July 10, 2014 - The Garden is Producing

5 different varieties of tomatoes, several zucchini and yellow squash, plus more cucumbers than I know what to do with.  And this is just what didn't get eaten already!   I love this time of year!

July 5, 2014 - Early July Update

Helper dog is helping.

Lots of fruit that are almost ready.  Several of the fruit have rotting ends too - I'm not sure why.

 Eggplant are the biggest I've ever grown. I finally might be able to get a meaningful eggplant this year.  I've tried for 3 years now and I have never harvested an eggplant larger than an egg.

Lots of tomatoes coming in.  Pics towards the bottom.

 Tomatoes all around are looking good.  I've trimmed up the lower branches to increase the airflow - it was getting way too dense down there.  Some of the trimmed branches showed signs of yellowing/browning.

 The basil are not liking the hot weather, especially the purple basil which is all but dead.

The best crop of bell peppers I've ever had.  

Beans are all healthy.  The bush bean are all but  over taken by the pole beans.

The cucumbers might have to get trimmed, they've left the trellis and are now taking over the path. I picked seven of them this afternoon.

That Hades Hot plant is insane.  There has to be 50 peppers on there.  The rest are growing just fine too.

An here are some shots of the individual tomato varieties...

Polverini Tomatoes

The first hints of red on the Polverinis

The Goldies are getting big

The unripe Indigo Rose tomatoes on the vine

Here are the first two ripe Indigo Rose tomatoes

Green Zebras

 I think these are Black Krims

June 16, 2014 - A Mid-June Garden Update

Black Krims are looking larger than last year already.

Indigo Rose are incredibly purple.

The Polverini tomatoes are getting larger.  The one on the left is the first one I noticed and is the furthest along.  All three plants are full green tomatoes. Some fruit are much more wrinkled than others.

The mystery pepper now has large enough fruit to try and identify.  I'm more confident that it is an Aleppo pepper after all.

The beans are just about ready to flower.  The pole beans are over the 8' fence 

Dozens of little cucumbers are forming.

The squash plants have now grown out of the beds.  Dozens of fruits are a just a week or two away from being picked.

The radishes on the left went to seed. I picked them and they were tiny. The eggplant are getting eaten by the flea beetles, but not to the degree where they are stunted.  It is something to keep an eye on, but they are not nearly as many of them as in previous years.

All the tomatoes are looking good. It's hard to keep up with all the suckers though.  I need to get out there every other day to keep them trim.

The Polverini Tomatoes are getting big.  

Herbs are getting used.  I'm a fan of the mace - it was a good find.

 Bell peppers are all healthy and large.  Lots of leafy growth, but only a few flowers so far.

All the beans are looking good.  The flower buds have started to grow but are not yet open.

Lots of cucumber flowers and mini fruits. They've grown quite a bit in the last week.

The hot peppers are all doing good too.  Two of the plants are so much larger than the rest: The Hades Hot and the Shishito peppers are almost twice the size of the other two and are much more bushy.

May 31, 2014 - Polverini Tomatoes

Last year one of my favorite neighbors invited me over to check out his garden. He had a really nice set up with all sorts of peppers and tomatoes.  One tomato he grew in particular caught my attention: a really tall indeterminate plant with meaty, plum-sized, balloon-shaped fruit - where they are fatter at the bottom and taper to the stem.  Near the stem they become wrinkled. Delicious too.

After talking a while, he tells me that the original plant was given to him by a family member who brought it over from Italy. For 40 years he has been saving the seeds and regrowing them right there in his back yard - the very definition of a local heirloom.

This tomato variety is what inspired me to start my tomatoes from seeds this year.  He gave me a handful of these tomatoes with instructions on how he saves the seeds.  He told me to scoop out the guts with the seeds and spread them along a paper plate. Then when they have completely dried out, scrape them into an envelope. So that is what I did.

This past winter was particularly cold and his sun room where he starts his tomatoes did not stay warm enough during the germinating process.  Most of his starts are short and leggy, I'm not sure his stock is going to make it.  

Fortunately this variety will live on.  I was able to raise 30 of his seeds and give them out to friends and family.I only wish I knew of his predicament before giving them all away.  The three plants I kept are the best growing plants in the garden.  I'll post more pictures of the fruit as they start to come in.

UPDATED July 7, 2014:

Here's some pictures of the fruits as they are coming in.  There is one red tomato on each of the plants that are a day or two away from picking.  The plants themselves are between 5' - 6' tall. After talking to a farmer at the market on Saturday, he suggested that they may be some variety of Ox Heart tomato. After doing a quick a Google Image search I think he might be right.

This was the shape that most of the Polverini Tomatoes were last year...

 ...and this was a typical sized tomato - about palm size.

Some of the fruit on my plants have gotten much larger and wider - the tomatoes I was given last year were more uniform in shape.

 This is the first one to ripen.

UPDATE: Here are a few from later in the season, including a good shot of a sliced one.

May 31, 2014 - Things Are Looking Great!

This Spring has been great for the garden - just the right mix of warm sunny days and cooler rainy days. We are well out of the risk for frost. Because of the weather, the compost, and maybe the extra space everything has with the new beds,  the plants are further along than last year. This is shaping up to be a good season!

I have noticed the bugs are starting to come out.  I've spotted a few aphids on the tomatoes but nothing to be too concerned about.  There also is no sign of the flea beetles on the eggplant - so far. 

 Here are a a few highlights:

Two deep purple/black tomatoes.  I think the fruit on these plants are going to be smaller than I expected - around 2-3"

 Bulgarian Carrot Pepper, this is the smaller of the two already on the plant.

 First Green Zebra Tomato is on its way.

 Two little zucchinis. Nothing on the yellow squash yet.

Overview

 The zucchini and yellow squash.

 The radishes and lettuce on the left, a row each of spinach and carrots, and then the eggplant and a few of the pepper plants.

Left to right: Old German, Indigo Rose, Black Krim, Goldie Yellow Tomatoes.  The Grape tomatoe is in the planter along the fence. 

 These are the plants from seeds: the Green Zebra on the left, and the other three are the Polverini Tomatoes.  The Polverini Tomatoes are several inches taller than the rest.

My herbs: Basil, Lime Basil, Purple Basil, Rosemary, Sage, Mace, Thyme, Cilantro, and Chives. The Oregano is doing great too, but its not in the picture.

 Bell Peppers started from seeds.  All looking full and healthy.

 Bush beans on the ends, and pole beans along the trellis

More bush beans on the ends and cucumbers in the middle along the trellis.  Amish Rob Pickle cucs and Murphy's big boys.

Finally the hot peppers. From left to right: Bulgarian Carrot, Hades Hot, Mystery Pepper, and the Shishitos.