Applestar's 2016 Tomatoes (& peppers & eggplants)

[applestar]

First indeterminate greenies

Bull's Heart
FIsh Lake Oxheart
Berner Rose



...as you can see, some of them are still suffering the TRM onslaught. Not sure if those fruits will make it. FLO fruit on the left is growing on a clean offshoot growing from the base of the affected stem. I've been pruning the badly affected ones to the bottom, but this one seemed like it was outgrowing with good green growth, then this happened.

I wonder if I should just chop that entire vine off and get rid it, and encourage the healthy unaffected vine to grow out more sucker shoots....

[Duh_Vinci]

Always good to see the greenies!

Regards,
D

[applestar]

I'm having problems with tortoise beetle infestation in the potato foliage. These two beds were pretty badly affected, and the potato foliage had been demolished, so I decided to pull the plug and put the beds to good use.

I'd already robbed some of the tubers before -- harvested this much more today:


Planted the remaining hot pepper seedlings here where it's NOT fenced, hot and dry:

(Maui Purple, Fish, Czech Black, and Hanoi Market were overwintered from 2015)

...and remaining sweet peppers here in the Sunflower & House where it is tree-shaded in the morning and tends to be more watered:

... Of course I found two more that I forgot to plant ...

[applestar]

So weird to be harvesting eggplants before tomatoes or peppers

These could get bigger, but they were weighing down the still-small plants and they are both loaded with more blossoms that have set fruits.


green - Hari -- g2 (saved seeds) started on Jan 20, 2016 in VGB PSHRB
white - White Comet -- overwintered from 2015 in SIP

Kamo has started to bloom, too. The old bird feeder tube seems to be helping.

... The small green pepper is from the mystery overwintered pepper plant from WWL.

[pepperhead212]

I also got several eggplants before my first bunch of ripe tomatoes. Except all of those sunsugars - I don't count those!

Has your pea EP started flowering yet? I just noticed a few clusters on 7-8. The plant is over 5' tall, and in its own 18 gal. SIP.

[applestar]

Pendulina Red and Floragold Basket (survived and recovered from TRM infestation and starting to bloom)

[applestar]

Here are some of the container variety tomatoes I'm growing managing to grow not kill this year....


Two MMF10 F5's and one MMF8 ... These are still segregating crosses of micro-variety Red Robin and multi-flora variety Rose Quartz Multiflora. The hobby breeder has been selecting for micro size and multi-flora characteristics. About 15" tall at maturity. I'm way late but other growers have reported loaded up productive cherry sized fruits with full/sweet tomato flavor.

TO RECAP- THESE WERE STARTED LAST YEAR, spent the winter battling TRM. These three were only ones to survive, recovered then got overwhelmed again in spring. Really looked like they were goners down to sticks at one point. I can cautiously say they seem OK now.





And these are one Birdie Rouge which could have been grown in a basket and two Gold Pearl Bonsai, though one seems more compact than the other.

[applestar]

I also got several eggplants before my first bunch of ripe tomatoes. Except all of those sunsugars - I don't count those!

Has your pea EP started flowering yet? I just noticed a few clusters on 7-8. The plant is over 5' tall, and in its own 18 gal. SIP.

I meant to post and tell you -- they have glimmer of flower buds -- just bumps on the stems. The current heatwave should help.

[applestar]

Sunflower & House latest map:



...yes, I know peppers and tomatoes after potatoes? BAD idea? ...at least this will make the bed all solanacea this season and I can rotate to the next crop next summer which would be cucurbits -- probably cucumbers.

[Lindsaylew82]

Did you mention you were trying Black from Tula this year?

We compared very ripe versions of Black Krim (this plant is doing so poorly this year), Black from Tula, and Cherokee Purple.

Black from Tula won, hands down. Saved seed.

[applestar]

My BFT didn't survive the TRM like so many of the varieties I started. Soooo bummed!

With that kind of endorsement, I HAVE TO grow them next year for sure. (Going to go make a note in my next years grow list)

[applestar]

TOP L & R -- Pendulina Red - two stems of same plant in a single hanging basket
BOTTOM L & R -- Floragold Basket - two different plants in two different baskets
(One on the R is still struggling a bit with TRM)

[applestar]

I moved the two unknown volunteer variegated tomato plants. They were starting to get lanky in the crowded VGD bed with a little too much shade for their liking. Plus a cucumber plant started to demand more room....

The two plants both still have beautiful variegation on their leaves -- possibly due to the shade they were in. One of them has variegated main stem. I'm giving them a little protection from the sun today.

-- they ended up taking the prime spot that Copper Penny was supposed to go in. Only plants that have survived were non-variegated segregates, so they were bumped to the last remaining spot in the SF&H.


Here is a close up of the variegated plants:

[applestar]

I finally have blushing maters

On the left is my cross of Maglia Rosa and mixed pollen from several varieties. Last year's fruit was pink/purple, indicating the pollen donor was clear-skinned and either Coyote or Faelan's First Snow. This F2 generation looks to me like a clear skinned yellow/white like Coyote, but with Maglia Rosa shaped fruits, only smaller (elongated cherry with a rounded point). looking very sad with the TRM-induced russetting and zippering on the still-green fruits. The blushed fruit has a spot on it like it was even being sucked on by a nasty stinkbug.

On the right as it happens is a volunteer that I think could be a Coyote.



It's a monster plant loaded with small cherry fruits.

[applestar]

I planted these two Korean peppers and a Japanese eggplant in the beds outside the Family Room where my mini rice paddy is also located -- so this area is kind of designated Asian garden although I don't always stick to that arrangement.

Pepper, Gochugaru Yong Gochu
고추 가루 용 고추

Pepper, Lip Nokgwang
녹광고추

Eggplant, Kamo
賀茂茄子

- I noticed today that one of the Gochugaru had set a first fruit even though the plant is still small.
- Lip Nokgwang have both been munched down by the little bunny that has snuck in there and has been demolishing the Adzuki beans and Edamame
- Kamo eggplant has a walnut sized first fruit