black prince tomatoes

We've been getting lots of tomatoes from the greenhouse lately. I haven't kept very good track of the varieties I've most enjoyed, but the Black Prince is a standout both visually and for its flavor. I planted seeds from Territorial. It's an indeterminate variety from Russia that is supposed to tolerate cooler conditions.

They range from golf ball to baseball in size. This one isn't the prettiest but it's fairly representative of ones that should probably be harvested.

I'm still trying to figure out the optimal color and firmness at which to pick them. They tend to have a softer texture than I like when too ripe, but by appearance alone it's tempting to not pick them early enough. I think there should still be a fair amount of green showing to get firmer flesh with good flavor.

The flavor is really outstanding. I've enjoyed them plain, in green salads, and in insalata caprese. These are some of the tastiest tomatoes I've grown. The flavor is rich and sweet. Wedges with cracked black pepper and salt satisfy perfectly.

All the tomatoes are still going strong in the greenhouse, so I'm not sure yet whether these will prove to have a longer season than the others. I will definitely plant Black Prince again next year, regardless. I've had no problems with them at all.

remnants of last year's garden

Pulled the next-to-last square of beets yesterday. Roasted the roots, and used all of the greens in a beef barley stew. The greens were lovely, having been growing nicely for weeks.

The chard has continued to produce steadily, surviving both dry soil and a complete waterlogging. It's definitely been happier in the greenhouse.

 The curly parsley in the greenhouse has been growing vigorously for a few weeks.

Italian parsley that I planted late in the year and didn't ever do much has begun growing, too.

The carrots both indoors and out have stayed small but I imagine will take off soon.

The fennel in the greenhouse mostly survived but has a lot of aphids on it already. I don't think it liked the period of terribly high humidity, either.

The parsnips in a bucket paused, but have begun growing again. I planted these really late and also left them in small pots for too long.

Small lettuces also seemed to idle away the winter, growing slowly but doing fine.

In general it seems that all these biennials did OK.

first year garden retrospective

Here are my retrospective notes on the first year of gardening. I'll keep it updated as more things occur to me.

Started way too late this year. This was a significant factor.

The drip irrigation system was a huge time saver and worked well with this quick-drying soil mix. However, it's also very easy to overwater. Need to be sure that the right drippers are used and properly dialed in.

Swiss chard in the greenhouse did very well. Five per square is a little tight but works. Even after our days-long hard freeze, which knocked down most of the stalks, it came right back and started producing new growth.

The low bird netting fence around the outdoor beds kept squirrels out. It's fragile, though. I saw some other types of net fencing at Home Depot that would work better.

Nylon net trellises worked great for vertical support of tomatoes and cucumbers.

The strawberry box moved into the greenhouse did pretty well compared to the box that stayed outside. Didn't get much production from these scrawny plants, though.

Transplanted basil did fine in the greenhouse.

Potato vine growth in the boxes was vigorous but the yield was good only near the bottom of the boxes, despite using late-harvest varieties. Were they overplanted? Should I have covered the vines to a greater or lesser degree as they grew? I think there's conflicting information about this technique. Need to do more research.

There were some rotten potatoes, probably due to overwatering and poor drainage beneath the boxes.

Dill is an aphid magnet. I suspect it may have kept aphids off some of the nearly plants. Can this be exploited?

Some of the hops had a lot more aphids than others. Why?

I started out pruning tomatoes to a single main stalk, but got out of the habit. At the end of August the cherry and Roma grape vines went berserk, especially after I got the irrigation system installed. I think I would have had better and earlier yield if I'd managed this carefully.

Lots of blossom end rot on tomatoes, particularly the Roma grapes. I think this improved once I fertilized but it was a little late.

Lots of blossom end rot on zucchini. It was much worse on one vine than another, and nearly total on the yellow zucchini.

Not have a single acorn squash grew beyond the size of a golf ball before falling off. Is this a nutrition problem?

Very heavy blossoming and initial fruiting on the lemon cucumbers, particularly the one I started in the greenhouse, but the vast majority fell off. Do these need hand pollination indoors? Is this a nutrition problem?

Some of the bell peppers, both indoors and out, produced a lot of flowers and small fruits that fell off. Do these need hand pollination indoors? Is this a nutrition problem?

Japanese eggplants kept falling off. I think fertilization fixed this.

Japanese eggplants were attacked by sow bugs or pill bugs.

Strawberries were attacked by sow bugs or pill bugs. Need to try to get them off the ground. Maybe use metal legs beneath the boxes?

Squirrels constantly harassed the strawberries and dug in the beds until I fenced them.

Beds to the west of the greenhouse do not get much sun, partly due to the bedroom balcony.

By the time of winter solstice the greenhouse is getting very little sun because of the house behind us. Permanent glazing should keep it pretty bright, though.

Very low pea production. Not only were they started late, I think they were way too sparsely planted. They did not grow vigorously even out front where they had a lot of sun, so I think there was a nutrition problem too.

Heavy and tall plants like peppers and dill tend to fall over in this loose soil mix.

Very high failure rate for strawberries from Irish Eyes.

Many of the blueberries and grapes Raintree sent were disappointing.

Radishes bolted immediately. We had very hot weather at the time.

Planted carrots much too heavily. They all seemed to germinate and it's hard to thin such a forest.

Oregano died quickly in the greenhouse. May have overwatered.

Looks like curly parsley can grow all winter in the greenhouse.

Leeks and green onions took a very long time to sprout in the greenhouse and never grew well.

I did not do a good job of thinning in general. In cases where I failed to thin beets they did not grow well. Same with lettuce mixes. Need to consistently use Mel's method of just snipping with scissors.

Basil started from seed in the greenhouse either never sprouted or took forever to grow.

It's pretty hard to train squash vines to climb the nylon netting, particularly against a wall.

Neither one of the Fuggle hop rhizomes sprouted. Lame.

I think the geraniums inside the greenhouse would have kept going for a long time if I'd continued watering. One still looks halfway decent, in fact.

Overwatering in the greenhouse led to a great deal of condensation, which dramatically affects light transmission. Humidity was probably much higher than it should have been on a lot of occasions. By the time the weather cooled I had serious mold problems, particularly on the tomatoes.

Despite the soccer net mounted in front of the grape arbor the grapes really took a beating. Think about putting up something larger.

Cilantro did not do well in the greenhouse. Not sure why; seems like the right conditions.

Parsleys planted from seed did not flourish in the greenhouse.

The collard greens and zucchini had quite a bit of powdery mildew.

Growing greens in the side bed beneath evergreens is problematic because of the sap that drips or mists from above. They either need to be covered or grown elsewhere.

The attempt to grow collards inverted in hanging planters was a failure. They want desperately to turn upward and grow right back where they came from. I think for anything to work this way it has to hang heavily.

Green beans never germinated. I think we had heavy rains after I planted them. Would have been better to transplant.

Had very mixed results with peppers, both indoors and out. Some were productive, some died. I think soil temperature is a big issue for getting peppers established.

Many of the Tall Telegraph cucumbers in the greenhouse fell off while small. Why?

Bok choi never grew large before bolting, both indoors and out.

The hops didn't produce anywhere near enough to be useful this first year, but hopefully they have built good root systems.

Potted mint in the greenhouse does well. Leaves stay compact. It's fairly dormant but still green at the end of December.

Things to research:

• Potato box methods.
• Companion plantings.
• Do peppers need hand pollination in the greenhouse?
• Do cucumbers need hand pollination in the greenhouse?
• Gardening When It Counts has a lot of information on compost quality. Read it.
• Growing oregano, cilantro, flat leaf parsley in the greenhouse.
• ...
  

Things to do and do differently:

• Try Coleman's idea (Four Season Harvest) of a twice-tempered climate.
• Set up drip irrigation for hanging baskets.
• Do some soil testing and proper fertilization. I don't think the Mel's Mix in fact had nearly everything that some of the plants wanted.
• Don't buy strawberries from that Irish Eyes place again. Very high failure rate.
• Think twice about buying by mail, generally, even when it's cheaper. Would have done better to pay a little more at Sky or Fred Meyer.
• Choose plants that require less light for the beds west of the greenhouse.
• Pay more attention to plant height and light requirements otherwise unwanted shading occurs.
• The tomatoes in the center of the greenhouse took up a lot of space. Maybe use only the beds at the back? That's where the vines can use the most vertical space, too.
• Manage water in the greenhouse more carefully.
• Convert to permanent greenhouse glazing.
• Use more vertical space in the greenhouse with hanging baskets.
• Try diluted milk as a remedy for powdery mildew. See articles at http://planetgreen.discovery.com/home-garden/powdery-milk-mildew.html, http://growagreenplanet.com/dealing-with-powdery-mildew-7-home-made-remedies-that-really-work/, and http://www.gardenguides.com/pests/tips/powderymildew.asp.
  
• Cut the butterfly bush back hard to let more light into the side bed.
• Need to do a lot of indoor planting for transplantation this year. Think about whether to try this in the greenhouse with some supplemental heat.
• Pay closer attention to temperature requirements when putting plants outdoors. Just because they are available at the nursery doesn't mean they should go in the ground.
• Need to do a much better job of incremental planting so that crops are available continuously. Examples are radishes, carrots, lettuce.
• Try a zig-zag climbing arrangement for the hops like Andy did on his garage.
• ...
  

drying hot peppers

I don't know what variety of hot pepper this is. Super chili said the tag at the nursery. Cone-shaped, green fruit turn orange then ripen to red. I pulled the plant from the greenhouse a week ago and the peppers have been drying since.

They are quite hot! Probably destined for my sole consumption.

last of the tomatoes, for real this time

I cleaned out the greenhouse today, removing all the dead vines, fallen tomatoes, and other detritus. I'm running fans with the vents open to try to dry it out inside.

I kept all of the tomatoes that weren't split or moldy. Plus, a surprise cucumber. Several pounds in all.

I've been cooking with green tomatoes lately. For Thanksgiving I made a dish of sweet corn sauteed with green tomatoes, fresh jalapeño (still doing fine in the greenhouse), and roasted red peppers. Quite good!

last of the cucumbers and tomatoes

Last week I plucked the final Tall Telegraph greenhouse cucumbers. We had the last one tonight in a green salad. These had a sweeter, milder flavor than most of the others, perhaps simply because they weren't as large.

Tonight I picked what will probably be the final tomatoes. There are still plenty of greenies, but I don't think they're going to ripen on the vine. Some of the cherry and grape tomatoes were pretty good, though.

Cucumbers and tomatoes in mid-November! I guess that makes the greenhouse successful in extending my season a bit.

There would be a lot more if I hadn't had humidity and mold problems. I've probably been overwatering, and once the rains came the inside of the greenhouse was extremely humid. The massive amount of tomato foliage didn't help, and I began seeing mold. I did a lot of pruning and did what I could to dry things out, but I lost many pounds of tomatoes. Next year I need to prune aggressively, avoid overwatering, and figure out other ways to limit humidity. Between that and going to a permanent glazing I think I'll have pretty good results.

greenhouse update

Things seem to be going pretty well in the greenhouse. I have quite a few idle squares and need to look into appropriate plantings.

Some of the beet roots are big enough to eat now. The basil has done well with some pinching. I think it would work to put four per square. The green onions seem very slow. The romaine has done well considering the heat.

The lemon cucumber was started from seed and has really taken off lately. It has fruit on it. I don't think I'm supposed to have it in the greenhouse with another cucumber, but they are far apart so I guess I'll take my chances. If either one starts producing something horribly mutated I guess I'll know why. This one has done far better than the one I put on the deck.

The chrysanthemum was flowering when I put it in, finished, and started again a few weeks ago. I need to get the parsnips into a permanent home. Planted more carrots, green onions, and leeks several weeks ago. Next time I should put the tomatoes behind the netting. The strawberries never did well, and most died both indoors and out. I am really displeased with that supplier.

 

  

The peppers are doing well aside from a recent blossom die-off. I think it was water stress.

 

I brought these strawberries indoors recently and they have been really happy. They are more vigorous than the ones I left outside. I've been picking a few now and then but until I brought them in the berries were always eaten by critters. Maybe starting them outside and bringing them in is a good approach, although I did think it would be too warm.

After fertilizing and watering more frequently it looks like the blossom end rot may not be affecting more tomatoes. We'll see.

It was already over 90 degrees outside when I took this photo so the chard is wilted, but it has been doing great. The greenhouse cucumbers have taken off and are setting fruit.

 

 

This beefsteak tomato broke in half a few weeks ago, I think from wind when both doors were open. I splinted and wrapped it and it is surviving so far.

The aphids went to town on this eggplant but it seems healthy enough.

These pots dry out completely in a single hot day.

 Next time I plant nasturtiums I'll have to give them something better to climb. They seem to do it well.

Compare to the greenhouse update from four weeks ago.

roma grape tomato

Plucked and ate the first roma grape tomato today. It was a bit early, but had really nice flavor. Slightly tart but the impending sweetness was evident.

This plant has serious blossom end rot problems. I hope the fertilizing and more vigilant watering will prevent it from happening to the fruits that are currently unscathed.

I'm not sure whether these will end up being partially edible or whether I should take them off now.

blossom end rot on tomatoes and zucchini

All of the tomatoes except the cherries seem to be struggling with this product of calcium deficiency. I fertilized the tomatoes with a Whitney Gardens organic product, as well as the peppers. I may add some lime as well. Here are a few references:

• http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/pubs/ask/tomato_qa.html
• http://www.harvestwizard.com/2009/05/milk_and_tomato_growing.html
• http://vegetablemdonline.ppath.cornell.edu/factsheets/Tomato_BlossRt.htm
• http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/3000/3117.html

The deficiency can be due to inadequate calcium in the soil, insufficient water, excessive vegetative growth, competitive cations in the soil, or moisture fluctuations. I don't think it's a watering problem, but I haven't actually tested the soil. I'm not seeing inordinate foliar growth so I doubt it's a nitrogen imbalance. They are growing in the shallow square foot beds, though, so perhaps they are experiencing too much moisture variability even though I usually water every couple of days. I need to get an automatic irrigation system set up in there.

A few zucchini have shown the problem as well. I'll fertilize those. Should hit the eggplants, too.

I don't yet have any sense of what the latency is with respect to calcium availability and uptake.

first swiss chard

Chard seems to do very well in the greenhouse. I cut a few stalks this evening and cooked them with canned tomatoes, chickpeas, garlic, scallions, olive oil, cracked black pepper, and fines herbes. Superb!

I harvested the outermost leaves of two or three plants. I'm hoping that they will keep producing.

greenhouse update

I'm still getting a feel for what works in the greenhouse and what doesn't. It's pretty clear that a number of plants would like more light. I think once I install the permanent glazing, and get closer to 90% transmission, much of that problem will be addressed. There are some areas that do get less light, so I also need to make sure that plants with the highest light requirements don't go there. The nasturtiums in the chimney corner are extremely leggy, for example.

I'm very pleased with the tomatoes. The first cherry tomatoes are showing some color (photos from 6/29) and all varieties are flowering and producing well. I've been tapping the flowers every day or two for pollination.

I lost a few peppers both indoors and out but the survivors are becoming robust and setting fruit.

The Tall Telegraph greenhouse cucumbers are beginning to accelerate. They took a very long time to get started. This is one of the darker areas of the greenhouse because of a shadow from the balcony. It may turn out that cucumbers are a bad choice for this spot.

This Japanese eggplant start is doing nicely. In the last couple of days it has grown noticeably and has at least one fruit. It was a purchased start; there are lots of others that I planted from seed that are still small.

I have lots of bok choi in various locations. They are all doing about the same, and some are beginning to flower.

Swiss chard is a little wilted in the heat here, but it perks back up when it cools and is growing rapidly.

Beets are very vigorous. I haven't checked a root yet, but the greens look great.

All geraniums are happy.

This little fuchsia is beginning to produce nicely, too.

In general the lettuces I've planted seem to think it's too hot. The romaine might be doing OK, but the mesclun is very sparse. Bibbs might be doing OK too. The supposedly heat-tolerant spinach is growing slowly but at least it hasn't bolted.

Overall, I'm pretty pleased. I'm sure that I should have waited longer to buy peppers, and of course I should grow greens mainly in the cool months. Cilantro has been a total bust, usually sprouting but dying at a small size. Outdoors it has done better. Lots of basil hasn't even germinated, and what has is growing unbelievably slowly. Leeks haven't done very well either indoors, but the he-shi-ko green onions have.

picotomatoes

Here are the first tomatoes. Plenty green but perhaps not yet frying size.

greenhouse cucumbers, outdoor cilantro and chard

Just when I was about to give up on the greenhouse cucumbers and replant, they have appeared. The first cilantro and swiss chard shoots are up outside.

While I was tapping the tomato blossoms the other day to pollinate them, one fell off. I was concerned that it had rotted due to pollination failing. But this morning I took a closer look and there is the first fruit: a glorious green BB.

In the evening I noticed outdoor beets and indoor leeks.

I guess now I can concentrate my worrying on the potatoes. Not sure how long it should take for them to sprout, but judging by how quickly the normal eating potatoes I buy sprout I would have expected it by now.

more planting and a bit of harvest

Planted in the greenhouse: white radishes, basil, cilantro, lavender (transplant).

Planted outside: mesclun, leeks, he-shi-ko green onions, beets.

Snipped a good handful of chives, parsley and oregano and minced them with (purchased) fresh basil. Stirred into casarecce pasta with olive oil and cracked black pepper. Bright and delicious! This is a pungent oregano.

carrot, cilantro, green onion sprouts

Carrots (outdoor), cilantro (greenhouse), and he-shi-ko green onions (greenhouse) are just beginning to show.

I'm starting to wonder whether I shouldn't replant the greenhouse cucumbers.

beets, chard, and peas a-peeping

In the last couple of days the beets and chard sprouts have begun to show themselves, and today I could see some pea shoots. It's been a long time since I last saw beet sprouts. I had forgotten what an otherworldly magenta hue they sport.

I'm getting antsy about the cucumbers. Germination time at 59 degrees F is 13 days, and 6 days at 68 degrees. It's clearly been a little cold for them. I should have started them indoors.

first swiss chard and nasturtium sprouts

One of each came up today in the greenhouse. Almost all the red radishes are up.

Also, some creature keeps walking through two of the raised beds and messing up some of the planted squares. It's not our cat, since I'm told he wasn't out today. I may need to screen them, at least temporarily. Grr.

first sprouts in the greenhouse

The boys planted red and white radishes outside on 4/26 and I planted red radishes in the greenhouse the same day. Theirs have come up in the last couple of days and mine were up today.

No photo, but I spotted nearly-microscopic basil sprouts this afternoon, too.

The chives I divided and moved into the greenhouse are doing well. The cat chewed on them the other day during his first greenhouse visit. I used some in omelets this morning just to make sure he wouldn't be the only consumer.

The heliotrope looks good. Smells good too, but until it's a lot larger I don't think it will be noticeable unless you stick your snout in it.

No problem with the dill.

I've been tapping the tomato flowers every day to pollinate them. Won't be many bees in the greenhouse.

The curly parsley is going great guns. I need to plant Italian parsley too.

This gerbera daisy has been very happy.

I've never had a ranunculus before. This one is flowering profusely but the blooms don't last very long. I don't know if that's typical.

The strawberries are just beginning to leaf out. It's not clear yet whether there's a difference between the indoor and outdoor plants.

The indoor peppers are doing OK but it does seem like the outdoor ones are growing better. It's pretty early to draw that conclusion yet, though.

The pot of mint I brought indoors has gone berserk. I'm sure it will be tall and ugly before long. Great to have for making mojitos, though!

Hanging pots of geraniums are doing nicely. Growth is visible just about every day.

The oregano seems happy, too. I wasn't sure that it would like the humidity. I might need to start pinching it back before long.

I haven't had marigolds for a long time. I think they are pretty sturdy and will do fine indoors.

It still seems a little bare. Many squares are unplanted, many more have unsprouted seeds, and of course nothing's very large yet. I hung nylon trellis nets for the tomatoes and cucumbers.

I hope there will be a lot more action in the next week. I'm very interested to see how the greenhouse cucumbers will do.