A wrinkle of concern crossed my brow this morning when collecting data on the dwarfs for this update. One plant - Rosella Crimson - looks somewhat unhappy. The foliage isn't as perky, the plant now progressing vertically at the rate of the others, the foliage with a hue that isn't the brilliant blue green of the others. I took a cutting from the top of the plant (which looked OK) and am rooting it as a back up.

Other than that - wow!  The most frequent height gain over the course of the week was 5 inches (16 plants); the possibly ailing Rosella Crimson gained an inch, and a few really shot up - Jade Beauty, Beryl Beauty and Sean's Yellow Dwarf putting on 8-9 inches. Overall, the average gain in height was 5.5 inches per plant.

Most common plant heights are 19 inches (4 plants), 20 inches (5 plants), 21 inches (4 plants), 22 inches (5 plants), and 23 inches (5 plants). 

A whopping 24 plants set fruit already - 6 others have open flowers, and 8 have buds. I've been starting to collect data on how far up the vine the blossom clusters form, and how many flowers form in each cluster - that's information to share later on.

In general, the Sneezy and Nosey offspring tend to be the tallest, and the Cheeky and Grumpy family members the shortest.


Top row -  two views of the rear driveway line of Dwarfs, and one view of the side line up.
Next row - closeup of a Dwarf, the possibly unhappy Rosella Crimson, and a large open blossom
Third row - Green fruit - Dwarf Beryl Beauty, two from Dwarf Pink Passion
Last row - Dwarf Golden Heart first fruit.

The weeks are flying by!  The Straw Bale garden has now been growing for a month - and it is Saturday, meaning it is time for a report and some pictures.  I am going to use a report card format.

Bale 1 - lettuce and arugula - B. We are eating both, and considering that it is nearly June and it's been quite hot, it's doing fine. Next year the lettuce bale starts 2 months earlier and I will be on an "A"
#2 - lettuce and basil - B+ - see above for lettuce comments. The basil is doing great!
#3 - Swiss Chard - A- - we are going to be eating lots of chard this summer. Thriving.
#4 - Collards and Kale - A- - ditto
#5 - Peas - B - I think a harvest of shoots will happen in a week or so. Another that will get a much earlier start next year
#6-9 - Bush Beans - ranging from F to C+ - very spotty germination - seeds rotting, so going to replant again. A light dust of a fungicide would help. Third time's the charm?
#10, #14 - Beets - B+ - A month earlier start, perhaps, but they are looking fine - harvest in a few weeks.
#11, 13 - Carrots - C- - Needing to re-seed yet again. An earlier start would be helpful I think - plus the mushrooms bursting through the shallow top soil layer really upsets the seed. Need to think this through.
#12 - Leeks - C - looks like I lost quite a few seedlings - center got too hot?  I am going to replant seeds, and fill in the holes in a few weeks - those that survived looked great. High potential, disappointing execution so f
#15, 16, 19, 20 - potatoes - ranging from incomplete to C - this grade will rise - shoots are starting to appear; it takes some time, but it is a long season!  One more bale to plant - the potatoes are just sprouting.
#17 - Radishes - C - Germination was fine, but I forgot to use BT to prevent cabbage loopers.  Plus a start of a few months earlier would help.
#18 - Squash - B - We are getting there - one more seed replant and the hills will be filled in.
#21 - Cukes and squash - C+ - ditto
#22 - Squash - A - doing wonderfully!

Overall I am pleased....and where I am not pleased, I have ways that I can make things better this year - and certainly next (by being more strategic and differentiating my bale prep dates).  I love it!

Pics:

top row - overview, lettuce bales, chard, kale and pea bales
second - leeks and carrots, beets and carrots, potatoes
third 

My list of varieties may seem random or mysterious, but quite a lot of thought goes into each year's garden planning - and this year is no exception. I will take you through my reasoning and objectives, crop by crop (for the driveway garden....the side bale garden with non-tomato family crops is all about trying straw bales for everything that we enjoy harvesting and eating).

Let's start with peppers....sweet peppers.  We eat a lot of sweet peppers - fresh on salads, roasted, added to sauteed dishes, or chopped and frozen for later use. Since moving to 5 gallon black containers, the yields achieved have soared. I am growing out the most advanced of my newly named varieties selected and stabilized over the years from the hybrid Blue Jay; these are Amethyst, White Gold, Fire Opal, and Royal Purple. Also being grown is a large green to chocolate bell, in fact called Chocolate Bell,  that  I've also stabilized from a hybrid. The rest - World Beater, Kalman Hungarian, Red Belgium, Garden Sunshine, Lipstick, Orange Bell, and Chervena - are long time favorites grown for eating (and seed saving). Finally, a seedling friend Diane shared with me a plant of a white hybrid bell, Bianca, and some true Corno di Toro (mine has gone over to the dark side - hot! - see below). I hope to save seeds from Bianca and grow out a number of F2 generation next year...let's see what I find!

Next come a set of peppers given to me by a friend when speaking in Decatur, Georgia earlier this year. All "authentic" Paprika type peppers, I really look forward to seeing how these do - color, shape, size, and heat.  This group includes Feherezon, Alma, Pritiman, Rubinova, Fuszer Paprika and Lydia. Watch for pictures and updates throughout the season.

Finally come the hot peppers. Sue and I are finding ourselves turning up the temperature in our foods more and more each passing week, so these are for eating, freezing, drying for chopping into pepper flakes, and seed saving - a new favorite, a tapas preparation with the variety Padron.  Also included in my garden are Bulgarian Carrot, Vacquero, Takanotsume, Serrano, Jalapeno and Pinata. Some I am growing for their ornamental beauty as well as the culinary uses - such as Fish, Vietnamese Multicolor, and Pretty Purple. Then there is the mystery of Corno di Toro - will the plant from my saved seed still be hot?  Stay tuned!

We have a neighbor from Jamaica who craves hot food and loves my peppers!  For him, at the front of my garden, are containers of Bird, Orange Bell (a mystery - likely crossed with a hot pepper, since it has purplish foliage), Fish (growing out a plant with no variegation), Trinidad Perfume, Garden Sushine (a sweet bell that also crossed with a hot pepper, given its purplish foliage), Pretty Purple, Takanotsume, Bulgarian Carrot. Pretty Purple (a crossed selection since the foliage is far more pale in color), and Serrano.

The above will provide lots of good - and dangerous, in some cases! - eating, as well as some lovely photographs and lots of fresh seed.

It is finished - yesterday saw the final planting (there is no final planting with me, but let's call it that for the moment, until I decide to plant something else!).  I am growing these varieties this year:

Dwarf tomatoes in straw bales lining my driveway (all but one was released to at least one seed company between 2010 and late last year)

Iditarod Red
Sarandipity
Dwarf Arctic Rose
Bundaberg Rumball
Yukon Quest
Perth Pride
Sleeping Lady
Dwarf Jade Beauty
Sean's Yellow Dwarf
Dwarf Beryl Beauty
Tasmanian Chocolate
Dwarf Kelly Green
Dwarf Pink Passion
Summertime Gold
Dwarf Golden Heart
Boronia
Chocolate Lightning
Dwarf Scarlet Heart - (this one is probably ready - it is being grown out for seed this year, and is likely available in late 2015)
Big Green Dwarf
Dwarf Purple Heart
Chocolate Champion
Dwarf Emerald Giant
Dwarf Wild Fred
Summertime Green
Banksia Queen
Summer Sunrise
Rosella Crimson 
Summer Sweet Gold
Rosella Purple
Dwarf Mr. Snow
Fred's Tie Dye
Sweet Adelaide
Sweet Adelaide - different seed lot - comparing the two for consistency
Dwarf Blazing Beauty
Dwarf Sweet Sue
Uluru Ochre
Sweet Scarlet Dwarf
Wherokowhai

I am growing the following on my deck:

Sun Gold (3 plants)
Tiger Tom
Egg Yolk
Mexico Midget
Mystery Cherry - appeared as a plant that grew through the cracks of my friend Bob's deck; he used to grow Sweet Million and Sun Gold years ago from my seedlings.  Who knows what this will be!

The following tomatoes are in 5 gallon grow bags using a new staking method, for two specific purposes (future blog post).

Cherokee Green
Little Lucky
Chocky F1 (Cherokee Chocolate X Dwarf Mr Snow, F1 hybrid, crossed by me last year)
Yellow Brandywine - red fruited cross or mix up, plant from my friend Steve
Morty F1 (Summer Sunrise X Mullens Mortgage Lifter, F1 hybrid, crossed by me last year)
Burgundy Traveler purple fruited variant that arose last year, seed from my friend Reitzel's plant
Ruggy F1 (Rutgers X Dwarf Kelly Green, F1 hybrid, crossed by my friend Carson last year)
Jaune Flamme
Arkansas Traveler
Magnus
Lillian's Yellow Heirloom
Large Lucky Red - one of the plants that went to Philadelphia with us, used for demos at talks!
Big Raspberry - Polish variety from my friend Roman
Sweet Adelaide - "rescued"; rerooted after failing in a bale early on
Ferris Wheel potato leaf Dwarf - a mystery variety that appeared in my Ferris Wheel seed
Sweet Scarlet Heart - "rescued"; rerooted after failing in a bale early on
Rosso Sicilian
Italian tomato given to me as a plant by a friend Ivana
Burgundy Traveler, red fruited cross or mix up, plant given to me by my friend Steve
Berkeley Tie Dye
Yellow White
Yellow Brandywine
Indian Stripe
Green Giant
KBX
JD Special C Tex
Lucky Cross
Dester
Dwarf Mr Snow - "rescued"; rerooted after failing in a bale early on
Wherokowhai - "rescued"; rerooted after failing in a bale early on
Rosella Purple - back up for the bale plant - one is not enough!
Yellow Polka - yellow dwarf given to me as seed from Poland by my friend Roman
Dr Wyche's Yellow
Anna Russian
Druzba
Brandywine
Cherokee Chocolate
Pink Berkeley Tie Dye
Cherokee Purple
Speckled Roman
Mortgage Lifter, Mullens pale leaf - weird mutation for chartreuse foliage
Sleeping Lady - "rescued"; rerooted after failing in a bale early on
Burgundy Traveler purple fruited variant - Dwarf that arose in the seed
Ferris Wheel Regular leaf  dwarf - showed up in a planting of Ferris Wheel


Peppers


Amethyst
White Gold 
World Beater
Fire Opal
Royal Purple
White Gold - different seed lot
Chocolate Bell
Kalman Hungarian
Corno di Toro - sweet pepper, plant from a friend Diane
Red Belgium
Garden Sunshine
Lipstick
Orange Bell
Chervena
Bianca F1 - plant from a friend Diane
Feherezon - Paprika pepper new to me
Bulgarian Carrot
Alma - Paprika pepper new to me
Vacquero
Pritiman - Paprika pepper new to me
Padron
Rubinova - Paprika pepper new to me
Pinata
Fuszer Paprika - Paprika pepper new to me
Jalapeno
Lydia - Paprika pepper new to me
Takanotsume
Fish
Vietnamese Multicolor
Serrano
Corno di Toro - from my seed, hot variant due to a cross
Pretty Purple
Bird
Orange Bell - crossed with a hot pepper - purplish foliage
Fish - growing out a plant with no variegation
Trinidad Perfume
Garden Sushine - crossed with a hot pepper - purplish foliage
Pretty Purple
Takanotsume
Bulgarian Carrot
Pretty Purple - crossed and has paler foliage
Serrano


Ground Cherry


Aunt Molly's

Eggplant

Mardi Gras
Rosita
Rosa Bianca
Skinny Twilight
Green Ghost
Twilight Lightning
Listada di Gandia
Midnight Lightning
Snow Globe
Green Ghost (different veining color on foliage from the one above)
Twilight Lightning (ditto)
Antigua
New York Improved
Twilight Lightning  - yet another slight foliage color variant
Skinny Twilight  - slightly different foliage color from the one above

Below:

top row - the driveway garden; rear row bale dwarfs; eggplant/pepper rows
middle row - indeterminate tomatoes, closeup of a cluster, Aunt Molly ground cherry
bottom row - closer look at a few Dwarf tomatoes in bales, all that's left of the seedlings (including the Mexico Midget incubator pot!)

Sue and I did something this morning not done by us in years - went strawberry picking. Though the season is pretty advanced, we got what we went for...then came home and washed them, put some in the fridge, froze lots and made a recipe of refrigerator jam....that will be for our cornbread some breakfast morning this week.

It was another absolutely perfect day - warm, but not at all humid, blue skies, refreshing breeze. Plants can dry out quickly on a day like this, so a mid afternoon watering was appreciated by our gardens. While watering I noticed some nice surprises....the peas and beans planted as fill ins in the bales are germinating much better. Two of the potato pieces planted are growing (finally!) - the dark purplish foliage color means it is the "blue" potato from the mix I got at Trader Joe a few weeks ago. The tomatoes, peppers and eggplant all look great.  

Finally, we are now regularly picking lettuce, arugula, and various greens - they've made it into a few salads, a smoothie, and a pasta primavera 

It is quite a sight to see each of the released dwarf varieties side by side, all growing together where similarities and differences are easily noted. I am pleased to say that all varieties are doing well - most are thriving. No needs to replace plants arose this week; I've got backups reserved for all of them just in case.

Recall that the first week, the average height gain was 1.5 inches, and the second week saw the plants growing at an average gain of 3.5 inches. The data I collected this morning and analyzed show that the plants grew at an average rate of 4 inches, with most gaining 4 (14 varieties) to 5 (11 varieties) inches. The largest gains were by Sean's Yellow Dwarf and Dwarf Golden Heart (6 inches each), and Dwarf Pink Passion (7 inches). 

The tallest at this point is Dwarf Pink Passion (23 inches tall), with Dwarf Golden Heart and Dwarf Emerald Giant at 19 inches. Most varieties are in the 15-17 inch range.

As far as the real payoff - the tomatoes! - I am happy to note that only 4 varieties are yet to show buds (three of them replanted, and only Sean's Yellow Dwarf lagging in that detail). The amazing news is that 12 varieties show buds, and 22 have open flowers. It will be very interesting to see the success of fruit set variety to variety, then the eventual ripening dates.  But that's all to come!

I have good pictures of each of the plants (in most cases plants as well as buds or blossoms) - but don't feel a need to show them all.  How about a few of particular interest!

Top Row - Yukon Quest from side, from Top, and Dwarf Beryl Beauty from the side
Second row - Dwarf Beryl Beauty from the top, Dwarf Jade Beauty from the side and top
Third row - Dwarf Sweet Sue, Sweet Sue flowers, Fred's Tie Dye
Fourth row - Fred's Tie Bye huge top flower, Iditarod Red, from side and from top
Fifth row - Rosella Crimson, Rosella Crimson flower cluster, Uluru Ochre
Last row - large flower on Uluru Ochre

I've noticed that the foliage of some of the Grumpy selections is prone to some leaf curl and unusual rounded shape (though still regular leaf, not potato leaf - check the Yukon Quest and Iditarod Red pics from the top.

When I selected Jade Beauty and Beryl Beauty, I noticed that the foliage is more crinkled (rugose) on Jade, when compared to Beryl - see the top views above.

Then of course are the huge flowers that show up on some varieties. Finally, Rosella Crimson (and Purple) always seem to throw clusters containing many flowers - you can see that in the pic.

Lots of fine detail, I know...but I am working to get to know and understand the personality of each one of these new varieties.

You gotta be kidding - I took my garden walk at sunrise...48 degrees.  Wonderful - spectacular - the birds were happy (and so was I...and so was the lettuce!).  Three weeks in is a good time to start getting a handle on things.

Lettuce, basil, arugula - pretty happy with this despite the heat this spring - time to pick. Basil in particular is very very happy. If I can get this started a few months earlier, this will be fantastic.

Chard, Kale, Collards - they aren't crazy with the very hot days either, but these two bales look just great.  Picking time here as well - and I am using BT (bacillus thuringiensis spray) on the collards and kale in hopes of keeping the cabbage loopers in control

Peas - the replanting is germinating, and despite the dislike of hot days, we will get a reasonable yield of pea shoots in a few weeks.  This is another to get going much earlier.

Beans - the replants are starting to emerge, which is a good thing - we love green beans, and I can wait to pick them sitting down in a chair!

Beets - looking very good...I think these will be a real success.

Carrots - the replanted seeds aren't up yet, but for a first experiment, I suspect I will be able to get enough to evaluate carrots in bales.

Leeks - some are doing very well, but I don't know if the blank spaces will emerge eventually, or didn't make it. I should start some more seedlings to fill in.

Potatoes - nothing showing yet

Radishes - lots of plants, but they really hate the heat of mid-day.  It is important to keep them watered.

Squash and Cukes - most are coming along fine, and the replanted seeds should emerge soon.

Overall, things are on track for the garden to provide a really good assessment of an assortment of crops in bales.  Picture are below.

top row - overview of the garden, bale with lettuce and arugula, bale with lettuce and basil
second row - chard bale, kale and collards bale, one of the bean bales
third row - one of the beet bales, one of the squash bales

Top: the driveway; bale with lettuce and basil; blueberries
Second: Chard in bale, cherry tomato blossom, collards and kale in bale
Third: Lettuce on deck, indeterminate tomatoes in grow bags, marigold blossom on dwarf tomato
Fourth: Chive flowers, eggplant in grow bags, scented geranium on deck in a pot
Fifth: Aunt Molly ground cherry in grow bag, indeterminate tomatoes in grow bags, Pretty Purple hot pepper
Last: Mexico Midget tomato incubator (pot my daughter grew it in last year....dozens and dozens germinated!), morning drops of water on a dwarf tomato, with it's buds

enjoy!  Off to Gastonia in the morning!

A garden full of straw bales on a hot, humid day sure smell distinctive - I find myself wondering where the horses are. It is also remarkable how much work is saved by growing in bales - watering is the main activity, and it isn't a problem at all since the bales sit so high.

One issue with the continuously emerging mushrooms is that they push up on the direct seeded bales, interrupting the surface and most certainly impacting a few planted seeds. It is a small price to pay, and I will take a week to see how the replants germinate - the fill in with more seeds. I did see some replanted beans germinating today.

The rate of growth of the plants is pretty remarkable - notably the basil, chard, kale, collards, and of course, tomatoes. Of the 38 dwarf tomatoes in dwarfs, 15 have OPEN FLOWERS!, 15 others have buds. They are now growing at an inch or more every two days. Days to maturity will be really interesting this year - I have a feeling that most of the varieties are going to come in at around the same time, but we shall see. Clearly, the biggie is keeping the plants sufficiently hydrated following fruit set so that blossom end rot is avoided.  At this point, with days at 90 degrees or more and no rain in many days, I am watering lightly in the morning, then again late afternoon when the plants look like they need it. 

Something else that is really standing out is the rate of growth of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant in the black plastic grow bags. I promise to take some pictures over the weekend and post them into a blog. Right now the grow bags are all clustered together, waiting for space to free up in the driveway (which will certainly happen after the Thursday and Friday events).

Tomorrow's garden task is to work on the edge gardens in the back yard....more about pruning, thinning and removing than planting.  I will be doing battle with mugwort, knotweed, creeping Charlie and stilt grass for the most part.  And, hopefully, NOT copperhead snakes!

I love days like today - a maintenance kind of day....a "getting to some garden tasks I've been putting off for so long" type of day.  Such as....

We've had some shrubbery (I am not a shrubber...but one of my favorite Monty Python scenes!) in large containers for far too many years that were doing far too poorly. Among these are a gorgeous lace cap hydrangea, a more traditional white snowball flowered hydrangea, a pale yellow knock out rose and an azalea purchased years ago from the Fair grounds that has yet to bloom. Whether in a poor location, pot bound or ignored, they deserved better.

The light went on....the back of my side garden, being populated by all sorts of things over the past few days (fig trees, a red leaf Japanese maple, beauty berries, a lilac we've had for over 20 years that's been moved here and there, loving none of the places....some lantana, a chartreuse leaf forsythia, butterfly bushes).  Well, all of that is now been joined by three of the unhappy shrubs (the yellow rose is now on the side of our house in between two gloriously satisfied red knock outs) - may they be much happier (and reward us with blooms) now that I did the tortuous job of digging deep holes in the rocky, slimy wet red clay.  I also moved two pale leaf spirea into our front natural area, and out of their confining containers.  Finally, a dark leaf Weigela given to us by a friend years ago took up residence in a large pot where the miserable lace cap used to be. May it find a more suitable existence!

Aside from that, it was watering, a bit of transplanting, and a special tomato plant delivery. I am hot, tired, sore, and very, very satisfied with that progress.  Tomorrow comes one I've really dreaded - taming our back yard edge gardens. I fear that a copper head sighting is in my future.....it's a jungle out there!