I keep hearing good things about the black cherry tomato. I think rhubarb is susceptible to soil fungus. Someone told me a remedy but I forgot.

Thank you helenh,

I believe the bacterium is Erwinia rhapontici which can be spread by insects. I have not found any treatment other than to not plant rhubarb in the same location.

Violet, I am glad I am not the only one in these hills who can't grow rhubarb! I cannot tell you how much money I have spent only to have the plant disappear in the same season and sometimes to never ever sprout.

I gave up and now my sis in Iowa brings me a few bags of her beautiful deep red rhubarb. She has brought me starts...failed.

If I do try again, I am not growing it within the vegetable garden.

A friend gave me some black cherry tomatoes last year so I have saved the seeds for this season.

My two egg plants limped along after I got rid of the flea beetles but didn't produce until frost like some. This year I am trying an old variety, Dusky.

Strangely, I cannot grow any kind of radish! Potatoes do well, but radishes come up, grow well but no roots! I don't like them, so just quit trying. Maybe too much nitrogen in the soil? I never use fertilizers except from mulch so wonder.

gldno1,

I may try more rhubarb in another part of the yard that has completely different soil. And I'll try eggplant with layered newspaper this year.

I highly recommend you get a soil test via the Greene County Extension Service: Soil Test Brochure

For less than the price of some dedicated pH test kits from your local garden center, you can have your soil tested by a lab.

Regular Analysis is only $10, other states charge up to over $60.

This includes:

pH
neutralizable acidity
organic matter
Bray-I phosphorus
potassium
calcium
magnesium,
cation exchange capacity
fertilizer recommendations

This way your soil won't be out of balance and you won't be guessing as to whether or not it is in proper ratio. You also won't waste money on things you don't need because it tells you exactly how much of what you need to amend your soil properly per sq foot.

A couple people here mentioned Candy Onions so I'm giving those a try this year. When I bought them at Hummert's, he said they were seeing a lot of repeat sales.

Going to try Yukon Gold potatoes this year too. I've found a few places locally that have seed potatoes for those so I assume they must be selling well.

Violet - I was looking at the seed available for all different kinds of Asian greens but I don't know what I would like or what does well here so just skipped it. Do you eat Tatsoi raw or cooked?

Garlic chives has been doing ok for me too. It didn't do much the first summer but was quite large the next. I actually planted it for the butterflies but I was disappointed last summer that they weren't flocking to it as much as I expected. That will make it easier to use it for cooking instead though.

Tatsoi is ususally eaten raw so you can simply add it to any salad as a leafy green. You can also add it to any soup broth a few minutes before you cook it. If you do a google search, you'll find many more ways to utilize it that I have not tried myself. You can wilt it like spinach as well, it's extremely versatile.

What I loved about it the first time I grew it was not only how well it grew into the mid to late summer (especially for being in the cabbage family), but also how surprisingly gorgeous and uniform in shape it is. It makes a fabulous edible edging plant. It's a compact rosette of green leaves.

Just harvest the outer leaves as you need them and new leaves will grow up from the center.

Violette, I can just see the Tatsoi as an edging plant around a flower bed. I need to do some research on that one. Thanks for the tip. It's a beautiful plant.

Hi all, I moved 2 big tubs of rhubard down here from Iowa, the first disappeared, Planted another one and I think a armadillo destroyed it. Last year I planted more (that I bought) in soil that I moved from Iowa. I read somewhere that rhubarb has to freeze for a period of time to survive so I planted it in a spot where it will get plenty of north winter cold. Wish me luck on its surviving! About the garlic chives, I mistakingly let them go to seed in Iowa and they become weeds everywhere! and you cannot pull them, have to dig them out. Even tho they are good and even pretty, I'll never plant them again!

My two favorite Cherry tomatoes are Black Cherry, and Isis Candy.
For sauces, Opalka, slicing, I suppose about any Oxheart, (figured you're tired of me raving about Ananas Noire)
Beans? I really dont care to tend Bush Beans, but I love the growth -and taste, of Fortex, a pole bean.
Love any Kolarbi that I've grown.
Trying Copra as my main onion this year, for storage.
Brussel Sprouts? I've seemed to use them as a "catch plant" for any of my other cabbage family.
Happy Gardening!

Violet, I don't think I really answered your original question.

Here is what does really well without a lot of work for me:

Illini blackberries (Miller Nurseries, NY)
Supermale Asparagus (Miller Nurseries, NY)
Sour Cherry tree (Miller, either a Meteor or a North Star, redskin, yellow flesh). No spraying whatsoever.
Various strawberries from various sources.
Kwintus Pole Beans (Park Seed Co., grown on cattle panel hoop frame)
Cimarron lettuce, romaine type from Jung and Pinetree
Various potatoes, Yukon Gold is the favorite (from various sources including small potatoes I save and sprouted ones from the pantry)

Beauregard sweet potato (usually from Dorothy's Digs, local greenhouse close by)

Bodacious Sweet Corn (Hummerts in Springfield) also Peaches and Cream and Candy Corn....Bodacious is the favorite)

Various tomatoes, mostly heirloom varieties from various online sources....favorite last year was Granny Cantrell (sorry ceresone, Anias Noir got more disease for me)

All peppers do well: Parks Thickset, Cal. Wonder, Sweet and Hot banana, cayenne, Anaheim and Ancho, Valencia

Bloomsdale Long-Standing spinach

Onions: Only Candy and Super Star (from seed, Harris Seed Co. NY) am trying a sample of plants to see how they compare to seed started. They are the only onions that have ever made any size for me...day neutral type.

Hope this helps...as you will see, I don't grow exotics...or haven't before.

I'm fixin to plant some tat soi and baby bok choi. I'll keep everybody posted with my results. Here's a recipe I finally figured out last year using baby bok choi. I figure it would work well with any other asian green.

I separate, wash and drain 2 bunches of baby bok choi. These are steamed for only a couple of minutes, then shocked in ice water. After cooling, I spin the greens in my salad spinner. In a medium bowl I mix 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, a good dash of roasted sesame oil, a slurp of honey, and a splatter of chili paste. Grated carrots or roasted red bell peppers are added for color. This is chilled for an hour or so, and eaten as a nice cool salad. A sprinkling of toasted sesame seeds is nice on top.

Sorry about the lack of measurements, but I only get the teaspoons out when I'm baking. So, adjust the proportions to suit yourselves.

Paul, that recipe sounds wonderful. Now I want to plant bok choi. I wonder how that would work with chinese cabbage grown in the fall. Years ago I had a wonderful crop of fall chinese cab and wilted a lot of it.

By "chinese cabbage" I'm assuming you're refering to napa? That is the pale tall large blocky heads usually seen in the produce section. I use napa cabbage in stir fries, hot and sour soup, and chinese dumplings. With an abundance, maybe you should try kim chee. That is the pickled korean cabbage, very spicy and salty. I don't know the process, but you basically cut up the napa, add salt and cayenne, cover in mason jars, and it does its little alchemy thing, and ferments to make vinegar. Traditionally, this is done in earthenware crocks and buried in the ground. It's really good stuff, but most folks either totally love it or totally hate it. It's kind of a spicy version of sour kraut.

I figure my earlier recipe (cold baby bok choi salad) could be adjusted to use any cabbage. With the larger leafed kinds, just cut them into smaller pieces. I figure that larger leafed kinds may need a longer steam to make them tender. Just make sure you do the the icewater shock to keep the rich color, and stop the cooking process. Good luck!

Another cool thing about this salad is I get to sing the Chili's Song: "I want my baby bok, baby bok, baby bok, baby bok, baby bok choi."