The Veggie garden

[tubenit]

I have one pack of the Golden Gem seeds here.
I'll throw them in an envelope for you if you want them?

Doug, that's very kind of you. However,  I think I am going to just order some and also order some other ones from Park seeds. I like growing and eating these enough to do this for the rest of my life ........... so I think I'll experiment with different ones and find what I like best.

Best regards, Jeff

[EL34]

Ok
The Golden Gems are item # 5409 at Park Seed

[tubenit]

I ordered the Golden Gem tomatoes, Cherry Sweetie and the Sweet Baby Girl Hybrid which they claim is their very sweetest of all.

Can't wait to get them going and on the dinner plate!!   

Thanks for steering me towards these tomatoes. I know I'll enjoy them ALOT.

Jeff

[EL34]

You better get them going ASAP

Your zone down there is warmer than here.

Not sure when your last frost is down there but ours is supposedly mothers day.

[tubenit]

I think the last "possible" normal frost is sometime the week of April 15th tax time here from what I remember?  And yes, they will be planted ASAP after I get them. I'm anxious to get them going for sure.

Thanks, Jeff

[bakerlite]

i love this time of year -
we have i suppose a 60" x 15" poly tunnel (esp as its not so warm here)
At the moment we are sewing this years seedlings into trays and all the new life (this years dinner) is popping up its head!
still have a bit of winter produce about - but looking forward to all the fresh food come summer!
nothing better than picking your own food and eating it within minutes.
busy few weeks of potting coming up when they get to big for the module trays
not to mention knowing what your food is and where it came from!!

[tubenit]

Well the Park Seeds came in and I got them planted into tiny styrofoam cups nailed on to a piece of plywood.

Hopefully that will work out OK until the start coming up?

I was stunned to see how little the cherry tomatoe seeds are!  Really really tiny.
 

Jeff

[tubenit]

Man, I am pretty excited about these cherry tomatoes!!!

They're already about 3/4" tall.  I planted maybe 12-15 seeds and I bet all of them are coming up.

Gonna find some people to give these away to and keep about 3-4 for myself.

Also, my beautiful Japanese maple had small maple seeds under it and I planted those and it looks like there are a bunch
of them coming up!  Hooray if that's accurate!!! I'd love to have about a dozen Japanese maples at the edge of the woods.

Tubenit

[EL34]

cool beans

love those burgandy colored maples

[tubenit]

Doug,

Hope you don't mind me asking you ....................

Got any thoughts about how tall the tomatoe seedlings should be before separating them apart and giving each one it's own pot?   Currently, I have anywhere from 2 to 5  1" seedlings coming up in EACH styrofoam drinking cup (that has holes in it for drainage). They're kind of crowded.

I am thinking maybe 2" and then separating them?  Then putting them in the ground at about 4"?

Jeff

[Willabe]

I've planted a fair number of seeds through the years. I had no problem with moving them at about 2". I used a sharp knife and cut them apart.

       Brad       

[EL34]

A couple inches

I don't separate them cause I don't want to disturb the roots.

I just snip off the weakest looking ones after they get a little bigger and plant the whole peat pot in the ground.

[tubenit]

Well, I ended up separating them prior to reading your response ...........

I think it will be OK?   They're about an inch-2" tall and unfortunately the roots were already attaching to each other. I tried to treat them tenderly. I'm thinking I should know in the next day or so whether what I did worked or not. They're in qt containers now. I'm thinking if I had waited longer the roots would've been even more entangled. I've got about a dozen cherry tomatoe plants going.
 

Jeff

[EL34]

I do 3 or 4 seeds per peat pot and then snip off the weakest looking ones.
Maybe leave two plants in the peat pot.
Later on I may snip off the weakest looking one and just have one.

Some plants are tough and don't mind having the roots disturbed when they are tiny.

Some plants won't take it.

I think it slows them down and sets them back a bit until they can re-establish their roots, so I don't mess with trying to untangle tiny plants.



 

[EL34]

BTW, on the Tomaotes, in case you didn't know this.

Plant them deep, up to the first set of leaves.

All those little hairs on the stem will become roots and the root system gets a giant boost.

[tubenit]

Doug,

I sure appreciate that tip & will plant them just like you suggested.  THANKS!

Can't wait to get them int the ground and going well.

Jeff

[EL34]

Some people even strip off the lower leaves and stem and plant them deeper yet.

Depends on how many leaves the plant has.

If there only 4 leaves, I would not do that.

[tubenit]

My tomatoe plants have grown quite a bit this wk.  They're about 3.5-4" tall & they'll go into the ground this wkend. I will definitely follow your planting suggestions.

They are looking good also!!!      

I also have 9 Japanese maple trees coming up! Wow! I am very excited about that. I love the look of those maples.

Jeff

[EL34]

Those maples are cool, but they are so expensive.

[Ritchie200]

Man, I am pretty excited about these cherry tomatoes!!!

They're already about 3/4" tall.  I planted maybe 12-15 seeds and I bet all of them are coming up.

Gonna find some people to give these away to and keep about 3-4 for myself.

Tubenit

Ok, I'll take about 8  You gotta bring them to St. Louis, any chance of that this year?  Let me know!

For about the last 10 yrs or so I've been planting my 'mators in those big fiber bowl hanging baskets - out the bottom.  This works great because they are hanging for one, and second the fertilized water runs over the leaves.  I have had to pinch off tomatoes because the yield has been so huge, it's ripped off branches from the weight.  With the success of those silly hanging bags, I should have marketed this years ago...

I've only got two this year.  Burpee Roma (I LOVE Romas!), and Burpee Forth of July.  Never done this one, anyone?

Jim

[andrew_k]

Those maples are cool, but they are so expensive.

Japanese maples respond well to air-layering propagation techniques, but not very well to cuttings.

[tubenit]

Got my tomatoes planted per your planting suggestions.  I've also given away about 13 other tomatoes plants from seeds.  I'm growing the Sweet Baby Girl hybrid and the Golden Gem.  My neighbor got a couple of Sweetie Girls so hopefully I'll get a taste of them.

Got 6 of the Japanese maples into small quart containers now. Hopefully they'll be OK.  I got quite a few more coming up. It won't surprise me if I get 10-12 jap maples out of this effort.

That would be way cool!     Jeff

[drew]

Some people even strip off the lower leaves and stem and plant them deeper yet.

Yeah, I do that.  I've also had good results by following the advice of the ladies at the farmers market who I buy my heirloom tomato seedlings from: dig a hole about a foot away from where the plant will be; stick a used, empty 1 gallon plastic plant pot in the hole so that just the top rim of the pot is above grade; water the plant by filling the pot with your hose, wait for the water to drain through the holes in the bottom of the pot, and repeat once or twice.  This gets the water down where it's needed,  encourages the roots to grow nice and deep, and minimizes soil being splashed up onto the leaves, which is apparently how a lot of the diseases that can affect tomatoes are transmitted.  You also end up using a lot less water than you do if you just go out and hose down the ground.

I'm trying something different this year: no tomato plants in the ground (none of the available small patches of dirt where I live have day-long exposure to the sun); I've built two EarthTainer self-watering planters and have them sitting on my relatively sunny patio.  I have a Brandywine and a Black Krim in one and a St. Pierre and a Cuor di Bue in the other.  I had the seedlings sitting around for longer than would have been optimal, while I chased down all the stuff for the planters, but they're all set now and looking good so far.  Also have some peppers planted in a smaller, similar planter.

[EL34]

cool idea on the watering
I like growing in planters and containers.

[tubenit]

My seed planted tomatoe plants now have tomatoes on them!   Hooray!

Ironically, the tomatoe plants from Lowe's (which were already growing) look pathetic in comparison.

Can't wait to eat some!  Yum!

Jeff

[EL34]

Nice!!!

I have a few Roma's on my lowes plants
Just flowers on my seed plants so far
I am a bit behind this year

I added some new pics here today
http://www.el34world.com/Misc/Garden/Garden2011_03.htm

[tubenit]

Well, good news and bad news.

Good news is the cherry tomatoes are absolutely delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Very yummy, indeed!

Doug, thanks for turning me on to those. My two plants are very prolific.


Bad news ............... the japanese maples aren't japanese maples ........... however, they are Autumn Glory maples and still a nice tree.

[EL34]

I have been eating some of the Golden Gems also
Those plants always do well in my garden

Looks like your harvest is a bit ahead of mine.

I have another one I am testing this year called Yellow Paruche
They are about like the Gems'

[tubenit]

The Sweet Baby Girl hybrid is comparable to the Golden Gem in sweetness, but I like the Golden Gem the best. They have a texture that I prefer.

I've gotten into tomatoes alot more and am using them more in my cooking now.

Best regards, Jeff

[Ritchie200]

We have had about two weeks with temps in upper 90's to low 100's and NO rain.  My poor 'maters are producing, but show scorching and the meat is not very juicy and so-so in taste.  Both Burpee plants are HUGE with lots of fruit.  I am keeping them watered, but they are struggling in these temps.  Interesting is that I had strawberries up until the really bad heat started a few weeks ago!  My blueberry bushes may not make it through this. 

Jim

[tubenit]

Jim,

Wow!  That's a bummer!  Genuinely sorry to hear that. My kids have been saying St. Lou has been really hot too.  My blueberry bushes have never done well here for some reason?  Out of three bushes, I only get about enough to make a breakfast or two of blueberry pancakes.

Dallas is even worse. When I flew out to see my son about a month ago, the temp was 110. Ouch!

Oh, I'd be really wary of eating anything that had Burpee behind it.   

Best regards, Jeff

[EL34]

I had a bumper crop of Blueberries this year, best year ever.
The last bush just finished up a week or so ago.

My veggies are all in raised beds and so it's easy to water them.

Jim,
Is is water or heat?
If it's too much sun you can drape some shade cloth over them.

[Ritchie200]

Yeah, I also got a bumper crop of blueberries this year off of some very small bushes.  If they get any bigger, I will have to sell or can!  That is - if they survive...  Hey Doug, do you do anything with your bushes in the winter?

I would certainly be doing my tomatoes a favor if I put some cloth over them.  Actually I have a wood  trellis behind the plants that I usually use for my pole beans.  I could easily rig something off of that, thanks for the suggestion!  The sun is actually scorching them white.  They are on a raised bed also.  Everything is so dry, I need to keep the water on them.  I'll bet the direct sun is causing the biggest issues.

Hey 'Nit, make all the fun you want!  I have always had very good luck with everything Burpee puts out!

Jim

[PRR]

Downeast, tomatoes are just starting to ripen. These are from Home/Lowes; we don't have the weather-nose to risk from-seed.

[EL34]

Looks like a crop of Roma Toms?

[Ritchie200]

Just got some rain over the past week and OMG the plants are going nuts!  Just harvested some Burpee 4th of July.  They are bigger than cherries but are only about 1.5" diameter.  Wow are they delicious!  Sweet with good meat.  Had a few on a salad - perfect.  I am going to make some basketti sauce out of some so we will see how they perform there...  I am getting about 6-10 a day off of one plant!

Jim