16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
I also try to plant as early as possible by taking several measures:
== picking some early varieties, some mid season.
== By covering the raised beds with Black plastic, couple of months prior to plant out, to help raise soil temperature and prevent from getting too wet.
== I have built couple of portable mini hoops that I use both hardening off and protecting from wind, cool temps and too much rain.
== I also make small cages from rabbit fence wire and wrap them with bubble wrap. Works kinda like WOW.
By doing all those things, last year I got my 1rst ripe tomato on/around July 7. That is unheard of in my climate. This year I intend to beat that.
So we had ripe tomatoes in July, August, September and some in early October.. That is pretty good in PNW, NW Washington state.
Seysonn
Premio - Harris seed - . Resistant to Tomato Mosaic Virus, Verticillium Wilt and Fusarium Wilt (races 1,2), and intermediate resistance to Stemphylium.
Heinz 2653 - resistant to verticillium and fusarium.
From what I can see, you are trying to grow early maturing varieties in hopes of beating late blight but the varieties you have chosen are not necessarily good choices for the stated use or for their bred in disease tolerance. I think a better strategy would be to grow late blight tolerant tomatoes to start with. Mountain Merit would be justified IMO. Iron Lady might be worth looking at.
Could not resist ordering Jersey Boy. I needed more Brandy Boy seeds so figured I would kill 2 birds with 1 stone and order both. I didn't want to try and see if I could find this in the nurseries this spring. Hope I won't be disappointed cause I have high hopes for this one.
my only real hope for continuing to grow these giant tomatoes is to plant the next generation of seeds.
Well, that depends how many seeds you have. It also depends what your object is, in growing Big Zac.
Perhaps you intend to plant all the seeds at once, in a go-for-broke attempt to win NZ's giant tomato contest (if there is one).
Or perhaps you simply assume that all your seeds must be planted this year or they'll "expire." Some folks aren't aware that tomato seeds, if kept from high temperatures, can last a dozen years or more.
Then again, this is mid-summer in the Southern Hemisphere, so perhaps you've planted all your Big Zac seeds already....
Thanks. I only had one small pack. I did hold some back and that should get me another year at least. But I've heard so much about these that I was hoping to hold on to them. Guess I'll try planting some of the seeds next year and see what happens :-)
I don't know about the ground temperature issue. Actually heat comes up from the ground too. And it is warmer deeper in the ground than on/near the surface early in the season. Besides that, when planted vertically, deeper, the buried portion of the stem will grow root as well
see the picture
Seysonn
Fireduck
Your soil mixture is almost identical to what I use in containers and I have high yields of tomatoes compared to most people I know. Something that I should have been doing from the beginning though is a good one to two inch layer of mulch to keep the moisture in and the top layer of soil from baking in the sun. I just use pine bark and it's made a huge difference.
W...you make an excellent point about mulch. My area is much cooler in the summer than you. However, I think the mulch would definitely be an advantage for me, as well. I have lots of wood chips from the local tree people. I might consider straw, however. It might be easier to remove if I want to re-work my soil at a later date.
I've gotten through about 75% though "Epic Tomatoes" and find it very useful for the novice tomato grower. All aspects of tomato growing is covered in good detail and written in laymen's terms that any aspiring gardener would understand.
The layout of the books contents is done extremely well. CL provides charming stories with all of the tomato varieties he highlights and I found his guidance on creating your own varieties of particular interest.
The photos really brighten up the layout of the book (just in case you weren't totally jazzed about tomatoes in the first place) making your eyes open with wonder with every eye popping tomato variety or growing guidance photo CL provides.
I wish I read this book 5 years ago. Many of the mistakes I've made, could have been easily side stepped if I had this book to guide me.
Well done CL! I'm sure this book will make anyone not already addicted to tomato growing at the very least charmed by your experiences and instruction.
Maybe they meant to direct you to the Pepper forum rather than the Tomato Forum. Several discussions there (see link to one below). Might also check out the Recipe Exchange forum. It is full of cooking with peppers recipes.
As for the Fish Pepper Salsa recipe, it is one published by Mother Earth News several years back.
White Hot Fish Pepper Salsa
The white bell pepper variety called for in this recipe was developed specifically for its white color, and is available in many supermarkets with specialty peppers. This is an excellent salsa for fish or shellfish, and also ceviche (a chilled mixture of fish marinated in lime juice). It can be frozen for later use.
1 pound white bell peppers
4 ounces white âÂÂFishâ peppers
1 large cooking apple (about 8 ounces), pared, cored and chopped
1 1âÂÂ2 cups white wine vinegar
1 cup sugar
4 cloves garlic
1 cup fresh pineapple, chopped (or substitute 1/2 cup lime juice)
1 1âÂÂ2 tbsp salt
Seed and chop the peppers, and put them in a large, non-reactive (avoid aluminum and copper) pan. Add the apple, vinegar, sugar, garlic and pineapple (or lime). Cover and simmer over medium heat for 25 to 30 minutes or until the peppers are soft. Purée to a creamy consistency and return to the pan. Bring to a gentle boil. Stir in the salt, and pour into hot sterilized jars. Seal and store in a dark, cool closet until needed, or freeze. Yields 5 cups.
Read more: http://www.motherearthnews.com/organic-gardening/fish-pepper-zmaz09amzraw.aspx#ixzz3N3oG6rZ1
Hope this helps.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Fish peppers
Sounds interesting, but also the history seems undocumented.
For hot sauce for fish, this "fish pepper" variety is supposedly picked immature, before it blushes, to make a white sauce with a Tabasco pepper equivalent heat.
The pepper seems claimed to be Baltimore's answer to Louisana Tabasco peppers, too, except with no red color to warn of the spicyness in advance, being a mutation of a Serrano pepper that when immature has pale, streaked, or no green color, but maximum heat.
As mentioned by digdirt, try the Hot Pepper GW Forum
These folks seem to have cornered the market on fishpepper recipes:
Best
PC
This post was edited by PupillaCharites on Fri, Dec 26, 14 at 23:29
Love the information and the explanations....I have a little to share, and much to learn! I am trying to not have the maters control me...so I try to limit myself. I replace the duds quickly (the next year). I agree about the EG's. Mine grew well, made OK salsa, and tasted fair at best. I so love my Cherokee Purple's! I am moving slowly from containers to raised beds (containers did well, even with indeterminates). More learning needed....
I grew Porter both here, in Tahlequah, OK and in Edinburg, TX (South border). It does quite well in heat. I just didn't care for the flavor.
Heidi has faired very well here in Tahlequah, OK. We don't have the dryness of the desert. But we often beat their heat. Heidi has that "weedy" growth which often speaks to me of hardiness in extreme conditions. It produces a lot. And, best of all, it is decent both for fresh eating and for cooking.
George
Tahlequah, OK
Here is a link that might be useful: Heidi at Sandhill Preservation Center
I can grow "other stuff" at one end and tomatoes at the other. Other stuff was bush beans, pole beans, cukes, garlic, beets, and other nightshades.
I grew tomatoes at one end for at least 4 years, then planted them at the other end last year for a great fresh start, only to get Late Blight (or was it that grey mould?) I never saw anything that looked mouldy and it wasn't fast-moving, but had patches of black on the stems and some of the fruit looked decidedly Late Blight-ish.
What the heck should I do next planting season????
Linda
From what I have read from the source you linked as well as the many other info sources available, there is no prohibition on seed saving as your title says.
However there are restrictions on disseminating those seeds to others without any regard for the regulations and safety considerations. Germination and mis-labeling issues aside (since most traders are willing to accept those risks if necessary), spreading seed-borne bacterial and viral diseases via traded seeds from unknown sources is well documented. That is something any state that wishes to protect it agricultural interests has a right to enforce.
When trading seeds it would be great to know if they were harvested properly, labeled correctly, and stored to retain viability. But more important, it serves us all well to insure that those seeds have been properly disinfected prior to planting.
Dave
That legally bothers me about as much as copying Commodore computer software did in the 80's. MY concern is keeping those damn seeds OUT of my garden.