Yesterday we had BLTs and I finally cut up the big ribbed heirloom tomato. It was the first time that we didn't have any leftover tomatoes! In fact, only one kid didn't have seconds. I saved the seeds and will be planting them next summer. The tomato was flat on the bottom, which seems odd, but it was very good.
I've heard of people buying heirloom tomatoes from a grocery store, but living in a relatively small town, I've never seen anything but commercial hybrids available. Until yesterday. While doing our shopping at Costco, I found a six pack of heirloom tomatoes. I was delighted! So yesterday we put the first tomato to the test. We cut up the big yellow one (top right in the photo above). I have a couple admissions here. First off, I've never tasted an heirloom tomato, but I've heard lots of good comments about them. Secondly, this is possibly one of the biggest tomatoes I've ever had the pleasure of tasting. And third, while my kids are open to trying new foods, they aren't all find of tomatoes... And this one is a lot if tomato. I cut it up, scooped out seeds, and we shared it for Sunday lunch. Reviews were mixed. It wasn't overly flavorful, but it was alright with salt. I admit, I was disappointed. But there was some pink/red streaking on the fruit which may indicate that it wasn't fully ripe. I suppose I can plant some seeds and see what I get. Being an heirloom it should breed true. Despite mixed reviews, very little was left at the end if the meal. Seeds are fermenting now. I should have enough to trade later. It's a large yellow Oxheart shaped heirloom tomato of unknown variety. I'm currently working on an apple butter recipe I found online. A friend of mine posted it to Facebook and I decided to give it a try. I'll post photos and the recipe in my next blog post. I woke up this morning at 6am to the beginning of one of the strongest storms we've seen in a while. It only lasted about 75 minutes, but it took out hundreds of trees throughout the area. Our neighbor lost her beautiful birch trees in her front yard; fortunately they fell across the yard and not on the house or into the street. We were lucky that all of our trees (all five of them) are still standing strong.
That said, the birch tree beside the patio lost one small dead branch - and wouldn't you know - it fell right onto my poor tomato and pepper plants! The biggest and most promising bell pepper that was turning a lovely shade of brick red was crushed into pieces by the branch. I lost a couple tomatoes and another pepper plant as well, but none had set fruit anyway. I took the opportunity to sort the plants into ones with fruit that needed to be checked for ripeness, and ones that didn't flower or produce at all. I've got a handful more tomatoes coming, but it looks like all of the bell peppers are deformed and won't be edible. This upsets me most because one single pepper plant turned out to have the beautiful chocolate brown peppers I had wanted so badly (bought a mix and they were a possibility) and all of the peppers on that plant are tiny and misshapen. On the plus side, my mom grew morning glories this year and isn't interested in keeping seed (it's easier to go buy them then try to remember where they got put I guess). Freebies for me, and more to share in the seed bank! On my way out the door I picked eleven seed pods and ended up with 65 seeds. I plan to go back again tomorrow to get the rest (it was dark so I just grabbed a few). They should be for blue, purple and pink (though I never saw any pink flowers on hers this summer). I've been working on getting a list of all of the seeds I have been able to collect so far. The Seed Bank page I was trying to reserve for those seeds I had several extras of to trade, but I felt the need to somehow compile a list of all of the seed varieties I've gathered, even those that I have no spares to trade yet. So I made my list on Dave's Garden. My list of seeds I have and seeds I want can be found here. The link is also on the Seed Bank page, and it includes not only my seeds, but the herb seeds that belong to #2 and the flower seeds that belong to #3 and #4, as well as #1's cucumber seeds. I'm amazed that in just three months I've been able to collect so many varieties to try out! I'm always open to more, so feel free to donate more! I also like to trade, so if you have something I don't already have - let me know and maybe we could trade!
The cucumbers continue to flower abundantly. The largest Roma tomato plant has three yellow flowers. I swear I saw a flower on one of the pepper plants yesterday, but I don't see it today. The two remaining pea plants have each produced a single pea that they seem to be putting all of their energy in to. Both continue to be a favorite spot for the cats to sit in the big window. Some news from the Research page; the beans are now producing. I'm including a photo below. The mango tree is finally starting to look like a tree. I gave up on the water and planted it directly into soil. Photo below - it looks like a little palm tree! Too cute! And in cat news, Mabel is getting rounder by the day, and is content to nap and groom most of the time. Tony thinks she may have kittens this weekend. I say she should have them within a week (between tomorrow and May 3). I'm still guessing four kittens, but we'll have to wait and see. I updated baby guinea pig photos today as well, but unfortunately my camera died as I was trying to get photos of the adult guinea pigs. I think the camera is beyond repair, though I'm not sure what happened. Tony will take a look at it later today, but I may be out of commission on photos until I can make enough money to buy myself a new camera. Today's mail delivery brought three new seed varieties...
Churchill Brussel Sprouts (heirloom) Connecticut Field Pumpkin (heirloom) Yellow Pear Tomato I guess the Brussels sprouts are supposed to be started several weeks in advance, much like tomatoes and peppers, so I'll be heading back to Fleet Farm to buy yet another seed starting tray. The herbs that #2 planted are starting to come up now, and the last seed tray I started (with tomatoes and herbs and odds and ends) needs to be moved under the light - which means moving the pepper tray out and transplanting them all. Sounds like I know what my weekend project is going to be! And in other news, we're about to hit a new milestone - our very first sleep-over. Our oldest (#1) has a friend over, and they're trying to get a hold of her family to see if she can spend the night. This will be the very first time we've had a sleepover at our house. How exciting! The new aquaponic tank is half set up. The tank itself is set up and Kernel Mustard is enjoying his mansion, but we have not yet set up the top portion for the plants. I'm letting #2 pick what he's going to be growing. The kit came with three packets of Wheat Grass, and one of Genovese Basil. We won't use the Wheat Grass, so it will be going in the Seed Bank as soon as I can snap a photo and get it posted there. I think the plan is to use the new basil, but I'm not sure which other herbs he will choose. He has plenty to pick from. I received another variety of seed from the GRIN (USDA), this time Black Beauty Eggplant. They will be planted outside in the spring to be compared to the store-bought eggplant that we already have. I also got an email from them asking if I was still interested in the rhubarb I had requested. Hopefully that means it comes soon. We had a rhubarb plant when we moved in, but the neighbor put up a wooden fence just feet from it and lack of sun killed it within a season. The Black Beauty Eggplant, and the rhubarb (if and when it comes) will be monitored on the Research page. Today I went ahead and planted more tomato varieties. I didn't have enough varieties (planting three of each) to fill the tray, so I started some herbs and a couple odds and ends too. I planted: Sekai Ichi tomatoes (trying again as none came up from the last attempt) Lil Pink tomatoes Purple Fairy tomatoes Cherokee Purple tomatoes Pineapple tomatoes Riesentomate tomatoes Maglia Rosa tomatoes Sweet Grape tomatoes (more seeds available in the Seed Bank) Black Cherry tomatoes Pink Sunshine tomatoes Long Island Mammoth Dill Sweet Basil Cilantro Chives Sage Triple Moss Curled Parsley Oregano Lemon Thyme Luffa Gourd Bell Pepper (seeds came from a weird pointed bell pepper - also have more in the Seed Bank) I've also added more mixed bell pepper seeds to the Seed Bank, so if you like bell peppers - please feel free to trade with me! Since #4 was home from school again today (she threw up in her sleep last night), she helped me with the identification sticks (she picked what color I got next as I was writing the seed names on each), and got to pick a seed to plant in her own container. She selected a couple "purple coneflower" seeds, and happily put her little container next to her sisters in the window in their bedroom.
So of course, #2 wanted to know when he was going to be able to start planting his herb seeds that he got in the mail a little bit ago. I'll be making another trip to Fleet Farm to pick up another seed starting try and perhaps we'll make a project out of it. This week looks crazy busy, but maybe we'll find time. Otherwise, there's always next week too. I did manage to find another grow light, but I haven't tested it out yet. I have to set up a second shelving unit to put the newest seed tray (above), and #2's seeds too. I also tracked down two big stacks of those cheap plastic containers that you get plants in from nurseries, so I can start to replant my peppers into containers that are uniform in size and can easily be lined up in a box and kept under the light still. That will also have to be a project on hold for now. There is an exotic livestock auction this weekend, and I intend to go. I plan to pick up some meat rabbits if they sell for cheap, and stare longingly at the bottle-babies. One day... one day I will have a farm and will be able to have a bottle-baby goat, but for right now, it's just a dream. The Roma seedlings didn't all come through the transplant, but I think a few will survive. I'm glad we had so many, so even when most of them are dying off - we may still end up with a couple adult plants. I have added a few more seeds to the seed bank, including more orange bell pepper seeds, kiwi seeds, and grape tomato seeds. I'd like to plant some of the orange bell pepper seeds, and possibly some of the grape tomato seeds, but I will not be growing the kiwi seeds, as they take several years, a lot of room, and a much warmer climate to grow.
My wonderful husband figured out a way to rig a seeding tray on top of empty water bottles to make it float over the fish tank. I've moved a few peas, peppers and cucumbers onto it, but in the process the whole "raft" sank at one point. I guess it was enough to stress the cucumbers into shriveling up and dying within 24 hours. Now I'm fairly certain it's due to my over-watering. I'll stop watering them now... Most of the seedlings in containers are doing well. I did have one issue with the blue bowl as the cats have claimed this bowl as their personal throne to sit in the sunny window - creating crop circles with my peas (which remarkably survived the experience). The aquaponics experiment is almost set up. On the left is the floating seedling tray (from the original kit) that is buoyed up by empty water bottles. The white piece (right center) is the top half of a milk carton holding a cucumber seedling. On the right front corner is the top part of a 2-liter bottle holding a pea plant. I just need to make one more floating container to hold a single pepper plant and the aquaponics experiment will be a go!
The sunflowers do not appear to be too much bigger than they were last time I checked on them. This surprises me, but he doesn't have them in full sunlight either, so that may be part of it. I'm hoping it warms up soon enough that I don't have a 4-foot tall flower in the house by the time we can move it outside! The mango seed looks like it is beginning to sprout! There's a little nub inside the crack that is getting bigger and closer to poking out every day! No sign of roots yet though, so we'll see how it goes. I've been working on setting up a new page for this site, called the Seed Bank. I've run in to a few websites with seed banks where people can buy or trade seeds, and it seems like fun. I admit I'm in awe when I see some of the lists contain many hundreds of seed varieties. It's more than a little disheartening to email asking to trade my few meager seeds and getting rejected several times. As a beginner, that is really discouraging. So I figured I'd make my own seed bank and put a twist on it. It seems to me like most seed banks contain extra seeds that are there for no other purpose than to buy, sell, and trade. But wouldn't it be smarter to plant a few of them each year to harvest even more seeds? I mean, if I start out with 25 rare tomato seeds, and I plant 10 of them, I'd have far more seeds by the end of the summer than I had to start with, and that means I could share more. Perhaps the rare varieties would become a little easier to get a hold of, and more people could enjoy both the growing and the eating experiences that seem to be only for the elite gardener right now.
So - if you are reading this right now and would like to help not only our family, but others as well (we like to pay it forward), please consider donating your extra seeds! |
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