We now move on to the Dwarf project tomatoes that are still in progress, mostly early generation - and these are all now planted in black 5 gallon grow bags. I didn't take notes after these were planted, so this list may need a few edits (especially if more than one leaf shape appeared). In a way, this is the most fun part of the garden, because many of these are still mysteries as to color, shape and size. What fun!

A few of these were planted on May 11, but most were planted on May 12.

Softy (F2 from a new cross)
Fancy regular leaf (two plants) (F2s from a new cross)
Fancy potato leaf (two plants)
Dainty regular leaf (two plants) (F2s from a new cross)
Dainty potato leaf (two plants)
Leggy (F2 from a new cross)
Cheerful (two plants) (F2 from a new cross)
Harmony (two plants) (F2 from a new cross)
Dwarf Confetti (two plants) - out of the Beauty line - aiming for a yellow tomato with pink stripes
Dwarf Peppermint Stripes (two plants) - out of the Beauty line - aiming for a green tomato with pink stripes
Kiwi (F2 from a new cross)
Summertime Gold reselect (checking another line in our reselection process)
BrandyFred - nearly done  - refining work - potato leaf purple
Dwarf Wild Spudleaf - nearly done - refining work - potato leaf purple
TastyWine - nearly done - refining work - potato leaf pink
Sarandipity - trying to get the flavor nailed down - brown with green stripes
Sarandipity Cherry - selecting a cherry version
Sarandipity heart or paste - selecting a heart or paste shape version
Banksia Queen - nearly done - refining work - large bright yellow
Dwarf Creamsickle - selection I named, aiming for a potato leaf cream orange, unusual
Grandpa Gary's Green - a new named variety, medium green
Dwarf Chocolate Drops - a new named variety, medium brown
Maralinga - refining work, may be nearly done, medium large brown
Kookaburra Cackle - early generation, new one named by Patrina, unsure of what I will get
Dwarf Beauty King  - stubborn one here, looking for a red with gold stripes, throws all sorts of other colors
Sturt Desert Pea - another new one named by Patrina, early days for this one, unsure of outcome
Dwarf Caitydid - refining work, nearly done, medium large red yellow bicolor, inside mostly pink
Lucky Swirl potato leaf - refining work, large red/yellow, looking for best flavored
Lucky Swirl regular leaf - ditto - we need to decide which leaf shape is best
Plucky regular leaf - early work on yellow, orange or pale yellow cherry tomatoes
Plucky potato leaf - ditto
Ivalde from 12-139 - very early work, aiming for hearts, could be pink or red yellow bicolored
Ivalde from 12-142 - ditto
Ivalde from 12-137 - ditto
Tanuda Red - another new one named by Patrina, early days, not sure what to expect
Waratah - ditto
Waverley - ditto
Deaton's Dwarf - very new named one, unsure what to expect
Hazy potato leaf - early work on small to medium purple tomatoes
Hazy regular leaf - ditto

The above really is R&D, since it is unclear what the vast majority of them will produce. They were all selected on an initial basis of flavor, however....many will eventually be named and become leads for new Dwarf varieties.

I know, I know...that is a LOT of tomatoes.  And I've not described or planted the various small pot extreme prune indeterminates, or plant the tomatoes in the big garden, yet.

The next update will be on the eggplant and sweet peppers planted on May 12.

Ah, now it gets fun...the Research and Development part of my annual gardening efforts. This is the list of what I planted on May 10 and 11 - and the "white grow bag" designation is important only in that I like to start with the 5 gallon grow bags with handles, of which I have 41. (they are no longer available, it seems). I then move on to black plastic bags with no handles, which work just fine.

Here is the list of tomato varieties that ended up in the white grow bags.

May 10 planting - these are the Dwarf project tomatoes that are completed and are now considered released (they are each offered by at least one seed company, and a few are also listed in the Seed Savers yearbook)

(Rosella Purple was planted on April 24 as part of the book photography) - 2010 release, large purple fruit
(Dwarf Emerald Giant was also plantedo n April 24 for the same reason) - 2010 release, large green tomatoes
Summertime Green - 2010 release, large green fruit
Dwarf Arctic Rose - 2012 release, medium pink fruit
Dwarf Sweet Sue - 2012 release, medium yellow fruit
Dwarf Mr. Snow  - 2010 release, medium large ivory fruit
Dwarf Beryl Beauty - 2010 release, medium green fruit
Dwarf Jade Beauty - 2010 release, medium green fruit
Dwarf Wild Fred - 2010 release, medium large purple fruit
Iditarod Red - 2011 release, medium small red fruit
Sleeping Lady - 2011 release, medium brown fruit
Summer Sunrise - 2012 release, medium large yellow fruit
Summertime Gold - reselected; 2010 release wasn't quite right, re-release date 2013 - medium large yellow fruit
Yukon Quest - 2011 release, medium pink fruit
Dwarf Kelly Green - 2012 release, medium green fruit
Perth Pride - 2011 release - medium purple fruit
Sweet Adelaide - nearly ready, possible 2013/2014 release, medium large pink fruit

The following were planted on May 11 to finish off the white grow bags - these are either considered complete and are being grown out for release this fall, or very, very close to being finished; we are taking a final look.

Chocolate Champion - hoping for 2013 release, medium large brown fruit
Sweet Scarlet Dwarf - 2013 or 2014, medium large red fruit, really delicious, will be our first great red!
Dwarf Blazing Beauty - 2013 or 2014, medium large orange fruit, superb, will be our first orange!
Boronia - thinking 2013, medium large purple fruit
Dwarf Russian Swirl - 2013 or 2014, medium yellow/red bicolored fruit
Wherokowhai (two different selections) - hoping for 2013, medium large red/yellow bicolored fruit, our first bicolor, tasty!
Big Green Dwarf - 2013 or 2014, medium large green flesh fruit with yellow skin
Dwarf Lemon Ice - 2013 or 2014, pale yellow heart shaped medium fruit, beautiful
Sean's Yellow Dwarf - hoping for 2013, medium large yellow fruit
Adelaide Festival - 2014 or 2015, medium purple fruit with green stripes
Tennessee Suited - 2014 or 2015, medium purple fruit with green stripes
Dwarf Pink Passion - 2013 or 2014 - medium pink heart shaped fruit
Dwarf Golden Heart - 2013 or 2014 - medium golden fruit
Kangaroo Paw Green - 2013 oe 2014 - medium small yellow skinned green flesh fruit
Kangaroo Paw Brown - 2013 or 2014 - medium small brown fruit
Kangaroo Paw Yellow - 2013 or 2014 - medium small yellow fruit
Bundaberg Rumball - hoping for 2013 - lots of medium small round brown fruit
Rosella Crimson - 2013 or 2014 - medium large pink fruit
Uluru Ochre - 2014 or 2015 - medium large unusual orange/green fruit
Loxton Lad - 2014 or 2015 - medium large orange fruit
Loxton Lass - 2014 or 2015 - medium large orange fruit
Fred's Tie Dye - 2014 or 2015 - medium purple fruit with green stripes
Chocolate Lightning - 2014 or 2015 - medium brown fruit with green stripes

These are all going to be exciting new varieties...this year's dwarf trials will really be fun. But wait until you see what else I am planting in grow bags...stay tuned for tomatoes part 3 - the black grow bag dwarf varieties!

Here is the first in a series of blog entries where I will describe my growing strategy for 2013, via the plants I am growing. The following were planted in large containers on May 9. As soon as the big garden dries out, I will plant each of these in that location as well....thus hoping to provide redundancy in case of plant failures.  Note that each of these are varieties that will be the feature tomatoes, for various reasons, in my upcoming book.

First, these are flavor favorites we grow every year:

Mexico Midget - my wife's favorite garden work snacking tomato, which I received from Barney Laman of California in 1990.
Nepal - this is the single variety that convinced me that a tomato didn't need to be a hybrid to be wonderful; obtained from Johnny's Selected Seeds, I first grew this in 1987.
Sungold F1 - a desert island tomato, for its unique flavor
Brandywine - during a season when it is happy, there is no better tasting large tomato than Brandywine
Lillian's Yellow Heirloom - sent to me by Robert Richardson in 1990, this is the best yellow tomato I've tasted, if not the best large tomato period.
Polish - Another of my first loved heirlooms after Bill Ellis sent it to me in 1988. Brandywine - like in every way, but it actually seems to be happier growing in NC.

Tomatoes I either named or developed:

Lucky Cross - my favorite large yellow/red bicolored variety, from a bee-produced cross between Brandywine and, we think, Tad
Little Lucky - smaller but equally wonderful sister variety to Lucky Cross
Cherokee Purple - a tomato sent to me by J. D. Green of Sevierville, TN in 1990, with claims that it was a variety given to his neighbors by Cherokee Indians in the 1800s. I named it and it has caught on!
Cherokee Chocolate - appeared as a skin color mutation of Cherokee Purple in my 1995 garden.
Cherokee Green - appeared as a flesh color mutation of Cherokee Chocolate in my 1997 garden.

These tomatoes were responsible for my conversion from hybrids to heirlooms, and I first grew each of these in the 1986-1990 time period. Most of these have interesting histories.

Anna Russian - sent to me by Brenda Hillenius of Oregon in 1990 - I've loved it since
Tiger Tom - From a SSE exchange with James Halladay, first grown in 1998 and is another long time favorite
Yellow White - also known as Viva Lindsey's Kentucky Heirloom, a wedding present from the Martin family in 1904.
Lillian's Red Kansas Paste - came to me along with Lillian's Yellow from Robert Richardson - great flavor
Ruby Gold - seems to be aka Gold Medal, my first bicolor, grown back in 1988, couldn't believe the size or color
Bisignano #2 - another I've loved since trying it in 1988, Mr Bisignano won a Victory Garden contest with this great tomato
Hugh's - Archie Hook of Indiana grew seedlings of this variety since the 1940s and gave them to neighbors - this is also a favorite of mine since the late 1980s
Yellow Oxheart - Thist omato blew me away in 1990, and was introduced by Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. Could be the same as the one Livingston Seed Company released in 1925.
Mortgage Lifter, Halladay - a wonderful huge pink tomato from the 1920s, sent to me by Jim Halladay of PA.
Mortgage Lifter, Mullens - this large pink looks pretty much the same, but was sent to me by Charlotte Mullens of WV in the early 1990s.

Finally, this is a group of historically relevant varieties that I participated in liberating from the USDA seed collection - most are pre-1900 American seed company commercial varieties.

Golden Queen - The first popular yellow tomato, by Livingston, in 1882.
Magnus - My first real tomato hunt project, which I found - released by Livingston in 1900.
Favorite - another great 1880s Livingston variety, and it is a mystery why it didn't stay popular.
Abraham Lincoln - This 1923 Buckbee release was found in the USDA collection and is a nice large red tomato.
Ferris Wheel - released by Salzer in the late 1890s, this is one of my favorite large pink tomatoes, which I found in the USDA collection.
Peak of Perfection - this is another large pink Salzer variety, from the 1920s, and probably their selection of Winsall or Ponderosa, but better than either.
Matchless - Burpee's signature red variety from the late 1800s, it is a fine tomato and I got it out of the USDA collection.

And there is one last quite interesting variety that I've yet to grow!

Big Boy F1 - this is the first popular hybrid, from Burpee 1948, and revolutionized tomato gardening, as it started the hybrid craze.

All of the above were planted in large pots on May 9. I can't plant each of the above in the "big garden" (right into the dirt) yet - too wet!  That may be my last planting....

I will provide an update on the various dwarfs next (in two parts) - then small pot indeterminates that I will prune in an extreme fashion - finally ending up with my eggplant, peppers and small pot ornamental experiment peppers.

I always forget how long it takes to actually plant a garden. Much time is spent starting seeds, then transplanting, but there is always the feeling that those are the parts that take the most time, and that getting those healthy seedlings into the garden is a piece of cake.

Well, that may be true for a garden of reasonable size, with a sane number of plants....but my laboratory approach, mix of pots and grow bags and traditional garden planting, dictate doing things in stages and phases. I am pleased to be at the end of the large pot indeterminate and white grow bag tomato planting phase. As of late this afternoon, approximately 70 tomato plants are now settled in to their permanent homes - and they are watered and mulched. 

The next task is to plant the rest of the driveway dwarfs into the no-handle, black grow bags (all of which are having a nice soak in a garbage can filled with dilute bleach). I hope to get through that tomorrow and Sunday. And the rest of the work to be done was outlined in my last blog entry - the small pot indeterminates, hot and sweet peppers, eggplant, and, last of all, but big garden plantings.

I may be dancing between raindrops - heavy thunderstorms, possibly - which could spread things out a bit longer than I hoped. But it does feel good to know that some of the most important varieties to our needs this season are now planted, and we are only a few months away from great tomatoes.

One more thing - the joy of having all sorts of spring greens to use for a quick dinner. Tonight I picked a bowl of our various mustards, some collards and kale - and I sauteed the chopped greens with onion, scallion, sweet pepper and olive oil, seasoned with salt, pepper and red pepper - served over whole wheat spaghetti. Delicious!

Sometimes, you just have to move your butt and get off the laptop and into the grungy clothes and do it....bleach the pots and grow bags. And that is exactly what I did this morning - 29 large (10-15 gallon) pots for the driveway indeterminates, and 40 white 5 gallon grow bags for the driveway Dwarf varieties. It actually wasn't all that bad - the morning was just beautiful, birds were singing - and it just felt good to be making progress on Garden 2013.

Once the pots were bleached (tipped upside down to air dry), I started attacking the 15 bags of growing mix and 15 bags of composted cow manure. The big pots were moved into position along the periphery of the driveway, then it was off to find my notebook so I could go through the seedlings and decide which plants to put where. With my strategy set, the pots were filled and the tomatoes planted....the 29 varieties in the largest driveway pots have significance, as they are the ones I am featuring in my upcoming book as being particularly relevant to my progression into heirloom tomato growing through the years; many of them were either initial discoveries, back in the mid 1980s, flavor favorites, or tomatoes I either named, developed, or rescued from oblivion. I will provide a list some time soon in an upcoming blog post.

After giving the newly planted seedlings a nice drink of water, I headed back to growing mix bags, grabbed some of the white grow bags and a tray of the first dwarfs to be planted, filled the bags, planted and then placed and watered those tomatoes. This is only a fraction of the Dwarf varieties to be grown this year; today's planted seedlings represent the complete set of all of those varieties we developed and released through various seed companies. I placed them in front of some of the large pot ; indeterminates, and will support them via short stakes in the indeterminate pots; this worked well last year and prevented the grow bag dwarfs from tipping (which is what eventually happens to those planted in the center of the driveway).

Tomorrow I hope to plant the rest of the white grow bags with dwarfs, then bleach my black, no-handled grow bags and plant more of the dwarfs, this time earlier generations of works in progress for our project.  Once those are planted, I will work on the small pot, extreme prune indeterminates for the driveway, then move on to sweet and hot peppers and eggplant. My hope is to get all of that planted - essentially all of the driveway pots, except the very small pot experimental hot peppers (which can easily wait until last). This will give some time for the big waterlogged garden to dry out; early next week that will be the focus of my next planting, ensuring all of the featured book tomatoes and released dwarfs are grown there, as well as the driveway, providing a bit of insurance and hopefully ensuring that each of the varieties will grow and produce tomatoes (that will of course need to be photographed, probably in mid to late July).

I am really sore, tired, but quite pleased at the progress I made today....with more scheduled for tomorrow.  I will take and post some pictures once I get a bit of time and things are a little further along.

Happy gardening!

I suspect that many of you already planted, and could be experiencing frustration at the slow progress of your gardens. My own efforts to get the garden planted continue to be thwarted by the weather. In my garden this morning, puddles abound. During my evening lettuce harvest, it seems like the slugs may be the most happy critters around with this weather....the lettuce harvest isn't what it should be, and the leaves are pretty ugly in spots. So, I must now battle the slugs.

If all goes well, I will be starting the dreaded bleaching of the pots today (yesterday was the equally dreaded purchase of bags of growing mix and composted manure). My hopes are to start making progress on planting indeterminate tomatoes, then dwarf varieties, leaving the peppers and eggplant until last (they are growing the most slowly in their little pots). Then, once that is done, the warm dry weather that is in the forecast will hopefully work magic on the big garden plot and I can attend to planting there late this weekend into next week. 

Since I haven't fed (or sprayed) the seedlings, they are not very pretty - foliage blemishes from the cold, wet weather, faded colors due to being hungry. All will be well once they are planted into their eventual garden homes. If any of you are in need of more seedlings, I've got plenty, and should have for another few weeks. 

Now, life becomes a balance between writing and planting.....wishing sun and warmth to you all.

I was born in New England - the saying there is "if you don't like the weather, just wait a little while and it will change". Well, we've lived in NC for over 20 years, and I am thinking of a variation on that line. "If you think you have spring figured out, wait until next year". The trend to hotter springs, meaning earlier planting, and dry conditions is taking a U-turn this year. The relatively cool days - and, especially, nights - seems to making the plants focus on root development, instead of pushing out vigorous, lush foliage...especially true with eggplant and some peppers. The tomatoes seem to be growing pretty well, but the appearance of the foliage on some varieties is another matter. Certain beefsteak and paste/plum and heart types just don't like this weather, and the unhappiness is showing up as "crud" - crispy, brown edges of leaves (Yellow Oxheart, Bridge Mike, a few others are showing it in particular). The plants are fine; it is a peculiar genetic trait that the plant outgrows once it is moving along in the warmer days of late spring into summer.

Then there are the heart or paste varieties that have less rigidity to their stems - Purple Russian, Anna Russian, Speckled Roman - they bend and flop and wave in the breeze, looking far less healthy than they actually are. Finally, there are the marks from the effects of windy, cool rain, showing up as brownish purple mottling or patches on a few varieties, especially Orange Strawberry and, as usual each year, Sungold. Perhaps it is indicative of the heat loving parents Sungold, but it seems to be one of the unhappiest tomatoes of all until the weather warms and settles.

Today has seen some amazing gully washing downpours. My garden has a river running through it, and the holes that were dug for tomatoes are full of water. If you have already planted, be sure to keep that lower foliage dirt-free by mulching around the plant. If the water doesn't drain away reasonably quickly, the poor drainage could lead to the plant drowning.

Although it is too early for tomato diseases, it is not too early for problems. Be vigilant and act accordingly!

see below for the post-deluge view of my garden (glad I didn't plant yet!)

There were some really good things about today at the market - seeing more of our annual seedling friends and getting to sell next to the home made bread man (his bread is wonderful...we got a pecan sourdough raisin from him, and that's tomorrow's breakfast, as toast).  And then there were the bad things - it isn't a great location on Saturdays as the endless traffic circles, and it was chilly and breezy all day. We will always remember this spring as quite un-spring like (maybe better put un-summer like, when we compare it to the last few years).

And so we turn from seedlings to gardening and writing. We will keep a nice selection of seedlings for the next few weeks; please email to set up a time to come and get some. Mostly, I will be rearranging the driveway and getting the concrete garden of pots going...and, this year, the big side yard garden will be full of tomatoes as well.  Lots of work to be done...bring on warm, drier weather (please!)....

In a way, it seems like the season for our plant sales has ended before it even started. I think it is because, aside from one unusually warm week, it hasn't seemed like the time to plant tomato and pepper plants. Maybe the last two years, being so warm so early, makes us forget what a typical spring is. Typical spring....I guess we will have to redefine what that even means!

Although we won't be at the Farmers Market with our plants after tomorrow, we will still have plenty over the next few weeks. I need my efforts to shift from the seedlings to ensuring I can get my own garden planted, split with completion of the text for my tomato book. So....if you find spaces in your garden, or haven't gotten around to purchasing plants yet, just send an email and schedule a time to come out to our house to get some. There is plenty of just about everything!

So how was it out under the tree today?  It was an odd day - very early there was a nice blue sky and some warming sunshine...then it clouded up and got breezy and cool (what else is new?). This may be our first spring with our seedlings where I've not worn shorts and a Tshirt - jeans and a coat all three weekends. (I know...back to the atypical spring). It is also the first spring that the strawberries aren't sweet and succulent (those we've tasted are firm and a bit green tasting - not warm enough!), and there aren't any sugar snap peas yet. So weird!  But it was another day with some really nice people stopping by - some old friends, and lots of new ones. A few discussed the odd phenomenon of Sungold seedling foliage issues in the cool, rainy weather. It isn't disease - it happens every year, and Sungold outgrows it. Thanks to everyone who came by today!

So....come visit me under the Live Oak in the Farmers Market parking lot tomorrow and let's talk gardening!  Because after tomorrow, if we do see you at the market, we will be shoppers, not sellers!

 

As is typical when strawberries come in, space underneath at the State Farmers Market on Lake Wheeler Road gets very difficult to find. And, given a choice of the Craft area near the seafood restaurant (always slow for us...just an awful location!) and in the parking lot under one of the big trees, I chose a tree to set up under! The trees are in the parking lot that sits between the produce/farmer building and Lake Wheeler Road. I am under the right-hand tree as you stand near the rest rooms and look out toward Lake Wheeler Road.

So, it isn't a perfect location, but it is our last weekend, we've got some really nice plants, and we hope you come out on Friday or Saturday between 8 AM and 3 or 4 PM or so and get some interesting veggie seedlings for your garden.

See you there!