Applestar’s 2019 Garden

[applestar]

DigitS’ — haha you posted while I was composing my novella. Tomato vines are so unwieldy! They seem flexible, and they are near the end — and soft and easily bruised or torn, but they become less pliableand it’s not easy to tell where the change occurs ... the angle of the leaf and stem branches are important — as are fruit stems — push in the opposite direction and snap! I keep breaking off way too green and tiny to be any good fruits, every time I try to adjust or reach in or tie up to a support....

Amy Sue and The Witz — I have to grow them again.

[applestar]

I’m harvesting lots of blackberries now even though I’m only picking ones that I can reach.

Also had to show the “mushroom that could” — another shiitake popped up from my home made substrate. ...I picked it even though it could have grown a bit bigger in another day, and chopped it up and cooked it into a pasta sauce with the lopped tops of the Brussels Sprout stalks. The tender baby cabbage that forms at the top always gets eaten up by the caterpillars, so I decided to go ahead and lop them off now — the sprouts are already starting to button, so — even though it’s the middle of the summer — I’m hoping to hurry up the process. I’ve Also cut off the leaves from the sprouts that are about pea to marble-sized.



The Brussels sprout tops were full of tiny little caterpillars — dunk and swished in 3 changes of water in 2 gallon buckets, then just for our peace of mind, par-boiled them in salted boiling water and looked (no worms ), then chopped and sautéed in sweet pepper oil and butter with sausage and meatballs, onions, and the shiitake before adding the tomato sauce.

[applestar]

Funeral song for the (not so dear) departed ....

...left one is an obviously spent cabbageworm with parasitic wasps larvae emerging to pupate.
...right shows a blackened cabbageworm hanging — most likely due to Bt infection (I’ve been forced to use it since I haven’t been able to get out and work in the garden in the way I would have wished), but could have been sucked dry by a predator. 2nd tiny caterpillar looks to me to be diseased, and I’m not sure what that is but there is an insect lurking in the shadows....

[TomatoNut95]

I picked my first Garden Peach tomato today. It was a runt, but wasn't gonna waste it.....but it was wasted anyway. Wouldn't you know a WORM WAS ON IT??? AARRGGH. Had to throw it out! There has been some kind of green grasshoppers eating in my garden. I hand pick them and send them to their death in the chicken coop. Heh-heh, they don't last five seconds in there!

Speaking of fragile tomato plants, my Ketchup tomato is pretty bad. It's not a vining type, it's a pretty short determinate type. But boy, it's branches break so easily! This spring I had a young plant in a pot ready to be transplanted and a gust of wind knocked it off the table, causing the plant to shatter into a million pieces as if it were made of glass!

[applestar]

Here are two of the Hestia F1 Brussels Sprouts in a KG.Patio SIP that seem to be starting to form sprouts. These are two of the plants that I lopped the top from as mentioned above.

...the white powdery stuff is Surround kaolin clay mixed with thuricide/Bt. I usually end up with milkweed growing from between the patio bricks in this corner, but I pulled them all when I realized I was going to end up having to use Bt so the Monarch butterflies won’t be affected From using them for their babies.

[applestar]

Around 7am, I was looking out of the window when I first woke up, trying to decide if I really wanted/needed to go out this morning when it was already 78°F with forecasted heat index of 104°F in the afternoon.... and I thought I might have a hornworm out there — half of my Goldfish (Orange fruited Fish sport) plant leaves were GONE! (And of course it was the better variegated of the two plants in the pot)

(Mind you ...this might be my garden’s idea of a joke after I implied last night that I might be willing to eat a hornworm if it had been raised on special diet of young hot pepper leaves and some ripe tomatoes and peppers )


— after a closer look at the crime scene, preliminary findings point to a bold rabbit — the potted pepper on a toddler garden bench was the worst mangled victim, but Brussels sprout and cabbage in the cedar barrel planter were significantly munched and so was a cabbage in a Rubbermaid tote SIP — both of which required the perpetuator to stand on hind legs and possible jump up. An empty pot next to the SIP had been knocked over. (Yeah, the patio is a sight afa weeds go — lowest on my priorities right now while I’m trying to catch up with basic food garden care....)

...looking at the top photo, hmmm do you think a rabbit would have ignored the carrot leaves in the front? Could this have been the work of a groundHOG? But I think they would have eaten more....? Or are we back to raccoons? — Every time there has been a raccoon raid, I find dead goldfish in the big holding tub, and I did find one floating this morning.

Here is a photo of the holding tub, and a representative photo of a bucket — all my buckets with reserved rainwater have feeder comet goldfish and rosy minnows in them for mosquito control. Short pieces of garden hose and tubing use siphon effect for keeping multiple buckets at same water level.

I do use wire shelving over the big tub to protect them, but it’s possible the raccoons mess with them and injure them or scare them to death (yes, it’s possible, I’ve seen it happen).


...I should pay more attention to the kitties when they are showing inordinate interest in looking out of the windows. One of them even pushed her way to a window that is blocked by various objects yesterday — but that was during daytime.

[TomatoNut95]

I have seen a hornworm eating on a very hot pepper in the past, a chiltepin pepper I believe. How in the world the worm didn't turn red and flame up I don't know!!

Maybe you should invest in those motion activated water squirters, @Applestar. Place them around your fishes and plants, and when an animal walks by..... SQUIRT! Also pour some ammonia around. @Nobody said try laying some dog or human hair around.

[applestar]

Thanks for the ideas @TomatoNut95. I might try the squirter if I ever get around to assembling an automatic irrigation system. For now, I prefer to shut all the hose bib off when I’m not outside.... I know ammonia has been suggested as useful gardening tool (fertilizer, too) and while I appreciate the suggestions, my chemical sensitivities include ammonia, so that’s a no. I actually do spread my own hair and DD’s hair around sometimes. I have a thing about all the chemicals used at hair salons and even barber shops sometimes though I agree permed hair is plenty smelly haha.

[TomatoNut95]

Ok, scratch the ammonia..., what about soap? Also, if you grow any hot peppers, crush them into liquid and spritz here and there. One lick should send ANYTHING off! I know it would me, I can't stand hot peppers. I like Jalapeno Cheetos and other chips, but when it comes to fresh hot peppers....no way.

[applestar]

I might be melting from all the heat, but the melons and watermelons are loving it and taking off.


- top right photo, the left “row” — actually an outer spiral arc in the Spiral Garden — those are some kind of C.maxima squash I believe.
- What I have been wanting to do for the past almost 2 weeks and haven’t had the chance, is to lay the black weed barrier down under those vines. Original plan was to pull the weeds and strawberries as the vines grew, but I wasn’t able to keep up with them. I have decided that I might smother all the (mostly wild, some Sea Scape) strawberries here since strawberries don’t need to grow in one of my best and sunniest garden beds.
- Surround sprayed on the melons and watermelons was mixed with some milk, Potassium bicarbonate, and Epsom salts.
- I sprayed the Surround + Bt mixture on the C.maxima, especially the base of the vines, and tried to spray INTO any splits or sawdust/burrowed holes in the already infested C.pepo squash vines growing elsewhere

[applestar]

Last night we had a bit of rain storm that rapidly cooled the sweltering 90’s temp down to mid-low 70’s, which was a cause for celebration, but I was left a bit worried because the motion activated LED light strip kept turning on. I had hoped that the “masked midnight marauders” had been dealt with or have gone away, certainly not be on the prowl on a stormy night.

So this morning when I saw that several of the container plants including the heavy Rosemary pot has been flung down to the ground, I was seriously worried and hurried outside.

In addition to the container plants, 2 of the Pink and Purple Mexican corn were down! Unless it had been raccoons and they climbed the corn and pushed them over, I thought there must have been some wind that I didn’t know about (later I looked it up and the storm had been accompanied by wind gusts of 24 mph).

While I was assessing the situation, a hummingbird flew over to me, and then hovered in the middle distance to the fence. She eventually went to the female cucumber blossom you can see behind her and took a few sips, then flew off (I captured some of her flight on a Live Photo sequence ) She distracted me and I was too intent on getting the corn back upright so I didn’t take more pictures of the corn while they were down, but I took the second photo from where the corn had been nearly touching the ground.


- I had chance to look at them closely, and there are no signs of silks or tasseling — this is a very late maturing corn.

There were tomatoes that had been insufficiently supported that needed to be tied up... and just now I’m remembering that I forgot to take care of another one at had meant to...

[applestar]

I really would have been happy not to see the stalk borer this year — they do seem to somehow target the VIP’s on my grow list every year — lsst year was one of the Bill’s Striped peppers, and the year before that was my Wild Rosa tomato Subject: STALK BORER in my Tomato , Potato, PEPPER

This year, it attacked the only Fish pepper I am growing for comparing with the four Goldfish (Fish sport). I was about to finish up and go inside when I noticed the telltale sawdust/frass on the stem —



- LEFT : took a photo of the entire plant before having to cut it down — superficially, it looks fine
- CENTER-TOP : sawdust/frass and black bore hole
- CENTER-BOTTOM : stem Cut below the bore hole — chewed hollow stem is revealed
- RIGHT-TOP : managed to "find" the borer after two 1/2 inch segments were cut from the stem above the bore hole
- RIGHT-BOTTOM : Cut and split open stem to reveal/extract the borer

...At least I caught it in time— I trimmed the hollow stems down to solid healthy stem and there are several very variegated growths that had already started to grow from the leafnodes lower down the stem, so I think it will grow back, just significantly delayed since the plant was just about to open the first blossom with at least another 1/2 dozen flower buds.

[TomatoNut95]

Oh wow, sorry your stuff fell over. But lest you go some rain and cooler temps!

A couple of years ago....or was that last year.....my greenhouse blew over 'cause a tornado came dangerously close to my house. Had to tape up all the holes in it. Will not be using that same greenhouse next year, the plastic won't go another year. Cheap.

Pink corn??? Wow; soft pink or like hot pink? So wanna see pics of that when it's ready! So have you ever grown that Glass Gem corn? I'd like to grow corn, but won't fit in my raised bed. I have heard of dwarf corn, but it doesn't sound like you can just cook and eat the kernels like regular yellow corn, I think you're supposed to pop it, or make cornmeal.

[applestar]

Subject: Applestar’s 2018 Garden

We had heavy frost this morning. Yesterday, I scrambled to harvest most of everything that were left —



...in spite of the unfavorable location and neglect and squirrels two of the Pink and Purple Mexican corn managed to completely mature, with dried out husks, and yielded enough for me to save for seed corn.

Too many photos in the Glass Gem thread to copy here Subject: First Glass Gem Corn Harvest

[applestar]

Subject: Applestar’s 2019 Garden

This one’s turning red. Helsing Junction Blues is becoming very likely...

Harvested that first fruit. Just had to take a photo of the color-match/comparison with the blackberries

[TomatoNut95]

That is just gorgeous! I am SO in love with that cherry! Blue Berries from Baker is now on my to-get list for 2020!

[applestar]

First Prudens Black harvested — good thing I did, too, because I only saw that it had split from last night’s rain AFTER I cut it off and turned it over


— when it’s only a “skin-deep” split like this, I wash well with water, wrap with a paper dinner napkin or paper towel, then put on a rack or in a basket in the kitchen or other designated location with good air flow, out of direct sunlight. This keeps out possible insects like fruit flies, gnats, or ants that might be around, also seems to forestall molding, and the crack sometimes can skin over and heal, allowing the fruit to fully ripen.

[applestar]

I forgot that In addition to Ernie’s Plump and Charlie Chaplin, there was another piriform/pouch type variety that these could be since it has ripened red — Canestrino Della Garfagnana.

Has anyone grown both Ernie’s Plump and Canestrino Della Garfagnana and could help me make a comparison? I’m thinking Ernie’s Plump is ribbed but not as fluted/pleated as these in the BOTTOM-CENTER — the pleated shoulders are more like Charlie Chaplin and Canestrino Della Garfagnana



...If any of these ripen pink, then Gezahnte is the likely variety.

...note the flower shaped sun-print “tan” line where the stem/calyx was removed on the antho variety (Helsing Junction Blue?)


There was a full sized cucumber hiding — maybe I missed it before because it was camouflaged next to the variegated tomato leaves this should be Pickarow or Littleleaf — I’m thinking Pickarow

The cucumber vines growing up the new trellis along VGC have started producing female blossoms — not long now

...oh, and this is what happens when you skip harvesting blackberries for ONE DAY when they are at their peak — picked only the blackest, ripest ones I could reach and harvested 1 gallon or more. I cooked and strained the least attractive ones to make some clear juice for drinking (sweetened with toasted sugar) and gelatin mold sweetened with honey.

[applestar]

I think the raccoon are back — these three bog-plant containers were pushed over/pushed into the pond this morning



Also, if you remember?

...Or are we back to raccoons? — Every time there has been a raccoon raid, I find dead goldfish in the big holding tub, and I did find one floating this morning.

...well, this morning, there were 5 floaters — one a nice comet ‘baby koi with black fin markings.

There didn’t seem to be any damage in the corn patch, though, so maybe the bright LED motion activated light strips by the corn patch and by the pond were effective to some extent. Maybe I should put more out there.

... They didn’t mess with the pepper and coffee plants in the gravel bog filter...

[TomatoNut95]

I think coffee was supposed to be a critter ridder. Maybe if you tried sprinkling coffee grounds around?

[applestar]

If you are talking about used coffee grounds (UCG), we use a keurig and I save the pods to recycle for seed starting containers after some modification (there’s sticky post in seed starting forum about that). So I have used UCG’s for almost everything including potting mix and soil amendment and mulch, as well as compost pile ingredient and vermicomposter bedding. I haven’t noticed much effectiveness as repellant of any kind. I’ve had a bunch of used pods in a bag/container waiting to be processed on the patio, and something had raided it and scattered them around, I wouldn’t count on smell of coffee as particularly useful either.

If this is about NOT used coffee grounds, I refuse to buy perfectly good coffee grounds and spread/throw them away. (and I have other objections to cheap commercial coffee grounds ...including that the worst of them can smell like skunk.....)

[TomatoNut95]

I meant unused; but I understand. Yeah raccoons are tricky, sneaky devils. If pepper spray or a motion activated water squirter doesn't work, hire someone to hide outside at night with a gun! Are you able to trap the animal and kill or relocate at least?

[applestar]

Nope. This area is zoned “residential” and we’re in NJ.

[applestar]

Molten Sun has volunteered in the same VGC/D bed F4 was growing in. This should make this year’s plant F5 with the fruits bearing F6 seeds.

It’s very difficult to capture on the iPhone cam, but compare the matte-white grape with the row of Molten Sun from the same plant — can you see the metallic/shiny streaks? The effect is enhanced in the sunlight by the clear/yellow striped epi and the translucent flesh underneath, as well as the faint blossom end blush.



...from July 18, 2018...

I’m excited by this new development in the Molten Sky line. At least two of the F4 plants are producing what looks like clear yellow with gold streaks instead of red with gold streaks. The yellow version appears to be slightly earlier, too. I only have one good Molten Sky F4 fruit harvested so far. These red elongated fruits which I thought are Molten Sky are not showing any/significant striping/streaks....

— you can see the difference in the color of Molten Sky variant F4 when compared to other white and yellow tomatoes here. I’m naming the variant Molten Sun F4

— bottom-right fruit trusses are Afternoon Rosé F4

[TomatoNut95]

Beautiful! A real rainbow of tomatoes! So are all those cherries going to salad? Be so pretty with all those different colors in there!

[applestar]

Ah, but the Bassett’s Bleen (GREEN when ripe cherry tomatoes) are not coming in yet. Yep, salad or also great looking (and tasting!) when cut in half and scattered on pizza. I also like them in omelette. Mostly the multi-colored cherry tomatoes are kept in an open basket in the kitchen to snack on

[applestar]

Elsewhere, I was listing up typical problems that befalls the garden around this time of the year.

Kale and Brussels Sprouts tend to enter holding pattern once the heat of the summer arrives, not only that they stop growing much, but due to frenetic cabbage white butterfly activity — egg dumping multiple eggs — and arrival of cabbage moths. Cabbage white butterfly eggs are laid singly, but they start laying dozens at once, and cabbage moth eggs are laid in clusters. When they hatch, the caterpillars start turning the leaves into lace and vulnerable tender new growths are shredded. I’m considering calling it quits on my cabbages, kales, and Brussels sprouts because it’s usually too hard to keep them protected from here on out.

Tomatoes need supplemental fertilization and extra water once they are loaded up with green fruits and cucumbers start producing, needing more water as well.

PESTS and DISEASES —

They are both attacked by additional pests — You may already be seeing tomato and vegetable leaf miners and Japanese beetles — my personal impression is this increased warm season pests tend to show up after hurricane and tropical storm remnants sweep up and pass this area — yep we recently had that AND are in the midst of another one, and I’m braced for the next wave of summer pests — e.g. STINKBUGS (harlequin bugs are showing up in the kale and Brussels sprouts, expect squashbugs, leaf-foots, greens and brown marmorateds) AND CUCUMBER BEETLES, sometimes BLISTER BEETLES.

With the recent heat and humidity, Tomatoes have been getting fungal diseases — septoria and early Blight, even some other leaf spotting possibly bacterial, this weekend, I started seeing powdery mildew spots on my cucumbers and squash.

In addition, I have been dealing with tobacco hornworms in the peppers and tomatoes, and with increasingly larger pests like chipmunks possibly taking bites from tomatoes, catbirds and robins raiding the various berries (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries), possibly rabbits nibbling on the container cabbages on the patio, raccoons getting at immature corn and taking bites out of cobs that might have been almost ready... and now, here is another marauder pest that arrives with the heat —

...wood chuck, whistle pig, groundHOG.

At first I saw it from an upstairs bedroom window and couldn’t think of what the large pillow like thing on the mulberry tree could be, then I realized what it was and hurried to another window that was closest.

...AAAND with a demonstration of climbing ability like that, chances for my garden are looking bleak...

Grrrrr-oundHOG!

43DB44A7-550E-4888-A0E4-7943B224201A.gif (2.33 MiB) Viewed 9971 times

[TomatoNut95]

I'm sorry you're having all the pest problems. Even sorrier to hear you cannot kill or relocate those pests. If they're causing you damage and money losses, you should have the right to remove them.

[applestar]

It turned out that two stalks of Applestar’s #Sweet# Medley corn DID get blown down and snapped — I think it was the wind gusts on Monday afternoon and not animals.

- TOP LEFT — While I was cutting down the damaged stalks and others that had already been harvested, a tiny treefrog hopped out.

- TOP RIGHT — I was hoping to save seeds from these cobs because I hand-pollinated with Latte Bicolor or Luther Hill White or both. One stalk had two cobs and the other stalk had one. The two-cob stalk might have been a Pink and Purple Mexican cross — it was one of the tallest and I remember these two cobs had long hair-like silks like the P&PM— so it would have been even more intriguing. There is one more standing so I might still have a chance to save some seeds.

...but at least we were able to taste this particular Medley. I shucked them and baked at 325°F on the oven rack for 20 minutes.

The darker colored kernels were definitely derived from flint or field corn type and the kernels had hard and chewy hulls. But my DD1 said “I like starchy corn. I’m Weird.” And said she liked chewing them and they were good. I thought the hard texture was kind of like popcorn. I actually enjoyed eating them, too. (Remember that the parent P&PM corn has huge kernels that are usually processed by de-hulling.)

The younger cob from the same stalk had kernels that had not developed the hardness in the hull and they were easier to eat and less starchy. The whiter kernels as well as the cob on the bottom with whiter rounder kernels were tender and sweeter.



...a number of nearly ripe blushed tomatoes and even just starting to blush fruits had cracked from last night’s rain. The small round cherries that have split are Coyote, Coyote Cross, or Champagne Cherry. These all split not necessarily from the rain but as soon as I put them in the bucket of water to rinse. They have interesting tendency to NOT want to come off the truss if they are not “ready” and only the nearly ripe ones will fall into your hands at a light touch. (This is only during the summer growing season — in the fall they all jump off the vines at the slightest excuse) They also split on the vine if overripe. And the ones that split in the bucket are ripe enough to eat right away, whereas the ones that didn’t split could use another day or two before they are good.

...Another piriform/pouch shaped red. This is the first one from plant on the narrower VGC trellis. The shape is very similar to the first one from VGA. That one was solid and juicy, not hollow dry stuffer. Still trying to decide between Ernie’s Plump or Canestrino della Garfagnana. If this is also not hollow stuffer, I’m going to assume they are the same.

[applestar]

This volunteer growing in VGB.PSRB is showing antho sprinkled shoulders. I don’t think I made a note of this before. I was delighted, thinking this must be another ‘Allons-y, Dr.X’ ...but when I looked at the photo later, it seemed like this fruit is developing more well-defined, fluted shoulders.... and then I noticed the extreme pleating on the 2nd fruit I’m reminded of the other form of piriform/pouch type growing on the wider VGC trellis.....


BOTTOM LEFT — Previously harvested fruit that I think is ‘Allons-y, Dr.X’
BOTTOM RIGHT — Extreme pleating

...THIS is getting VERY INTERESTING...

[applestar]

Looks interesting to me, to! Nice tomatoes!

Thanks!

[applestar]

Nagaimo/jinenjo has produced its first above-ground baby/seed potato (mukago).

Planted the nagaimo/jinenjo that grew from H-mart purchase in VGD.PSRB (Vegetable Garden D, Pallet-sided Raised Bed):


- Bottom-left is VGB-PSRB side, with volunteer Gobo/burdock in the foreground, just weeded open space reserved for C.moschata squash, and Pink and Purple Mexican corn growing.

— Trying the pipe method:

https://www.ja-shizuoka.or.jp/topia/agri ... /0903.html

[applestar]

This fruit is from one of the VGA volunteers, but I feel sure this is Allons-y, Dr.X — unfortunately I can’t be definitive whether it is F4 or F5. It had clear epi, so “white” with pink blossom-end blush when ripe that was actually due to the red streak of bi-color interior flesh, and it was sprinkled with dusting of antho on the shoulders. These are all true to the traits I have seen while growing out this line.



...if you look at 3 posts above, there might have been another bee-crossed trait introduced into this line which could branch off into a new segregate

[applestar]

Today’s tomatoes —

- Prudens Black produced a lumpy fused double
- IIRC, Steelhead is supposed to be a green when ripe with red streaked flesh bicolor ...so unfortunately I think this is a NOT or possibly mislabeled

- the clear yellow VGA volunteer looks like it might be The Witz << I don’t think it’s The Witz afterall ... The Witz is yellow form of Woodle Orange and is actually supposed to be round-shaped.

Love it! So pretty

- look at the difference in the pink cherries. The ones that have split are actually the tastiest. The larger purple ones with greenish shoulders is a mystery ...they aren’t big enough and are too flattened in shape to be Black Cherry, I think?
- small red cherries are crunchy and I don’t really like them — I’m wondering if these are Aperitif?
- all the orange cherries came from same plant — Yellow Dwarf x Sun Gold F3 — even though there is a wide range of sizes.

[applestar]

EXCITING and ANTICIPATED TOMATOES —

- The fruits on this VGA volunteer large cherry/saladette with dark antho stem and curled leaves that I think is Helsing Junction Blue, is expressing antho nearly, if not all the way, around the entire fruit to the blossom end.
- ...even when exposure is pushed, Purple color goes all the way around the furits
- it’s possible the shiny metal spiral stake is reflecting sunlight to cause this phenomenon — I had to remove the spiral stake and tie this vine to a taller bamboo stake, so it will be interesting to see if later fruits will also display the extreme antho

- Cow’s Tit fruits are starting to color break.
- These fruits higher up on the 2nd plant have different shapes compared to the earlier fruits.

[TomatoNut95]

Gorgeous! Such a rainbow of beautiful tomatoes!! Am loving that Helsing Junction Blue! Is that one you bred?

[applestar]

It should be stable — not heirloom status yet but recently developed. I got mine from Bunny Hop Seeds

Helsing Junction Blue
https://heritageseedmarket.com/index.ph ... tion-blue/


...and according to the description, it should be Blue not Blues and she changed the labeling. I guess I’ll have to change my Mater Master List

...She mentions that the original breeder is Tom Wagner. He has been known to release his crosses before they are stable. But she usually checks for stuff like that so this one is probably stable. As I mentioned this year as well as in previous year’s posts, there will be variation in the level of antho expression among the seedlings. So grow extra and select for/save seeds from the ones that turn darkest in full sun if you want to keep them that way in the subsequent generations.

Bunny Hop Seeds is where I got most of my micro dwarf varieties too.

[applestar]

Melons and watermelons in the Spiral Garden are starting to produce female blossoms and set itty bitty fruits


— jul 31 eta —
I knew I should be able to ID that tiny baby striped melon! I believe it’s Kajari Melon. Seeds from Baker Creek.
———————

This is a collage of VGC from front and back and a C.pepo squash growing along the picket fence from VGD.PSRB. The base of the vine and the vine itself are showing signs of severe SVB infestation so I’m basically waiting for the vines to collapse, then will harvest that (I think only) squash. If not mature, then I’ll just cook it up like summer squash.

I’m throwing this in here because I forgot to take pictures of the volunteer melon growing from VGA — you can see one fruit starting to blush in the top photo to the right behind the green stake. There’s a second fruit in the back behind the eggplants that obviously is not in the photo.



...eta... took pics of those melons

[applestar]

As many varieties of tomatoes as I grow, I try to make note of sizes shapes, and colors — all the different traits that make them unique — and it’s not often that I don’t recognize or find familiar traits in unidentified varieties, especially if they are unusual.

This vigorous and extra productive volunteer on the narrower trellis in VGC surprised me with these blocky shapes on salad/slicer size red fruits.


I had to flip through my previous garden journals ...and to my surprise, there was a match — the salad sized NOT Faelan’s First Snow • Bear Creek that appeared in 2018/last year.

Subject: Applestar’s 2018 Garden
Jul 18, 2018

Today
- Dwarf Lemon Ice was damaged by some critter (probably the raccoons) and split from yesterday’s rain
- Seeing the xploratory damage to DLI, I decided to harvest the Dwarf Chocolate Lightning Early, since last year, chipmunks favored these and chewed them up at barely blushed state. I think it has great flavor and must develop the sweet front-end flavor early.
- I had an unlabeled purple fruit last year that tasted great and marked it as either Faelan’s First Snow or Bear Creek. Well the seeds are growing into some kind of a cross — one Plant is producing cherry sized fruits, and this one ripened at salad size.

The blocky shape is unusual. Two varieties that I immediately thought of are Vernissage Yellow and Butter Apple, and I had a picture from 2015 when grew them both —
Subject: Applestar's 2015 Tomato (and Pepper and Eggplant) Garden
Aug 08, 2015

LEFT Column::
- Vernissage Yellow
- VRFF F2
- Japanese Black Trifele

CENTER Top and Bottom (clockwise from top left)
- Juicy Saladette (5)
- Clackamas Blueberry
- Carolina Belle peach (last of 9 fruits)
- Japanese Black Trifele
- Jersey Giant (2)
- Northern Delight (2)
- VRFF F2
- Vernissage Yellow
- Butter Apple (2)
- NPSP F1 plant #2 (2)

RIGHT Column
- Clackamas Blueberry
- Jersey Giant
- NPSP F1 Plant #2

... a better photo of Vernissage Yellow blocky fruit shape ...
Subject: Applestar's 2017 Tomatoes (and peppers and eggplants)
Aug 05, 2017

Harvested these not quite ripe and even just blushed to keep them safe from the chipmunks
TOP -
Sgt. Pepper’s, Amy Sue, Dwarf Blazing Beauty, Dwarf Uluru Ochre
Ernie’s Plump, The Dwarf Chocolate Lightning, Dwarf Uluru Ochre
CENTER -
Vernissage Yellow, Whippersnapper x FFS F4 “Jack Frost’s Early Love"
Maglia Rosa x Coyote F3 - blushed - “Buttercream Punch”
Not Raymondo’s Australian Mist

...I did have Bear Creek and Vernissage Yellow growing next to each other in 2017...

[applestar]

I have a NOT Steelhead. It’s a bummer because Steelhead is worth growing again. But now I’m wondering if it might be a mislabeled Zena’s Gift because it’s my biggest tomato so far, and it was early. When we eat it in the next couple of days, I’ll weigh and measure it, and test for epi color to see if it’s clear = pink.

...Totem F1 is definitely a determinate “patio/container tomato” — the leaves rapidly deteriorated once all these fruits started to blush, and easily spotted with septoria and early Blight. Fruit sizes are all over the place — I’ll weigh and measure the biggest fruit from this plant tomorrow.

<< decided flattened yellow VGA volunteer not The Witz

...Here’s what REAL Steelhead is like...
Subject: Applestar's 2017 Tomatoes (and peppers and eggplants)
Aug 22, 2017

This one was named "Steelhead" by the breeder after the freshwater fish. Those of you who fish them might recognize the coloring. It's a segregating off-shoot from 2015 seeds and the original line has been advanced so the one I have may or may not be true to type and I might not be correct in calling it by the given name. It was bred from a cross between a Brandywine he has been saving seeds and selecting for desirable traits and Ananas Noir. I harvested the fruit a week ago.

What GORGEOUS tomato! Definitely tri-color -- green, red, yellow. Yes, yes, I meant to eat this 2 days ago, but life intruded. So it did develop a (small) bad spot AFTER FULL 1 WEEK -- with scarring and mega-fused fruit like this, there are vulnerabilities -- but perfect fruit would have even better shelf life I think?




Surprisingly Sweet and Fresh are the two main descriptors that come to mind. Sometimes these qualities are lost when fruits are overripe. Started with Sweet front end -- tomato Sweet, nor sugary, and then not the heavy, salty deep flavor but Fresh and clean flavor with continuing Sweet and satisfying richness, then tangy lingering finish. I think this would please folks who prefer the brighter flavored tomatoes. My DD tomato taster said it was SWEET, NOT TOO STRONG, and VERY GOOD.

I would prefer to eat this one alone or in garden salads I think. Not too much other stuff to clutter up and mask the flavor.