May 2, 2010 After the Market, All the Plants are In

It was a hot day for the opening of the West Chester's Grower's Market yesterday, but that didn't stop it from being BUSY.  We got there before 11am and there was still able to get everything I needed.  There were only a two stand selling vegetables seedlings, although there were two or three more selling herbs.  I got nearly everything from my go to guy.  His basil plants are what got me started gardening on my fire escape just after college.

I ended up getting 8 tomato plants, 6 peppers, a yellow squash, and a zucchini plant.  The garden plan only called for seven tomatoes but I couldn't make up my mind between the crazy varieties he had available.  After seeing them in the ground there will be no problem with adding another plant.  All of the plants are spaced out quite well and have marigolds between all the plants.  I shouldn't run into any of the crowding issues from last year. 

I do have some space behind the cucumbers that I originally intended to put one or two eggplants in.  But I might balk on that and add a couple more peppers.  The annex is so over grown, it may end up going fallow this year.  I'd like to pull it up to make room for another squash plant, but I'm not sure I'll get to that this year.


So here are the tomatoes that I purchased:

Amish Paste

"Very productive heirloom from Wisconsin that produces up to 12 oz, deep-red oxheart-shaped, meaty fruit. (Probably one of the largest paste tomatoes) Lots of sweet, tomatoey flavors from this coreless meaty fruit. A great slicing and sauce tomato."  [source]

Yellow Pear

"These organic tomato seeds produce huge, bushy plants that yield very large quantities of 1 oz., 1 1/2-inch, bright yellow, pear-shaped cherry tomatoes that will give you fruit until frost. The tomatoes of this yellow pear tomato variety are zesty sweet and delicious. A beautiful salad or snackin' tomato. If you are growing several colors of cherry tomatoes include this one. A great tomato choice for a patio or planter garden. A good producer even in cooler coastal regions." [source]

Black Krim -  (aka Black Crimson and Black Crim):

"Originally from the Isle of Krim on the Black Sea in the former Soviet Union. This rare, and outstanding tomato yields 3-4" slightly flattened dark-red (mahogany-colored) slightly maroon, beefsteak tomatoes with deep green shoulders. Green gel around seeds. Fantastic, intense, slightly salty taste (which is great for those not wanting to add salt to their tomatoes)." [source]
 

Pink Brandywine

"Plant produces good yields of 1 to 2 lb pinkish red beefsteak tomatoes. Tomatoes have rich tomato flavor and pinkish red when matture. This variety won several taste testing awards and is one of the best tasting tomatoes in the world. An Amish heirloom variety from the USA dating back to 1885." [source]

Giant Belgium Pink

"The 'Giant Belgian Pink' Heirloom Tomato Plant has huge, sweet fruits that average 1 to 2 pounds and have weighed in at almost 5 pounds! It was one of last season’s most popular heirloom varieties. Each pot contains 1 tomato plant. Giant Belgian Pink Heirloom Tomato’s dark pink fruits feature a smooth blossom end, with a low-acid, mild flavor, so sweet that they’ve been used in winemaking. It has solid meat and hefty size, excellent for sandwich slices." [source]

Cherokee Purple

"The Cherokee Purple was rediscovered by tomato grower Craig LeHoullier.  LeHoullier claimed that it was more than 100 years old, originated with the Cherokee people. The Cherokee Purple tomato has a unique dusty rose color.  The flavor of the tomato is extremely sweet with a rich smoky taste. The Cherokee Purple has a refreshing acid, is watery, thick-skinned and earthy with a lingering flavor.  The Cherokee Purple plants are very prolific making this plant a good heirloom for gardeners and farmers." [source]

Green Zebra

"Developed in 1985 by tomato breeder Tom Wagner, this is an unusual and exquisite green tomato chosen by Alice Waters for her restaurant, Chez Panisse, in Berkeley, California. The 2-inch round fruit ripens to a yellow-gold with dark-green zebra-like stripes. The flesh is lime-emerald in color that has an invigorating lemon-lime flavor. A great green tomato for brightening up salads and other tomato dishes.  Try our Green Zebra Tomato Seeds for your tomato garden and enjoy a wonderful addition of color to your salads and sauces."  [source]

Matt's Wild Cherry

"These small cherry tomatoes are packed with more taste than you can believe. 5/8- 3/4", deep red, round fruits have a tender, smooth texture, and loads of sweet, full flavor. High sugar content (11º Brix). Though the taste is superior, it doesn't yield well and the fruits are soft, so grow on a trial scale at first. Teresa Arellanos de Mena, a friend of former Univ. of Maine AG faculty members Drs. Laura Merrick and Matt Liebman, brought seeds to Maine from her family's home state of Hidalgo in Eastern Mexico. It's the region of domestication of tomatoes, and where these grow wild. Matt gave us the seeds." [source]



And the Pepper Plants:

Early Sunsation 

A great early pepper. Early Sunsation pepper produces large, smooth fruit that mature from dark green to bright golden-yellow at full maturity. Combine this with good tolerance to bacterial leaf spot and you could have the perfect golden pepper variety. The blocky shaped fruit have thick walls and a very sweet taste when left to ripen yellow. [source]

Purple Beauty

Plant produces good yields of 3" long by 3" wide sweet purple bell peppers. Peppers have thick walls and turn from green to purple when mature. Excellent for salads, stuffing, and gourmet dishes [source]
 

Sweet Italian

The Italian red peppers grow to a length of six to eight inches.  They are wonderful eaten raw in strips or in salads.  In our opinion, they are better tasting than the red bell peppers.  The red Italian pepper adds color to many cooked recipes, but we believe that cooking them is a waste of their wonderful raw flavor.  Select Italian red peppers that are firm and free of blemishes and wrinkles.

King Arthur

This hybrid produces a quality blocky shaped, 3-4 lobed sweet bell pepper that matures green to red, and has excellent yield potential. The jumbo 5 inch fruit have medium-early maturity. This dwarf variety is quite early for having such large fruit. Maturity 65-70 days from transplanting. Approximately 25 seeds/package. [source]

Red Knight

Throughout the Northeast and Midwest, growers are reporting good yields of large, thick-walled fruit on X3R Red Night. Maturing in the mid-early slot are high quality, blocky bell fruit that measure 4½ in. W x 4½ in. L. The shiny, attractive fruit ripen from a dark green to an intense red color.

 

Cherry Bomb TMV

Heirloom/Open-Pollinated. Red Cherry Bomb is an old-fashioned heirloom favorite that has a nice, 1-1/2 to 2" round shape. It is not very hot when dark green, but fiery when it fully matures to red.  It can be used fresh, dried, or pickled, but I really like to use it in salsa! This is a particularly easy-to-grow variety, and a great choice for the home gardener. 2500-5000 Scoville Units [source]