I have tomato sprouts!!

Let's start off with saying, I made dinner tonight. Polish Lasagna and buttered bread with flaked sea salt. You'll see those pictures below in the slide show.

So, I'm one of those hovering people when they start their seeds. I'm fascinated by watching them start off, and this year since I'm doing a "test" of different mixes of Peat Moss and Vermiculite, its even more important that I at least pay attention. So far, the 50/50 mix is doing the best, but, it is also full of nothing but pole beans. If you don't know, beans have to be one of the easiest things to start.

1. Hole - Dig
2. Put bean in hole
3. Cover with a little dirt
4. Dampen Soil
5. Watch grow

It is really is that easy. It does need a little bit of light, but they really aren't hard to grow. Love em to grow, not fond of them to eat. Odd isn't it?

I took pictures of my babies that I saw today. I about did the excited girl squeal when I saw them. I think the big thing that helped is that I got my heating mat today for my table. There were no sprouts today in the tomato/pepper tray, and at about 12:30 am this morning, as I was getting ready to put a little bit of Vermiculite in that particular tray, I saw em. So pretty and precious. They're ones that I haven't started from seed before so that is why I was super excited.

I also took pictures of my giant calico bean, and when they say giant, they mean giant. I'll have to start those next year right away in their own bigger pot and hope they don't get transplant shock, or just wait and direct sow them. If the soil is at least somewhat warm, they'll sprout. Maybe I'll make that a test for next year. I'll grow beans side by side in two squares and compare direct sown with transplants. I'll be doing a similar thing with carrots this year. You can read that -+-here-+-. I ordered my carrots and hopefully I can get the French seeds.

Check it out! I'm really wanting to set up a time lapse camera to truly watch everything. My mac daddy camera isn't set up to do that though and I don't think my wee little one is either. I'll have to do a little bit of research on that. I'll have to choose just one seed flat to start with and have that be my "go to" for that year. My research project if you will. It would be a nice goal, but I think everyone who is a hobby gardener if you will, knows that keeping notes gets old.

Well, I'm getting tired. I'm going to call it a night.

Green Grape Tomato

Black Pear Tomato

Plum Lemon Tomato - Not pictured (over excited)

Chocolate Cherry Tomato

再見！

Well I almost did...

I thought long and hard about posting dinner, but just wasn't in the mood. Go figure. So I'll do a gardening update instead.

I've FINALLY been going through all my seed catalogs to see if there was anything I wanted to change, and the funny thing is, that most of the things I'm going to be ordering from, they don't even have catalogs. Of course this is only if we get a good haul back from tax time, and the hubby's preliminary doing seems to have us getting a very nice haul back. So I'm just going to continue on planning.

So this is what I've been planning. This is about half the size of what I was wanting to do last year, and this year as well. But I'm more concerned about doing it slow now. I'll get everything I want to grow eventually. All the tomato plants I'm going buy between two places.

This place has all their plants at the same price, the down side is that you have order 12 or more plants. I was so concerned about tomato plants that I didn't honestly even think about pepper plants, well duh, that's kind of what they sell. So, while I already have all the seeds I need for all the tomatoes and peppers, I'm just not in the mood to get those to grow from seed.

This other place is as close to local as I can get right now. I love that they have honest pictures of their actual harvest of the what the tomatoes look like. The downside (and there are a few) is that they don't always have the same plants in stock and their plants cost $6 each. This includes shipping but that's still almost $3 per plant. The other place charges $11 for 12 plants. You do the math. However, I'm willing to purchase 6 plants from them to see how well they are.

I'm going to concentrate on growing my beans from seed, I did it last year and had good results, and if they don't seem to be turning out, I'll just direct sow them and take a late hit on them growing. I'm planning on trying 4 types of corn this year too. I've never grown corn and the varieties I picked grow shorter, but they all have to be direct sown. I'm really going to try and keep records this year of everything and actually take pictures for a change.

I'm going to start seedlings on Feb 5th and start them a few different ways. I might still start some other plants as well, but I'm not concerned as I was last year. If something doesn't work out, I'll just go out and buy the plants that I need or start over and do a fall harvest on beans instead. The corn will be a slight disappointment, but we'll see if that happens.

I already own all the bean seeds, corn, and other. However, all the tomatoes and peppers I decided that I was going buy this year and test some growing mediums and get use to growing my main crop plants from seed. I want to be confident and not scared. So I'll bite the cost bullet this year, but after this year I want to start saving my own seeds and doing my own seedlings.

I believe that this is going to be a great year for gardening. Now all I have to do is figure out how to get an irrigation system going. I still need to post all the new supplies I get this year. Seriously, I plan on documenting everything. Maybe if I had a few followers, I'd be motivated.

Ciao!

This is by far not my first tomato of the season, nor the second, third, or fourth. All but the big one on the left I picked just about thirty minutes ago. However, yesterday there were three big tomatoes picked and a lot of the little yellow tomatoes as well as a few of the cherry tomatoes. I am a tomato growing fool. I have no problem eating at least one a day. This isn't the best picture I know, it was taken with my cell phone, and as for what kind of tomatoes they are? Hell if I know honestly. The big one I planted but I don't know what it is, I think it's a beefsteak variety from Bonnie, but I'm not sure. The other three are from two of eight plants in the same garden. They are similar in taste and texture, so I'm not to concerned. However, the one that I know I don't care for is the "Fourth of July" tomato. It is way to mild for my taste, I prefer acidic tomatoes.

I also watered twice today. Earlier in the afternoon since it wasn't too hot yet and they really needed it, and a little while ago. Though with this watering I used some Miracle Grow on everything, and then after that, I sprayed the hell out of the plants with my Japanese Beetle "juice" that also kills other common bugs. While I was holding out as long as possible for another spray, I was forced to pull up my string beans because they were decimated. I have found the little critter that was responsible, but I have not found out what it was yet. The bug killer seemed to turn them to juice so that makes me very happy. I feel a step behind honestly though, I missed two very important points when starting, I didn't mark down WHEN I planted nor did I pay attention to the days to maturity. I also know that I can try to guesstimate, and I would probably turn out fine, but it would be nice to know at least a round about time to pick things.

My pepper plants are doing somewhat well. My Sweet Banana Pepper plants have tons of peppers on them, okay not tons but probably enough for me to make at least a pint of the pickled banana rings I buy so much of for my italian salad. My Mariachi Pepper plant has two huge peppers on it, lol, woo! That may be all I get from it in all honesty, it is one of the plants that I started from seed and didn't harden off. I'm glad it got this far. I'm going to be pulling up two tomato plants possibly. My Big Rainbow and Bonnie Big Boy. The big rainbow is one from seed and is just... pathetic, poor thing the other is the biggest plant I have, but has yet to actually produce anything, and I'm sick of putting forth the effort, it needs to go. However, my Bonnie Better Bush will be pulled within the month as well. It has two tomatoes on it, if they get ripe to pick the whole plant will be coming up. It's more or less stopped growing and has not put forth any new growth. I'm still somewhat hopeful that it might do something, but I wont hold my breath either.

So, after much thought, I have decided that, yes, you can plant eight tomato plants in a 3x3 planter. They need to be Inter's and not Deter's, and if pruned right, you should have no problem with them getting to bushy. While I'm not planning to do the same thing next year, if I had to use this same set up that I'm using now, I would now that I know what I do. I know that I have a lot more to say, but I have to get some links put up in the post and then I wouldn't be able to post again for awhile. What fun would that be?

Ciao!

June Cometh Early

I've already harvested my first three tomatoes, and about a dozen cherry tomatoes, a healthy amount of string beans, one head of romaine, a handful of blondie peas, lots of yellow cherry tomatoes, and the mosquitoes have loved me just as much. In place of the peas and lettuce I've planted some potatoes, and I've started some new bush pea plants to replace the string beans that are coming up soon. I've had to throw out two hot peppers and one sweet pepper because bugs wanted to eat the fruit, and I've had to spray them all with insecticide because of Japanese Beetles. I am not an organic gardener, you mess with my plants I will kill you dead. I always wash wash wash the veggies real good.

I've had to pull up a few taters that decided to rot, no biggie, I figured it would happen since they were SO late going into the ground. I also realize I haven't talked about my melon vine much, well, it's doing GREAT. I've been plucking off flowers since I have 3 good melons going, and a fourth that is coming now. I can't wait to try them. Thankfully they will turn yellow and have a small silver line when they are ripe. Back to the potatoes though, I seem to have some very strong suckers in there, they are starting to get fairly big, and I have some new growth coming up from a few of the smaller ones.

I have yet to go outside and pick a tomato today, but I should also be able to maybe pick a pepper as well. I am a tomato snob, as the hubby says, so I have twelve tomato plants right now, and hopefully more for next year. I'm going to be working on uploading the seeds I have on hand right now, as well as my layout of what I have growing for all to see. A picture or two might eventually make it's way up here. I think the next post I do will involve a little bit more on the learning that has ensued so far from this, which means a few more tags will pop up for easier referencing. I've been keeping those fairly simple right now, but I might go back to the last post and add a few more specific ones.

Ciao!