6  (first trial run)
Lemon Boy - 2
Big Beef - 3
Porterhouse - 2
Better Boy - 3
Delicious - 2
Supersteak - 2
Mexico - 2
Big Zac - 2
Speckled Roman - 2 (first trial run)
Garden Peach - 2 (first trial run)
Jetsetter - 2

I can't wait to see how they produce.  I planted extra so I have some to give away.  They were all started in a super large peat pellet.  I will include pictures soon.

Sunday, 1 February 2015

Here are some other vegetable varieties  I've grown for years and will grow this year as well, to test production:

CUCMBERS:  Sweeter Yet, Sweet Slice, Sweet Success.  I love these three because I have yet to taste a bitter one.  I have grown other cucumbers, that were more prolific than these particular favorites of mine, but many were horribly inedible because of the bitterness that sets in.  I also have a novelty cucumber called Mexican Sour Gherkin I purchased last year that I will try this year.

PEPPERS (hot/mild):  Holy Mole Hybrid, Cayenne Large Red, Cayenne Long Thin, Ancho San Luis, Anaheim Chili, Guajillo, Pasilla Bajio, Garden Salsa, Mucho Nacho Hybrid.  Garden Salsa is an extremely prolific little plant.  I don’t need to grow more than 2.  The peppers just keep on coming with these little plants.  Sometimes the 'hotness' varies on these.

PEPPERS (sweet):  Red Knight X3R is my absolute favorite, King Arthur is a close second. I still have seeds from other varieties I have tried in the past, but I wasn't impressed with.

SUMMER SQUASH:  Barq is a favorite of mine.  It is a beautiful lime green.  I also grow Magda. Now I will say:  my family will NOT eat this unless I disguise it, usually in the form of overly sweet zucchini bread.  I don't grow a lot.  I use what I can, and I give away the rest.

TOMATILLO:  Tamayo R Hybrid

TOMATOES (cherry):  Sweet Gold FT Hybrid, Yellow Pear, Super Sweet 100, Sugary, Sweet Million Hybrid FT.  I also have Mexico Midget seeds I purchased previously that I will try.

TOMATOES(indeterminate):  Park’s Beefy Boy Hybrid, Big Zac Hybrid, Burpee Porterhouse Hybrid, Mexico, Delicious, Better Boy, Big Beef Hybrid, Lemon Boy, Celebrity, New Girl, Park’s Whopper CR Imp. Hybrid, Jetsetter,  Early Girl, Goliath, Burpee’s Supersteak Hybrid.

TOMATOES (paste):  Yaqui Hybrid, Howard German, Mama Leone, Heinz 1370.

Okay, technically Heinz 1370 is NOT a paste tomato.  However,  I do grow them with my paste tomatoes as they are determinate so they share the same short cages as my romas.  Plus their fruit size is relatively small, but the taste is amazing.  So, they often are thrown in with sauces and salsas.    Also, Yaqui is my absolute-hands-down favorite when it comes to roma plants.  I have never seen a plant more productive than this one.  I have grown Mama Leone (still have seeds) and Howard German (still have seeds), but none of them were even close to the prolific little Yaqui.  I may grow one or two of the Mama Leone and the Howard German this year just for comparison’s sake, but maybe not.  I haven’t decided yet.  I will see how much room I have once I’ve started the seeds.  I’d rather dedicate extra space to the new varieties I bought than to spend time and effort on something I wasn’t blown away by.

Sunday, 1 February 2015

I have received my seeds that I ordered a few weeks ago....however, some are on back order.  So, I almost have all my seeds.

Here are some new varieties for the 2015 year.  I'm happy to give a chance:

          China Express Hyrbrid --  Chinese cabbage
          Joi Choi Hybrid  --  pak choi cabbage
          Golden Egg Hybrid  --  summer squash
          Harvest Time Hybrid  --  pumpkin
          Barese  --  cucumber
          Red Noodle  --  red pole bean
          Amish Gold Slicer  --  tomato (this was a freebie - don't know if I will try it this year.)
          Golden Peach --  tomato, indeterminate
          Speckled Roman  --  tomato, paste, indeterminate
          Super Fantastic Hybrid  --  tomato, indeterminate

I also ordered some flower seeds that I haven't listed.  I have never really liked petunias because there always seemed to be so many other flowers that were prettier.  But I have since altered the errors of my ways.  I grow a lot of them now.  I also love the fact that I can have the exact colors I want.

Tuesday, 6 January 2015

Ha.  Yesterday I said in a post that I didn't receive a catalog from Harris Seeds.  Guess what came in the mail today?  I was happy but I have already placed my order.

Yesterday, when I posted the names of my favorite seed catalogs, I did forget one that I have used every  year for the past several years.  They don't issue catalogs, but they offer super affordable flower seeds.  (They also sell herb and veggie seeds.)  So if you want to grow your own flats of flowers, look them up.

http://www.swallowtailgardenseeds.com/

Monday, 5 January 2015

Here are my favorite seed catalogs:

I love:  http://www.tomatogrowers.com/  

• they offer so many different types of tomatoes, peppers, and even eggplant.  You are bound to find a variety that is suitable to your area.

http://www.jungseed.com/

• This is my first year using them.  So we will see.

http://www.totallytomato.com/

• Again, lots of varieties to choose from.  This is great if you want to try something new.  They offer tomatoes, peppers and a few other veggie offerings.

http://www.noursefarms.com/

• They sell my favorite varieties of strawberries.  

http://www.twilleyseed.com/

• I love these guys.  It is a great company that also offers flower seeds.  My only complaint is that you actually have to call them to place an order.  I prefer to do it online.  Every year, when I call them, I ask about that and they say they are 'working on it'. I don't think that means what they think it means.  The upside to this is that the people answering the phones are so very nice and helpful.

http://www.parkseed.com

• great catalog with lots to choose from.

http://www.johnnyseeds.com

• Again, many varieties of veggies, herbs, and flowers.  

http://www.harrisseeds.com

• This is the first year I didn't get a catalog from them.  Maybe I'm on their 'naughty list' because I don't spend as much as they would like. I don't know, but I still use them for seeds and supplies.  Every year I purchase my peat pellets from them.  

NOTE:  I am not sure if these  web addresses are exact.  My internet is down at the moment.  So annoying.  But you can google the name and find it that way.

Monday, 5 January 2015

I have gardened for many years.  In that time, I have grown many things, but I have never kept a journal of what works better, what grows better, what tastes better, etc.  So here we go.  

I want to conduct taste tests of the different varieties of veggies I usually grow and I want to see which plants are more productive than others.  I am limited on space so I want to get more bang for my buck and more bang for the effort.

A few years ago, I started growing my own plants from seeds instead of spending $-hundreds-$ of dollars at the local nurseries.  I certainly wasn't saving any money by growing my own.  But it was cheaper than therapy.  In November, my seed catalogs start arriving and they keep coming throughout December.  It is like Christmas morning when I get my first one in the mail.  I get 'pirouette giddy' at the mailbox.

I started with just a few catalogs, but these 'seed people' must sell their customer lists to others, because now I receive more catalogs, than I know what to do with.