I am home sick today. This stuffy head, bucket of snot, no sleeping, headache sinuses crap has been hanging on me, and the lack of consecutive sleeping hours I am pretty sure has run my immune system down.
I got the kids up, dressed, fed, and off to school without any major traumas, and without waking up Patti or the baby. Then I collapsed for an hour. Then the baby got up, then Patti got up, and that had me up. Made sure Patti was fed, got a pot roast going in the slow cooker with tons of onions and carrots, and then collapsed and fell asleep again.
Phoebe got home from kindergarten around noon which got me up, so made sure she was fed, and then dug out some pepper and tomato seeds.
Two large flats of peppers, being Jimmy Nardello and Tug Hill Paprika, 60+ of each. Those were followed by flats of three different Siberian tomatoes and another of Canabec Super, which I have not grown in 4 years. It is a really short, determinate, very early tomato that just for fun, and to rejuvenate the seeds, I am going to grow again. I have no complaints with taste on that one, and it is really early from what I remember, but it is REALLY determinate, which means it sets tomatoes, they ripen, and the plant dies. Bang. Done. Over. My thought though is that if we have a really warm and early spring I can do a bed of them at the Minnetonka garden, interplant them with carrots, and when the tomato plants are done the carrots (or maybe something else) will be there to fill in and finish out the bed for the year. From what I remember, the plants only get about 16″ tall to begin with.
The Siberian types are Galina, Siberian, and Sasha’s Altai. Galina is an indeterminate yellow cherry I have been meaning to grow for a couple of years. Siberian is an old standby for me that in intensely flavored and makes simply incredible oven roasted tomatoes. Sasha’s Altai was a new one for me last year, and was by far the earliest of my larger sized tomatoes.
All of the flats are on shelves above the gas stove. The pilot lights (yeah, the stove is that old) keep the shelves above it fairly warm and we have found it works great as bottom heat for starting tomatoes and peppers. If all goes well we should have plants breaking through in a week or so. Maybe longer for the peppers.
I used to hate the idea of growing determinate tomatoes but I have since realized that if we grow a determinate canner (Bellestar is the one we are growing these days) then once they get pulled out, we have a spot to plant garlic for the next year. Now I am quite happy to grow them.
Do you save seeds from year to year on those? Or do you buy plants? I have not grown that one yet. What I would love to find is a determinate tomato that is rugose enough to never need staking, even when it sets fruits. The strongest plants I have found, as far as short sturdy stems, appropriate for simply row planting, are Czech Bush, which is a nice dwarf determinate processing tomato, but I would like to have more types and even that one needs support after it sets fruits or it will bend over.
Why? I have been traveling the world, been busy maknig videos and living life.. Luckily the ones I did plant were purchased in March, and then nursed in the greenhouse and transplantted into larger containers.. Some already have fruits on them and most have flowers. I encourage everyone to plant as soon after their last frost date, even then, there may be a small percentage of a frost.. Its best to get the longest growing season by planting as early as possible.
We are growing Sasha’s Altai for the first time this season — how would you rate them on taste?
I would rate them pretty highly. There are better, but that is one tough plant, and really early as well. Of the early slicing tomatoes, it beats out Stupice. I am trying Moravsky Div this year which is a bit earlier. Has set fruit, but none ripe yet. Will have to wait and see how it tastes
Randal is a long time friend of mine. I sheard seed with him in getting Abundant Acres started. My mentor and friend, Merlyn Nieden’s was one of their mater seed growers; I sheard all my Kentucky Heirloom tomato varieties and he listed them with Baker Creek and Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. He died several years ago very suddenly of a heart attack.I would be very interested in growing the Rumi Banjan from Afghanistan. I could do a seed purchase or an exchange if that would be agreeable with you.I look forward to hearing from you.Happy Gardening to us All!Gary Millwood4816 Wooded Oak CircleLouisville, Kentucky 40245
can probably do that this fall. keep in touch with me. I am terrible at remembering these things.
Those are probably the peettirst tomatoes I’ve ever seen! Might you have 3-5 seeds you could part with? I’d love to give them a try. I take it that they are fairly early, since you’re showing them in mid-August.I live in the PNW, and am just getting started in growing OP and heirloom tomatoes.Your photos are beautiful. They add so much to your blog.