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 25, 2015 - Seedling Pics

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.

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.

May 11, 2014 - The Garden Plan

Tomatoes

1. Old German - Large striped orange/yellow fruit
2. Indigo Rose - Medium sized deep purple almost blue fruit
3. Black Krim - Medium  sized dark red fruit
4. Goldie Yellow - Large yellow fruit
5. Green Zebra - medium to smaller green and yellow stripped fruit
6. Grape - small red bunches
7. Polverini x 3 - an local heirloom plum, unique to Downingtown

Peppers:

1. Bulgarian Carrot - Orange carrot shaped, medium spice
2. Hades Hot - Cayenne, hot
3. ???  - The tag got lost on the way home, but my best guess is an Aleppo Pepper
4. Shishito - Spicy Japannese pepper
5. Grenada Seasoning - Not spicy version of Habenaro
6. Corno di Toro - Large horn-shaped sweet pepper
7. Carmen - Another roasting pepper
8. Golden Bell x 2 
9. Yellow Bell
10. Red Bell

Other Vegetables:

Zucchini, Yellow Squash, Eggplant, Pole Beans, Bush Beans, Cucumbers, Dragon Carrots, Watermelon Daikon Radish, and Spinach.

Herbs: 

Italian Basil, Lime Basil, Purple Basil, Greek Oregano, Rosemary, Sage, Thyme, Mace, Chives, and Cilantro.

May 10, 2014 - Everything Planted

Yesterday I took my annual trip to the West Chester Growers Market to buy what plants I didn't start from seed.  It was a good haul, and I seem to have gone overboard with the peppers this year.  The vendor for the Chile Spot has a very awesome list of chili peppers this year.  Last year I purchased the Grenada Seasoning pepper from him and was blown away by its unique flavor.  So I'm trying out a few more.

Here's the haul from the WCGM.

I had some help putting them all in.

 Here's a shot of the garden from the deck.  Then 4 new beds gave me more room to play with.

Chili Pepper and soon to be cucumbers/beans in the back, and squash and some peppers in the front.

Bell peppers and soon to be beans in the back, and all the tomatoes in the front.  The herbs are in pots in the corner.

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...

May 4, 2013 - Growers Market and Garden

Thursday was the opening day for the first Downingtown Farmers Market. I wasn't sure what to expect, but the turn out was amazingly good - so much that most vendors sold out within 2 hours. I manages to get 4 tomato plants and 2 eggplants.

Saturday also marked the opening of the West Chester Growers Market where I purchased the rest of my plants. I'm all set now for the season and all but the peppers are in the ground.

  

Here's the line up this season: 

Tomatoes:

• Green Zebra
• Azoycha
• Sun Gold
• San Marzano x 2
• Cherokee Purple
• Juliet

Eggplant:

• Galine
• Orient Charm

Peppers:

• Italian Gourmet
• Grenada Seasoning
• Corno Di Toro x 2
• Italian Roaster
• Red Beauty x 2
• Early Sunsation

Other Vegetables:

• Yellow Squash
• Black Beauty Zucchini
• Sweet Burpless Cucumber
• Straight 8 Cucumber
• Green Comet Broccoli x 8
• Snow Crown Cauliflower x 8
• Spinach
• French Breakfast Rasishes

Herbs:

• Tricolor Sage
• Tarragon
• Italian Basil x2
• Rosemary
• Greek Oregano
• French Thyme
• Lemon Rhyme
• Dill
• Flat Lead Parsley