I am taking my wall of water or season starters off today. I have declared it spring and no more frost threats. I thought it would be cold this morning but it is already heating up and I dressed for 50's. Those cool days were good for digging but instead I worried there would be frost. Here is what I have planted so far:
Chapman
Earl of Edgecombe
Red Brandywine
Eva Purple Ball
Mule Team
Tennessee Britches
Wes
Bulgarian Triumph
Green Doctors
Erica de Australie
Kosovo
Prue
German Red Strawberry
Break o Day
Japanese Black Trifele'
Brandeva
Indiana Red
Green Zebra
Evan's Purple Pear
Lincoln-Adams
Pale Perfect Purple
Danko
Bloody Butcher
Ludmilla's Red Plum or Pear?
Glacier
Dana's Dusky Rose
Barlow Jap
Some were planted in the last week; some have been out under protection of wall of waters for weeks. The remaining plants were in better shape a month ago. I put them outside in black stock tanks which I cover when it is cold. But it kept raining and turning cold so they have been in limbo. Too wet too dry abused.

I started my tomatoes inside under lights. Started the hardening off process yesterday. A few tipped over in the breeze. There are 68 pepper plants (22 varieties) and nearly 60 tomato plants so I was like a mother hen checking and rechecking to make sure all were safe. Glad the wind wasnt any stronger.
Heres a list of the tomato varieties:

-Black Krim
-Red Lightening
-Aunt Ruby's (yellow cherry)
-Pineapple
-Jaune flamme
-Black Russian Truffle
-Beefsteak
-Super Beef Steak
-White Wonder
-Cour Di Bue
-Big Zoe (any info on this would be appreciated)
-Turkey Chomp
-Polish Linguisa
-Wiscomsin 55
-Yellow Stuffer
-German Strawberry
-Dr Carolyn
-Garden Peach
-Long Keeper
-Sweet Million
-Pennsylvania Pink
-Tennessee Britches
-Kosovo
-Sheboygan
-Reif Red Heart
-Amish Paste
-Red Alert
-Sausage
-Red Pear Periform
-Druzba

Need to get the garden tilled.
Happy growing :)

I would like to hear about the peppers. I had some in pots last year and they were as pretty as flowers. My friend was born in Texas and lived in New Mexico. He loves green chile cheeseburgers from the Owl Cafe' and also green chile enchiladas that we had on vacation. I would like to grow that kind, I am not sure what kind of pepper that is. Also would like to know how to grow them. Any tips would be appreciated. I had more luck with them in pots than I ever have had in the ground. I think it may be water as it is dry here in summer.

Helen, I'm planting the peppers for my son. He came back from Iraq with a wish for a hot pepper garden.

We are growing:
-Serrano
-Anaheim
-Bhut Jolokia/Ghost
-Habanero-chocolate
-Habanero-orange
-Habanero-white bullet
-Habanero-Caribbean Red
-Scotch Bonnet-Big Sun
-Fatalii
-Bhut Jolokia-chocolate
-7 Pot Yellow
-7 Pot Jonah
-7 Pot Brain Strain
-Trinidad Scorpion-Morouga Blend
-Trinidad Scorpion-Yellow Cardi
-7 Pot Brown
-Douglah
-Trinidad Scorpion Cross
-Trinidad Scorpion Butch T (currently the worlds hottest)
-Santaka Hot Asian
-Purple Tepin
Most are 'super hots'. Just what my son requested :)

I started the adventure by reading lots on the hot pepper forum.
I germinated the seeds in small zip bags with a piece of damp toweling, constant temp of 85 (top of the cable box met that criteria). Had great results!

After germ, planted in a variety of containers...mostly cut off soda bottles. Grew under lights, periodic fan to help make them strong, rotated often, 1/4 strength fert. yadda yadda

got pretty lucky and didnt have mites, white flies, aphids, etc.

Had too many for our garden space so we gave away 40 plants. That leaves us with 68 for the garden.

Not sure if I'll put any in pots. I tend to water my garden and I've heard they produce better in the ground. Now you have me thinking maybe I should put a few in pots....hmmm, decisions decision.

I've also read that they do better with some afternoon shade. When laying out the garden this year, I tried to keep that in mind.

One thing I did for the first time last year...
After planting, I place a thick layer of newspaper and then top with grass clippings. I loved the results! No weeds and helped keep the soil moist on hot days. Over the winter everything composted and got tilled in.
I've been saving papers all winter. I dont use anything glossy or with too much color.

I also saved over 100 bags of leaves from neighbors last fall. Some will get tilled in but others will get shredded and put on top of the newspaper.

Not sure if any of that was of interest.

Hope you can find out the type of pepper you want.

I'm a fair gardener but this is only the 2nd year to grow peppers. Last year I only had 2 basic plants.

Maybe someone reading this will have more info to share with both of us :)

The peppers I need are not hot but not bell peppers. I have seen New Mexico peppers at Lowe's but they are those expensive plants. I am looking for six packs or four packs. Last year I planted peppers from seed but didn't get around to them this year. I think that is why I took better care of them. When you raise them from seed, they are your babies. I don't have enough water to go around in summer. My memory is poor and I am bad about running water until the pressure switch shuts off the pump. Then I get gravel when it fills up again and have to change the filter.

"Trinidad Scorpion" -- "Fatalii" -- now those sound HOT! lol My husband was a Texan and he would be out of his mind with joy to see/taste your pepper patch. I swear he had a calloused mouth.

Nancy, it was really interesting, reading about it all. Hope it's an especially wonderful crop for your son this year, and that your whole garden is great. I totally agree that newspaper under chopped leaves/clippings is the way to go.

This year I have four tomatoes in big pots and one planted in the ground next to the fence post because I couldn't bear to not have that one. It's probably going to be a pain getting around it on the path, but I can tie it up to the fence.

Helen, aren't you the adventurous one! I have never heard of most those varieties and I hope you'll tell us how they did in our hot summer, or if there are any real standouts. You are going to have tomatoes out your ears, girl.
Sunny

WOW. Y'all are some serious 'mater growers! So, what do you do with all of them? Can or freeze?

I've just got the following:

3 Brandywines
1 Ingegnoli Gigante Liscio
1 Brandy Boy
1 Supersteak
1 Better Boy

I give them away. I have frozen salsa from last year. I like salsa but I only like it on chips and that is a problem. I went overboard and may not be able to water all of them if it gets dry. I wish I would stop going overboard because I am always behind. There is a forum not GardenWeb that is all about tomatoes; I read about them in winter and order the seeds. An intervention may be needed.

I wondered about your seeds Helen. You have some very interesting varieties. I love all the interesting names.
Do you grow them in pots or in the ground? I hope they do well for you.

My seeds are mostly from trades. Some are quite old and I didnt know if they would even germinate. I planted 2 seeds of most of the varieties hoping to get 25-30 plants. Great germination (guess I really shouldnt complain about that) and every single seed grew! Gave away a few plants and still have nearly 60 plants. Need to give away a few more or I'll never find room for all of them.
helen, I very much understand the 'going overboard and always being behind'. I think thats the motto of my garden the last few years. My mind seems to have more ambition and my body cant keep up with it...haha

teeandcee,
the Ingegnoli Gigante Liscio sounds very special. I read that its nearly extinct. Lucky you to be growing it :)

Last year I froze but I think I'll can this year. And my son wants to make alot of salsa with all those peppers we hope to harvest.

Sunny, I agree that some of the peppers have menacing names. They scare me! If you'd like some seeds for your husband, remind me in the fall. I'd be happy to share :)
What do you use to tie your tomatoes up? I used tshirts cut into strips last year and didnt have good luck. Suggestions are appreciated :)

Helen, I think all gardeners can understand your ambition vs. your abilities, lol. I'm whittling away at 60 plants that need to go in the ground sometime this spring. I need an intervention myself.

Nancy, why didn't you like the t-shirt strips? Did they stay too wet? I've used cut up pantyhose in the past with good results, although that was in Florida where they'd dry out quickly from the intense heat/sun.

The Ingegnoli was given to me by a friend who started them from seed from Baker Creek Seeds. I plan on saving seed from them and will be happy to share.

I think what I would not like about the t shirt strips is that they may be white. I have 5 gal buckets around use them all the time for all sorts of things. I have started buying the green camo ones at Wal- mart because white buckets scattered around looks messy. T shirts dyed green would work I think. I have lots of old t shirts that are stained and old. I might try that.

I used tshirts that blended in with the natural colors of the garden. I agree that white would just stand out too much.
I think my problem was trying to loop the strips around a number of branches rather than a short strip for each branch. Over time they stretched out and the plants sagged. Maybe I should try again this year and do a better job.

Helen, I like your idea of the camo buckets. I also use 5 and 3 gallon buckets for all sorts of things. I'm sure the neighbors think they are a bit tacky.

teeandcee, thank you so much for the offer of seeds. I'll take you up on that :)
If theres anything I have that you ladies would like, I'm more than happy to share.

Helen, I did a bit of research and I think Anaheim peppers might be what you're looking for. This is a small summary:

'Green chile peppers are large, mild chiles are available in most local grocery stores. The green chile pepper may also be referred to as the Anaheim pepper. You slice them, dice them, peel them, puree them; people who like to cook Mexican dishes find many uses for them. They are commonly roasted.
The green chile pepper rates between 1,000 and 2,000 Scoville units on the heat index.'

This is one I'm growing this year. They are the tallest, hardiest plants of all the varieties. They have buds and arent even planted out yet.
I put the link below for pictures of our pepper plants if you're interested. I actually took the pictures so my son could see their progress while he was out in the field.

Let me know if you'd like seeds. I started with commercial seeds for this variety and have some left to share.

I may not talk on here much but I read this forum almost daily and really enjoy all the stories and sharing of ideas. Thanks everyone :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Table of peppers 2011

Nancy, I do that too (tying up too many branches at once).

Help me to remember I'm supposed to share some seeds with you. Don't hesitate to remind me, okay?

And anyone else who wants some of the same seeds I'll be happy to share.

I have a question for you ladies.
We tilled the veggie garden plots last week but didnt get all rows tilled to the depth we hoped before it got dark. I'd also hoped to till in more leaves from last fall.
It started raining the next morning and has rained on and off since. Its too wet to till plus its supposed to rain most days this week.
Do you think it would be ok for me to plant in the wet soil without doing the final deep tilling? The soil isnt soggy, just too wet to till.
The peppers are nice and green but the tomatoes are looking a bit pale.
I dont want to be too late getting them in the ground.

teeandcee, I wrote myself a reminder. Hope I see it come this fall...haha.

My trade page needs updated and I tend to not put all seeds I have available on it. If theres anything you're interested in, please just let me know.

Good to hear I'm not the only one that ties up too many branches at a time.

Hello all! This is my first year growing vegetables. We have a small kitchen garden planned, a few veggies and a few herbs. With this crazy weather all I have gotten in the ground so far is tomatoes.

We planted Golden Jubilee, Goliath and a couple of cherry tomatoes that my husband came home with, I don't know what variety they are though.

I'm really looking forward to having a vegetable plot and I can't wait for a break in this darn rain to get everything else going.

Welcome, Meridian!

Nancy, maybe between the both of us we'll remember. :D I'll check your trade list too.

Regarding the wet ground, I plant stuff in soggy ground all the time with no ill effects (veggies and ornamentals). I've read you're not supposed to but what can you do this time of year?

Good luck with your garden Merydian and please feel welcome to join in.
My dad gave me a couple Cherokee Purple plants that he started from seed. Honestly I'm not a big tomato fan but I did like those. He kept several plants for himself too. I hope they do well.

Thanks for the welcome, ladies. :)

So far so good, mostly. Everything I've planted has come up, barring my carrots and chives, though I've recently resown them, so we'll see. Also my green onions are kind of puny so far, but my husband says I'm being impatient.

I was wondering though, should I pinch the blooms on tomato plants that are staying rather small? I have half in containers and half in the ground. I'd like the ones in the ground to get bigger before they try to pollinate and produce. I have golden jubilee, goliath, and some variety of cherry tomato, they were unmarked.

My husband brought home more tomatoes than I had intended to plant, lol, so it isn't surprising that the ground planted ones are slower growing. The soil wasn't really prepared well, and I cut up a strip of sod on the back side of the garden trellis to make room for them. I don't really want to take up more grass, but I think it is stealing the water and retarding the growth. They look healthy, just small. I added some more soil around the bases of the plants and some plant food then covered with a few inches of mulch to help hold moisture. Any advice on the best approach?

I wouldn't pinch blooms. Just keep them well watered and mulch and let them do their thing.

BTW, a belated welcome to the Ozark Garden Forum.

You know some tomatoes are determinate...meaning they just get so tall and stop growing; others are determinate and keep growing at the top and can get very tall. Maybe your short ones are supposed to be short.

Helenh, your question about peppers. I know it is a bit late. I moved here from AZ there I use Anaheims for the general use peppers, Ancho / Poblanos for cooking. In NM the pepper of choice seems to be Hatch, they are like an Anaheim. I did notice another question about what to tie tomatos with. I've had good luck cutting strips of that rubber, looks like woven, shelf liner from wal-mart. it ties well and streaches for growth

Thanks aznative. I'll look for Hatch and the others you mentioned when buying seeds next year. I am just trying to keep things watered now. I wish I didn't have so many plants now that is probably going to stay hot and dry.

tshirt strips are cut in SHORT lengths so theres no temptation to tie up more than I should :)

What do you prefer...
a cage for each plant OR
twine stretched from post to post ??
If post to post method, what sort of twine/cord, etc have you had success with?

I dont have enough cages for each plant so I'm doing some 'post to post' for the first time this year.
Thanks for suggestions :)