What all are you growing this year?!

[elevenplants]

....elvenpants! I like it! And don't worry, I'll keep you posted on ALL my 'maters!

Rebecca

[Rob]

I'll be checking back to this thread all year. We should post some pictures of our 'maters as they progress.

I just ordered some Purple Cherokee seeds. Anybody ever tried them? My expectations are high, as the reviews are very good (exceptional flavor, big slicer, etc).

[elevenplants]

Good idea about the pictures, Rob. Here's one of a Genovese Costulato almost ready for the ground. I have about 8 varieties. Yes, I'm trying the Cherokee Purple for the first time this year, the seedlings are just up, got a late start on those, they were backordered.

[img]https://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/elevenpictures/photo-3.jpg[/img]

Rebecca

[Gary350]

My garden space is small so I only plant things we eat the most. 40 tomato plant, I will can about 70 pints and 10 quarts. Blue Lake bush beans, I will can about 60 pints. Silver Queen corn, I will freeze about 200 ears. Red Potatoes, bell peppers, 2 banana peppers, 1 chili pepper, yellow squash, okra, zucchini squash, carrots, onions, garlic, leaks, beets, 1 egg plant. I will plant greens late August and plant peas and beets in the snow. Winter crop, turnip green, swiss chard, kale, beets, peas.

[applestar]

When you say can green beans -- do they turn out like the canned beans in stores? I don't like limp canned green beans, but maybe it's different home canned? Also green beans have to be pressure canned, right?

[Gary350]

When you say can green beans -- do they turn out like the canned beans in stores? I don't like limp canned green beans, but maybe it's different home canned? Also green beans have to be pressure canned, right?

Garden canned green beans in Mason jars actually turn out much better than can green beans from the grocery store. I pick about 2 bushel basket of beans, clean and snap them, then cook all day on the stove with seasoning. Season with bacon, sometimes potatoes, mix with other vegatable if you like. Pack it in mason jars, put on the seals and lids, put it in the water bath cooker and cook for the correct time. I don't recall the correct time without looking in my book but I think it is about 20 minutes for pints and 30 minutes for quarts. I have several large pots I can get 1 pot on each eye of the stove. I have one 12 gallon pot that covers 2 burners it holds about 25 mason jars. Sometimes I use the pressure cooker but my water bath is faster I can do 9 jars per pot or about 36 jars at a time with 4 pots.

[applestar]

Gary350, Wow, sounds like a lot of work! I'm not so sure if I'm ready for all that.... but thanks! If in my enthusiasm I end up with a whole lot of beans, I just might try it!

Elevenplants, "The April Fool" has been planted! I have a tomato cage wrapped with a whole (2 layers) white trash bag PLUS a wall-o-water around it. it's already wee bit of a tight fit (the leaves are touching the bag) but hopefully it'll be cozy enough for now.
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image3951.jpg[/img]

Really crazy considering the wind gusts of 40~50mph predicted in the next couple of days and low 30's lows in the next week... but here he is all tucked in for the evening
[img]https://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll272/applesbucket/Image3953.jpg[/img]

Maybe after this cold snap is over, I can take off the bag and just use the wall-o-water. OR I'll have to go for a bigger cage and bubblewrap.

[hendi_alex]

No ground yet for any of my plants. They are cozy and warm in their one gallon to three gallon containers. All are growing rapidly with plenty of room for the roots to spread. Will wait until the weather is settled and the ground is nice and warm before putting the plants in the ground. We are supposed to dip into the 20's one day next week. Hopefully that will be the last cold air intrusion. Just so happens that I'm out of town next week and can't move the plants outside to inside and back. Guess I'll just stick them in the greenhouse with the whiteflies for a few days. Hopefully, the whiteflies won't get too attached to the plants. Really nuked the greenhouse today, while no veggie plants were inside. Hit the flies with a mix of orthene, merit, Enstar II hormone regulator, and oil spray.

[applestar]

You know, "The April Fool" was in a 1/2 gal. pot. Planting him deep (3 lower leaves removed) was a bit of an effort.... Do you know the whole while, I was envisioning your well-grown plants in those giant pots! Moving them in and out, planting them all.... More power to ya! Anyway, good luck with your tom's and don't worry, you're doing everything you can for 'em.

[hendi_alex]

It has been pretty nice, since sizing the plants up all have stayed outside day and night for the past couple of weeks. Brought the four biggest plants in one night when the temp dropped to around 40, but left all others in two cold frames outside. They did just fine. So really have not had to move the plants much at all since they got larger. Had to move them often when they were small, but most all were in trays at that time. Only had about eight items to move in and out for a couple of weeks. Low thirties or into the 20's makes me too nervous to rely on the unheated cold frame, so this move will be a good bit of work, probably thirty or more containers. Still will take only 15 or 20 minutes each direction, and hopefully will be the last time they need to move into a warm area.

[Rob]

I'll be posting up pics within a week.

I've got all my tomatoes in pots (from 1 gallon to 5 gallon at the moment).

During the day I put them out into the sun. I watch the weather reports every single day, and if it's going to be cold, I bring my little darlings in for the night.

I'm not willing to risk the 'maters with the potentially cold weather. Surprisingly, however, some of my other garden veggies (corn, squash, broccoli, lettuce, etc...) have toughed it out so far outside. They've made it through some tough, bitter cold nights...

I suppose "bitter cold" is relative, as I live in Arizona, about a zone 7. April is a bit aggressive as planting goes, but with tough observation and diligent attention to weather patterns, it's possible to get a head start on the garden.

[elevenplants]

Keep us posted on that 'Fool', applestar. Of the ones I put in the ground early, only two survived this last cold snap, although I had them covered. The two that survived were a Genovese Costulato and a Beefsteak. Unfortunately, the German Tree did not make it. Fortunately I have lots more to work with.

Rebecca

[applestar]

Well, last night, they SAID it was going down to 35º, some stations said 32º so I tied on an extra cover -- a scrap of torn up floating cover doubled over. This morning, my NW porch thermometer said 28.7ºF! I WAS a bit worried about the "Fool" even in his SW side of the house location but when I peeked in, he seemed to be OK. I'll go take the cover off and open up the top now since the temp's up to 48ºF and the sun's very warm (I'm guessing upper 60's or even low 70's in the sun).

[Rob]

Seems like maybe we're the hardcore tomato bunch here, huh?

I've been moving my 'maters in and out, in and out, in and out...since my last post, just about every night. They are extremely pampered.

Here's some photos taken tonight (04-28-2009). The quality is pretty bad, but I wanted to get these posted, so...

My Heirlooms, some Basil, and a Bonsai basking in the sun.
[img]https://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/MiserySaw/100_0195.jpg[/img]

Heirloom Red Beefsteak, doing really well so far...
[img]https://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/MiserySaw/100_0197.jpg[/img]

A corner of my backyard. Tomatoes all over the place, in containers, plus a Topsy Turvy. The tree is an apple tree.
[img]https://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/MiserySaw/100_0201.jpg[/img]

My back yard cluttered (for the time) with Tomatoes, Bonsai, and other Veggies:
[img]https://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/MiserySaw/100_0202-1.jpg[/img]

To the best of my recollection this bunch is:
Mr. Stripey, a Roma, Sweet 100, Celebrity, and some flowers. These are my "Orange Box" varieties, NOT my precious heirlooms.
[img]https://i145.photobucket.com/albums/r231/MiserySaw/100_0193.jpg[/img]

My back yard is a work in progress at this point. I'll post up more (and much better) photos later, as my Toms progress...

[sweet thunder]

I am envious of all of you with your many, many tomato plants.

I have a whopping three plants. A Stupice and a Cosmonaut Volkov in containers, and a Sun Gold in the topsy-turvy.

With our cool, foggy summers, it's really hard to get tomatoes to ripen, so I didn't want to plant tons only to have them fail. According to the vendor at the farmer's market, these varieties may give me a fair chance.

The two in containers are in the cold frame with the top open, since they're too tall now for it to close. I figure any little extra bit of warmth they can get will help.

[Haesuse]

My entire yard is shaded 95% of the day, and the only place I can get enough natural light to grow anything is on my back porch, which is elevated 20 feet off the ground, and gets 8+ hours of sunlight per day (from around 11am to about 30 minutes before dark). So, I have 6 plants, all in 5 gallon buckets, each with a dozen 1/4" holes drilled in the bottom, filled with a mixture of potting soil, spent mushroom compost, and sphagnum peat moss (5-to-1-to-2 ratio) to about 1" short of the top. I planted them all on April 16th, from seedlings that were all around 8-10" tall.

-1 Patio Tomato (12", bushy and full, 3 flower clusters)
-1 Husky Cherry Red Tomato (15", 2 main stalks, 5 flower clusters)
-1 Bush Goliath Tomato (18", bushy, 2 golf ball sized tomatoes, and 3 more flower clusters)
-1 Jalapeno (12", thick, 3 peppers, and 12 flowers!!!)
-1 Tabasco (10", thick, decent leaf growth, but absolutely zero flowering, smallest plant of the bunch)
-1 Cayenne (12", insanely bushy, 10+ flowers forming)

I also have Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, Sweet Basil, and Greek Oregano.

[elevenplants]

Yay! Somebody else from Alabama.

Rebecca

[Haesuse]

Yay! Somebody else from Alabama.

Rebecca

where are you? anywhere near birmingham?

[sweet thunder]

I found this little guy on my Stupice yesterday!
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3355/3507806587_37811c7b92.jpg[/img]

And another on the way:
[img]https://farm4.static.flickr.com/3579/3508619916_c101f22903.jpg[/img]

It was already a pretty big plant when I bought it - maybe close to 12" tall - but I transplanted it into its container only three weeks ago, and it has easily doubled in size. I don't want to get my hopes up because I've been disappointed before, but I'm still excited!

[pepper4]

Totally new at this. First year but I want to say I have learned alot from you guys. I am growing lettuce, 3 cabbage plants, 2 cauliflower, about 100 onion, 60 or so radish, 3 tomato plants (Big Boy) 6 cuke plants and a variety of peppers. I live in the city with very little land to work with but I am making the most of what I got. Happening gardening to you all whether it be big or small.

[Duh_Vinci]

Same here, totally new to this! And indeed, learning so much from all of you!

Few tomato varieties (mostly "Black/Purple" varieties and some basket yellows)
Few cukes (Boston Pickling, Space Maker and couple of Red Hmong)
Few varieties of radishes
Few varieties of carrots
Red leaf lettuce seem to be doing rather well
Few variety of bell and hot peppers
Eggplants (Ichiban and Early Long)

Learning as I go

Regards,
D

[Haesuse]

so, a friend's dad had 2 leftover bull's horn pepper plants after planting all of his in. they are still small, but each have 3 peppers already forming.

I immediately brought them home and potted them. sounds tasty.

[elevenplants]

My first two maters! Both on the Genovese Costoluto, grown from seed and transplanted into the ground on Good Friday. Found them a couple of days ago. Also this morning found babies on my Yellow Pear and Roma.

[img]https://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/elevenpictures/photo-34.jpg[/img]

Here we go!!!!

Rebecca

[elevenplants]

Here's a new pic of the Genovese Costoluto tomatoes, they are growing and adding on at a very rapid pace:

[img]https://i701.photobucket.com/albums/ww13/elevenpictures/photo-41.jpg[/img]

Rebecca