Picture Update!

Romas, White Tomesol, Kellogs Breakfast, Wisconsin 55 in Pots on second go around, and Bales...getting loaded with tomatoes regardless of heat and humidity!

How many tomato varieties am I growing anyway?

When I list all the varieties it sounds like a lot, but looking at them in my yard it doesn't!

Black Brandywine Wisconsin 55 Pineapple Heirloom Mix White Tomesol Green Giant Mortgage Lifter Earl's Faux Kimberly Pink Potato Top Kellog's Breakfast Big Zac Black from Tula
Cherokee Chocolate Cherokee Purple Juliet Hybrid Roma Bald Mountain Manx Marvel
Pizza Birdsnest Wooly Riverside Volgograd 5/25 Sub-Arctic Plenty White Princess
Yorkbec Sweet 100

I am sure i missed some somwhere....
Next years list is whatever I like from this year plus all these!

Black Cherry Sungold Lime Green Salad Porterhouse Brandy Boy Black Russian Supre Marmande Kellog's Breakfast Pink Potato Top Soldacki Paul Robeson Omar's Lebanese
Neve's Azorean Red Azoychka Black from Tula Bloody Butcher Aunt Ruby's German Green
Uncle Steve's Oxheart Stupice Grub's Mystery Green Anna Russian Aunt Gertie's Gold
Brandywind, Sudduths Geroge's Greek Beefstake Amish Paste PPP x PP "C"
Nevsky Possibly Black Prince Black Brandywine Big Zac Cherokee Purple Cherokee Chocolate
Mortgage Lifter Sub Artic Plenty Yorkbec

Cherokee Purple Hideous Fused Fruit!

Garden Update with Pictures!

The first tomato fruit that set, which was very little, has pretty much ripened. Been busy eating a variety of tomatoes! My favorite so far has been the Black Brandywine, but not for the taste, for the color. This tomato has been so beautiful to watch change colors! My favorite for taste so far is an unknown heirloom from Phil's package of Rainbow mix seeds! It stayed quite green at the shoulders and deep red to orange to chocolate at bottom, was very sweet, and potentially identified as Black Prince.

There seems to be a new flush of flowers and tomatoes on most all plants though so more to come! The heirlooms I grew have been surprising! They have sturdyier trunks instead of spindly stems, and most all started out with monster fused flowers! The Cherokee purple fused flower has become some hideous fused tomato!

The parthenocarpic squash-Perfect Pick-finally put out a zucchini! Just the one plant so far but it has three zucchini on it!

Last but not least the last four bales are planted! Well not true, three of the four are planted, one bale kills everything I put in it! I put 1 bag of Lowes brand compost/manure mix across two bales and seeded four more zucchini, this time the parthenocarpic duo from Thompson Morgan. Also planted three purple tomatillo seedlings in the third bale. One broke when inserting it, but I be darned if the thing did not live! The tomatillos have quadrupled in size since planting in the bales. The only problem I have with the squash bales is that with all that compost on top I cannot tell if the bales are getting wet enough or not, but the squash is growing great so I guess they are!

June 20- Ghetto Garden Update!

Here are some new pics of my little ghetto garden, everything is nice and green and growing pretty well!

June 17, 2008

Bales are doing great! Still no fruitset but getting flowers left and right! It has been really cool at night down in the high 50's and only in the 80's during the day so I still have a chance here! The little ones are greening up faster than the first set-they are replacements for two that just did not make it the first go round! The bales were just too hot in those spots!

Happy Gardening!

Kelley

Latest on Straw Bale Maters!

I l ost another one so have replaced two in total, the first sick mater recuperated so nicely that it actually looks better than the rest. Slow growth due to high heat but these plants are filling in and getting stronger and are much greener than when they were first planted! They are also starting to flower! The two little yellow ones are the newest ones and I expect them to green up within the week!

May 30, 2008 My First Tomato!

The first tomato plant to set fruit was.....one of Phil's Rainbow mix! I won't have any idea what kind of tomato this is until it is ripe hehehe but it was sure nice to check this morning and find this tiny little 'mater!

Lets see what am I actually growing? Pole-Lima, Christmas Speckled Large (Well that is what the package said heheh), Henderson's Lima, a mixture of Kentucky and Blue Lake pole beans, about six different varieties of cucumbers including a few parthenocarpic ones, the luffa, a yellow squash that said to thin to only 4 inches apart (can't wait to see if that works or not!) a zucchini that is parthenocarpic, Peppers I have at least a dozen varieties in pots-Gypsy, Cherry Bomb, Poblano, Giant Marconi, Sweet Banana, Jalapeno, Habanero, Jamaican Hot, Long Slim Cayenne, Tangerine Bell, Chocolate Bell and a bunch of regular green bells. Tomatoes I got at least 20 types growing this year all heirlooms. Butternut squash, oh yeah and purple tomatillo. I missed a bunch of stuff I know because that does not include the herbs I have scattered around everywhere or the strawberry's either! I guess I need to go take individual pictures so I know what it is I am growing! Whoops, forgot Okra, Swiss Chard, Collards, Turnips, Lettuce and Radishes....Guess I have a pretty big garden!

Watermelons and Pumpkins are still in pots....

May 29, 2008 The First Straw Bales planted!

gosh you can barely see my tomato plants in these straw bales! I was really surprised how warm it was inside the bales, it felt especially warm compared to the potting soil these tomatoes were in! I hope it wasn't too hot, these tomatoes all ready were neglected! I have one last one to put at the end of the bale, it is in a larger pot and I need help so I don't break it to pieces! Hopefully future pictures will show lush growth!

More Pics of Ugly Garden

New House, New Garden, New Everything

Well we moved in about six weeks ago and we are still not moved in! I immediately started planting and trying to figure out where to plant things! No tiller, no money, this will be fun! So far I have reused some wire fence and posts to give beans and cukes somewhere to grow, they are planted in the holes of concrete blocks! I have had much success with blocks before so am not worried about them!

There was an old 55 gallon barrel sliced in half lengthwise in the back yard, I think the previous tenants used it for water dishes for thier dogs hehehe! Well I filled them up with topsoil, composted manure and peat and a handful of this and that and mixed it all up and planted in them. Of course the dirt settled so much I had to fill some more barrels up pronto and transplant all my squash. It is not doing so well but maybe it will make a comeback.

Tomatoes are in pots with posts, and as of tomorrow some will be in straw bales. I am both excited and scared about sticking a tomato in a straw bale! After that it will be the hole method!

Well lets see how to post the pictures of the ugly garden. These are from about a week ago.