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.