March 22, 2016 - Tomato Update

March 16, 2016 - True leaves

March 10, 2016 - Sprouting Update

All but one of the Polverini Tomatoes have germinated, 35 out of 36 isn't bad!

March 5, 2016 Tomato Sprouts

The first of the tomatoes have sprouted. One or two with leaves open and a few more just starting to bream out of the soil.

March 3, 2016 Basil Sprouts

The first plugs of basil have sprouted.  I've moved the grow light over the table and have it on a 12 hour cycle.  I'm a little worried that I put them in prematurely...

Nothing yet for the tomatoes or peppers.

February 27, 2016 - Starting the Seeds

The seeds have been planted.  I have received many requests for the Polverini Tomaotes so I'm growing WAY more than I'll use.

36 Polverini Tomaotes
36 Basil plants
6 Italian Roaster Peppers
6 Red Bell Peppers
3 Vienna Ceyenne Peppers
3 Black Krim Tomatoes

April 2, 2015 - Spinnach, Lettuce, and Radishes

March 30, 2015 - Seed Update

March 18, 2015 - Tomatoes Have Been Planted

Despite there being snow in the forecast once again I decided to go ahead and get the tomatoes started. This year I'm doing all of them by seed.

• Polverini Tomatoes
• Black Krim Tomatoes
• Green Zebra
• Silvery Fir Tomatoes
• Potato Leaf Tomatoes
• Goldie Yellow Tomatoes
• And a first round of basil

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.

April 13, 2014 Starting Seeds

I located my setup int he basement because that was the only place in the house where I had enough room. The challenge with the basement was how cold it is in March.  Because of this, the heating mats was essential to keep the soil temp high enough for germination (70°-90°).  Two 20"x20" mats were enough for 4 flats, but I only needed 3.

The two ratchet straps are connected to eye hooks screwed into the beams in the ceiling.  This gives me lots of flexibility to keep the height of the light just above the growing plants.  The light itself is connected to a timer I had laying around that I use for Christmas lights.

The heating mats are plugged into a thermostat that is designed specifically for the mats.  There is a temperature probe that comes off the thermostat that you place in the soil.  It simply shuts off power to the mats when the desired temperature is reached - without this piece the mats just constantly run when plugged in.

Here are the components of my setup.  It's not a budget system but it's not top of the line one either.  My goal was to have it around for a few years.

T5 EnviroGo 4' 4 x Tube Light

Two  20" x 20" Heating Mats

Heating Mat Thermostat

Ratchet Hangers

Timer

Flat Trays without holes

It's been running for nearly a month now and it seems to be working really good.  Here are some progress pics of the Polverini Tomatoes - the local heirloom variety that started inspired me to start my garden from seeds this year. More on that later...