THE SURVIVORS :

Here are few pictures : First some of those that survived after 2 nights of freeze, with lows dipping to 24F.

HILLBILLY: lost its growing tip but bouncing back up.

RC MORTGAGE LIFTER: same story

SARAH: survived too.

BFBS: Not that survived after losing its top completely, Now it has buds.

What I lost: 1 Stupice , 1 Big Beef, 1 Big Rainbow , 1 BW Sudduth , 1 Brown Heart.

sey

Planted out after the freeze :

BRANDY BOY

BLACK CHERRY

SUNGOLD

STUPICE

LONG SHOT : WEST SIDE

ON THE WAITING LIST

SILVERY FIR TREE: Leading the way in my garden, with tomatoes already.

sey

Feb and half of March my garden soil was warm and dry. Now that I want to get plants in the ground, the soil has not even come close to drying out enough for me to plant. I did get it tilled, but the ground was really to wet, but oh well. Yesterday's rain should be the last for seven days, so hopefully I can plant out in 3 or 4 more days.

Sey, the BFBS looks fine. It is always one of my stronger varieties that resists disease better than most other varieties. I am not surprised that it shot back so fast.

Nice looking fruit on your plants, PCola.

Sey, the BFBS looks fine. It is always one of my stronger varieties that
resists disease better than most other varieties. I am not surprised
that it shot back so fast

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NC, the BFBS has buds again. The first ones were killed by the freeze. It is tough cookie.

Sun Gold and Silvery Fir Tree have fruits. Biggest SFT tomato is as big as ping pong ball. SG's are pea size.I think I will have some ripe tomato in May. That would be a record for me. Even in Atlanta I did not get any sooner than June.

Another cold snap tonight. Per forecast, it will dip to 38, 39F. We have been also getting strong winds lately, gusting up to 30 mph. But they are dying down now. In Seattle we never had high winds except around November. But in Atlanta , one Easter weekend a tree fell on my cold frame.

sey

Vey nice plants Sey!! Mine are nothing like yours ( yet)

Today I was out transplanting 3/15 plants.. Finally it's mater season!

Ended up getting pretty lucky here on the SC coast with the storm that'd been ruining the Southeast. Been growing everything low and bushy, so even though I hadn't gotten tomato supports up yet everything was strong enough to stand the gusts. Even with the tomatoes having gotten tossed around pretty heavily they don't seem to care at all. Of course everything in 1 gallon or 2" pots was on the porch.

> Feb and half of March my garden soil was warm and dry. Now that I want
to get plants in the ground, the soil has not even come close to drying
out enough for me to plant. I did get it tilled, but the ground was
really to wet, but oh well. Yesterday's rain should be the last for
seven days, so hopefully I can plant out in 3 or 4 more days.

that's why i cover my planting area with a black tarp about 3-4 weeks before i plant.. keeps the soil from becoming a swamp due to spring rain and helps warm the soil faster. since i use organic fertilizer i also add some so it has a head start in doing its work in the soil.

Today's pics.

Planted late March the following in buckets/pots (which are covered
under domes, and I can bring inside if very cold at nights):

3 Tiny Tim (micro at 12" max)

2 Lime Green Salad (dwarf at 3' when mature)

1 Orange Pixie (micro at 18")

By April 9th planted the following in the raised bed and in the three 12 gal pots (which are again covered by clear domes overnight, and on cooler days):

3 Margo hybrid (30" dwarfs)

1 Pride of Flanders (dwarf)

1 Camaro hybrid (compact bush)

1 Green Berkley Tie-dye (compact)

1 Ball's Beefsteak hybrid (compact)

1 Bella Rosa hybrid (compact)

Now, will wait till first week in May to plant the 16 big and tall indeterminates in ground (plus peppers, okra --- all else are planted already: herbs, green onions, snow peas, etc).

Tony

Nearly done making earthtainers and planting tomatoes. First radish sprouts have popped up in their container. Waiting for beets, carrots, and lettuce. I finished all but two tomatoes tonight. The peppers will go out at the start of may.

My deck is always over crowded. Since it is second story it gets a steady breeze that keeps things dry. This is more spacing then I normally have but this isn't the final form of how I plan to have the plants sorted. I'm going to try to prune heavily this year. The tomatoes always grow over my deck rail and I have to use a ladder to pick them by August.

Things are moving along real well, Tony, BARRIE & icy.

Here are few new pictures from my garden 0n Apr 12.

A Long Shot

West Side: in the front carrots, cilantro, garlic ...in the back tomatoes, peppers and eggplants, Maters and garlic are hiding the peppers and eggplants which are much shorter.

and

The east side:

The tomatoes on this side planted out much later, from my second batch.

On the right edge I have a row of peas and onions (not quite visible).Peas are getting ready to set.

In the fron I have few broccoli, parsley and chives. I just pulled the radish and spinach . Planting Basil in the vacated spot.

It's been a rough start here for maters. Slow cold rainy spring so far, temps barely hitting 50 on a good day. I was hoping I'd get my starts in the ground before going on vacation but it just wasn't possible so I had a baby sitter watch my plants. Came back to them all leggy...alive but leggy.

If the weather progresses like it is now maaaybe I'll get these in the ground by may 1. Hopefully they don't get root bound before then.

In the meantime, the pea hoop house is going well. Should have flowers by may 1

Planted 26 tomatoes March 17.

Sun Gold

New Big Dwarf

Bella Rosa

Cherokee Purple

Cherokee Carbon

Sweet Tangerine

Indian Stripe

Think Pink

Still in the cold frame:

I caged today and started staking the cages.

I have been also working on my support system.

A) I am doing one row by STRINGING, LOWERING & LAYERING. In this method got to prune to a single stem.

B) Three (3 ) rows just simple stringing.There are about 8 plants per row. I have/use tomato clips.. It makes the job much simpler : NO TWISTING the twine around the stems.

C) Four (4) rows {4 plant per row) by Florida Weaving.Some of the plants in those rows are almost 2 ft tall with lots of flowers/buds. Gotta support them before the winds knock them down.

All the methods mentioned are new to me. In the past I have done a combination of STAKING and CAGING.

Sey

Sounds good Sey. How high is the stringline support ? A skyhook would be helpful.

Those clips are great until it comes time to clean up the garden in the Fall. With 60 plants, I found it too much work to locate and unclip them.

I gently twist the stem around the jute now. I do use the clips for the very first attachment at the bottom of the stem.

I used to remove clips but at a penny each I just can't justify the time. The plants decompose and the stringline and clips rake out to my satisfaction.

I wanted to add that I just finished hanging all 543 string lines and placing first clips. Things get easy from here on.

Cages to left are planted cucumber hills. The net will hang later from S-hooks suspended from left perlin.

This tunnel is full and tunnel next to it is full of peppers, 568 total sweet and hot pepper plants.

Matts Wild Cherry on tax day....

Friendly tomato plant visitor...

Hey Sey, and everyone,

Nice Eastern Black Swallowtail, Pedro, looks like it just emerged from its chrysalis!

Sey you are up to your old tricks and a few new ones here in the South, welcome back :-) I like your varieties of different support methods...I have a truckload of excess professional tomato vine clips and CRW wire I need to sell or unload somehow, and it is all new since I had to get rid of all my old toys a year ago since I didn't want to do something different and more economical :-(.

I am back messing around with a few tomatoes this season after getting run out of Dodge by the City for growing food in my yard. I have 19 plants, though this will come down to 15 or 16 as soon as I find victims. Today I also got my first ripe tomato,

also a wild one, like Pedro, Everglades. Sungold is right behind it muscling in. Besides those varieties, I have Cherokee Purple, Big Beef,

Morelle de Balbis and a Hirsute wild tomato.. It is a really non-exciting bunch with a lot of duplicate plants because they were all the rejects for someone I grew six seedlings for...and somehow got sucked into the cycle against my better judgement grrrr. But they look beautiful! Hello all nice to see how great the forum still is!

PC

Good morning from my garden to all! I am glad that you are back PC.

Blooming this morning around the tomatoes

And the tomatoes, getting ready.

Few are ripening

Silvia

Hi Silvia, it is wonderful to see you here and I can't wait to see yours ripening up! What are those oval Sungold looking trusses?! They look great!

PC

Thank you PC. About my tomatoes, there is usually no two seasons alike, the theme this time is mystery :)

I went to the local farm and I tried different heirlooms that I was not familiar with, the ones that impressed me I am growing them now, no names I am afraid....

This is the first dark that I really like and is early too.

The first picture I got seeds for red Penna, but it is not. The second picture is Girl, Girl and also early. The third picture is for sure Smarty, I don't grow it too often but it is very prolific and good flavor. I mostly grow cherries to give them away. This season I am not growing Sungold.

A picture from the top.

Silvia

Wow Silvia that was a really Smarty variety :-) But it sounds like it is the production you love most about it. What a pretty plant so laden with yellow and fruiting everywhere. Good luck on the dark early mystery and not-Red Penna. Thanks for the lovely views of your plants, all of them!

Cheers

PC

Hey Sey, and everyone,

Nice Eastern Black Swallowtail, Pedro, looks like it just emerged from its chrysalis! (PC)

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Hey PC ! Where have you been ? I was thinking maybe you gave up gardening and found another hobby.

Anyway, great to see you back. Yeah and you are back with a bang. Your plants fruiting and almost getting close to being ripe.

In case, you have not noticed , I have left WA state and now I am in Southeast NC. Just a stone throw from North FL. hehe

Silvia, your container garden is real nice, as always.

Barrie, (Central PA, zone 6a) Sounds good Sey. How high is the stringline support ? A skyhook would be helpful.

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The LOWERING row line is about 6ft+. The other regular stringing rows (NO lowering), are over 7 ft high.I am using real heavy gauge galvanized electric fence wire, with a ratchet type tensioner, just enough to prevent sagging. To create friction I twist some kind twine on the wire. This way the line won't slip.

I think those clips (@ 10 cents apiece) are good and time saver. I've got 100 of them (from WM , online, $9.95 per 100, no tax, no shipping charge )

sey

I just got my tomatoes all planted. I have 9 in the plot at the community garden. I thought back to picking all those juliets last year at the garden and even though there were only 4 plants, it was a project. So I planted only large tomatoes there this year, except for 2 pearly pink orange plants, also down there I have Lithium Sunset, Girl Girl's Weird Thing, Pineapple, Dwarf Beauty King, Wherokowhai, Tennessee Suited, and Pit Viper.

Doesn't look like much, but it will in a few weeks. It also has chives, onions, peas, zucchini, and romaine lettuce.

Also found these today, probably juliets

Today, I planted the home garden that is only tomatoes. I did the cardboard and mulch method of preparing the bed. During winter, I covered the grass with cardboard, and in spring I covered that with several inches of alfalfa hay, then gave my rabbits free access. When I dug into the dirt under the cardboard today, I found tons of worms and the dirt was almost entirely worm castings. Then there's all that rabbit poo. Should be a nice garden. I'll add some more mulch after the tomato plants get a little bigger.

There are 36 plants in here. The ones closest to the camera are dwarf varieties, most of the cherries are along the chain link fence because there are kids next door and I don't know if they have grabby fingers, but if they do, I'd rather they took the cherries. In this garden I have: New Big Dwarf, Tennessee Suited, Dwarf Beauty King, Pit Viper, Pink Bumblebee, Reverend Michael Keyes, Indigo Cherry Drops, Chocolate Stripe, Orange Russian 117, Green Zebra, Green Zebra Cherry, Cherokee Lime, Girl Girl's Weird Thing, Idaho Hillbilly, and Juliet f2.

Nice start Riley, I hope Pineapple takes off, it's a favorite (As are all the knock-offs and crosses of Ruby Gold, like Gold Medal, Hillbilly, Georgia Streak, Big Rainbow, etc.)

Hi Sey!!! thanks for the kind and friendly welcome here and great thread you got going. You bet I've followed that you are in NC and close enough to hop in your car and drive down for this roll CRW of my driveway see what the talk is all about if you haven't experimented or used i before among your various support methods :-) When you say SE NC though I sure hope it is not burnt out in the summer like us here. I don't think so but let me just say plants when you don't quit, in July here, can stop producing entirely and still require 2 1/2 gallons of irrigation daily and I'm not exaggerating. But right now they are growing 1-2 inches higher daily so it is an exciting time to sit back and admire now that I'm over the hump of the hard work setting up.

Did you lose all of your Big Beef in the freeze? I'm growing it this round. I know which freeze you mean since it got to 33 F here over three really cold days in March here, too. I was planted out and double covered my plants putting a stake, plastic kitchen garbage bag, and sheet over the plants each night. Luckily I had been slow about putting up the cages!

Cheers

PC

A few shots of my garden. Late start this year.

Hi PC. And thank you.

My first season here not knowing what will happen in July and August. I might get some fresh ones going by then for the fall harvest.

Luckily I have few more Big Beefs. I lost one to freeze and another one in grafting experiment. Not to worry. Last count I have 57 plant of 34 varieties.

Good luck, everybody and have a great season.

sey

My other garden is finally showing some improvement. I waited to long to plant and by the time I did, they were starved and a lil leggy. They are all showing strong growth and I even got a couple ripe sungolds. I think all in all I have 125 plants in the ground between my 3 grow sites.

I still need to stake these and decide how I will prune.

Some Brandy boys and brandywine at my house.

Along with some dwarfs

My biggest tomato so far

Yesterday I went to the Flower and Garden festival at Disney, when I went to the Fresh from Florida booth I noticed that they had ribbons for veggies and fruits. When I went to look for the tomatoes, they only had cherries in tall containers and had no ribbons for them.:)

Silvia

First tomato of the season. Pearly Pink Orange.

Operation Bug Off Birds has begun

Heres mine, I grew about 12 or 13, 10 of them in those 20 gallon dirt bags that are still ticking after 4-5 years. I just mix half of new MGrow pot mix with last years.

2 early girls, (1is at top left the other in back row in front. And the rest is 1 jet star, not pictured 3 cherokee purples and 6 Brandy boys. I put one other early girlin a 7 Gallon bag. I bought the Cheroke and early girls at some nearby garden place and bought the 6 brandy boys from burpee ($11 for 3 plants on sale, so I took advantage and bought 6 instead of another variety)

I think i planted them around May 20th and this was takenJune 19th. I also bought the Burpee Pro XL cages 6 of them) they seem pretty sturdy, and I made 5 cages out of those green metalruber stakes with 2ft 1/4 bamboo sticks around them to make squares. the bottom photo is them from a differnt angle and 1 week before the top photo.THe Jetstar is on the right and seems to be smaller so far growing. I am also trying out burpees new granular fertilizer this year instead of MG water soluble.