Winners and losers 2014
Oct. 3rd, 2014 15:35![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
torquillWrapping up this summer's garden. Here's the summary:
Tomatoes
Dead: Black Krim (and its impostor), both Yellow Oxhearts, one Large Yellow, both Dr. Wyches, the pear-shaped Dr. Lyle impostor.
Alive, but not setting: Dwarf Stone, Polish, both Vorlons, the other Large Yellow, the heart-shaped Dr. Lyle impostor, Dr. Carolyn Pink.
Still going: Baylor Paste, Not Polish MRS (shocker), Legend (boy howdy), and all three Podarok Fei.
I'm going to call Legend a semi-determinate; not only is it a huge plant for a "bush" variety, it didn't really slow down at all between the two flushes of fruit. It's like it has two production levels: "moderate" and "oh my god". Podarok Fei, on the other hand, fruited early and took a distinct break of about five weeks before ripening its second flush, and it's about half the size of Legend.
I think Baylor Paste is a winner. Mite-resistant (as far as I could tell), vigorous, heavy production of great-tasting solid fruit which keep exceptionally well, and it looks like it'll keep it up until frost. I can't find a downside.
Dwarf Stone, if not crowded out by a massive determinate, looks like a great dwarf, though it can sprawl a bit. The fruit is bigger than I'd been led to expect, a respectable round red slicer with zero cracking even when under stress. Great balanced flavor, too. I think Livingston knew what he was about when he latched onto that one.
On to the rest...
I harvested the melons today, as four little Netted Gems slipped off the rather ratty-looking vines. There's not a lot of sweetness there, but I sort of expected that from the cool weather and diminishing sun (they had a late start). I'll have to grow them out for a year before offering seed, since I'm not sure whether the Armenian cukes died before cross-pollination was an issue.
Oh, right -- the Armenians just up and died in the space of ten days at the start of September. No idea why. I think we had had enough by then, though.
The sweet potatoes won't give me much, but they had a really late start, so that's kind of expected.
I harvested a huge pile of small Poblano peppers. I think that's the first time I've gotten more than one, and I had been resigned to none again this year. I think they must have a far higher DTM than anyone says, as they don't seem to fruit until fall for me, even when I set them out in April; they struggle, and don't bloom, and don't set. Maybe I'll buy several and set them out every three weeks until Memorial Day and see whether they're just more apt to stall in cold soil.
Still, I should be able to get a nice set of jalapeno-popper-like bites out of these. And it suggests I've finally gotten at least halfway to making them happy.
[Edit: DTM for Ancho or Poblano peppers ranges from 68 for green to 112 for red; I don't honestly believe the green peppers hang for forty days (and nights) before turning. What it looks like is that 68 is the number all the packets have on them, which may be possible in commercial settings where they jack up the nitrogen to prevent sunburn and otherwise have ideal conditions. Meanwhile, most gardeners see 90+ DTM, with an average somewhere in the 100-110 range. So that would make them a late pepper, up there with some of the tiny hot peppers like cayenne; they may want more warmth, and more time. I'll factor that into my calculations and make sure they still have food and space late in the season, when they're likely to finally start cranking out peppers.]
I have a few basil plants here and there, but not even close to the armloads I get in a typical year.
Oh, and the nasturtiums are still with us. I was surprised they made it into the summer, and they've even started blooming again. :)
On to thinking about garlic and greens, and how I'm going to juggle beds for winter.
Tomatoes
Dead: Black Krim (and its impostor), both Yellow Oxhearts, one Large Yellow, both Dr. Wyches, the pear-shaped Dr. Lyle impostor.
Alive, but not setting: Dwarf Stone, Polish, both Vorlons, the other Large Yellow, the heart-shaped Dr. Lyle impostor, Dr. Carolyn Pink.
Still going: Baylor Paste, Not Polish MRS (shocker), Legend (boy howdy), and all three Podarok Fei.
I'm going to call Legend a semi-determinate; not only is it a huge plant for a "bush" variety, it didn't really slow down at all between the two flushes of fruit. It's like it has two production levels: "moderate" and "oh my god". Podarok Fei, on the other hand, fruited early and took a distinct break of about five weeks before ripening its second flush, and it's about half the size of Legend.
I think Baylor Paste is a winner. Mite-resistant (as far as I could tell), vigorous, heavy production of great-tasting solid fruit which keep exceptionally well, and it looks like it'll keep it up until frost. I can't find a downside.
Dwarf Stone, if not crowded out by a massive determinate, looks like a great dwarf, though it can sprawl a bit. The fruit is bigger than I'd been led to expect, a respectable round red slicer with zero cracking even when under stress. Great balanced flavor, too. I think Livingston knew what he was about when he latched onto that one.
On to the rest...
I harvested the melons today, as four little Netted Gems slipped off the rather ratty-looking vines. There's not a lot of sweetness there, but I sort of expected that from the cool weather and diminishing sun (they had a late start). I'll have to grow them out for a year before offering seed, since I'm not sure whether the Armenian cukes died before cross-pollination was an issue.
Oh, right -- the Armenians just up and died in the space of ten days at the start of September. No idea why. I think we had had enough by then, though.
The sweet potatoes won't give me much, but they had a really late start, so that's kind of expected.
I harvested a huge pile of small Poblano peppers. I think that's the first time I've gotten more than one, and I had been resigned to none again this year. I think they must have a far higher DTM than anyone says, as they don't seem to fruit until fall for me, even when I set them out in April; they struggle, and don't bloom, and don't set. Maybe I'll buy several and set them out every three weeks until Memorial Day and see whether they're just more apt to stall in cold soil.
Still, I should be able to get a nice set of jalapeno-popper-like bites out of these. And it suggests I've finally gotten at least halfway to making them happy.
[Edit: DTM for Ancho or Poblano peppers ranges from 68 for green to 112 for red; I don't honestly believe the green peppers hang for forty days (and nights) before turning. What it looks like is that 68 is the number all the packets have on them, which may be possible in commercial settings where they jack up the nitrogen to prevent sunburn and otherwise have ideal conditions. Meanwhile, most gardeners see 90+ DTM, with an average somewhere in the 100-110 range. So that would make them a late pepper, up there with some of the tiny hot peppers like cayenne; they may want more warmth, and more time. I'll factor that into my calculations and make sure they still have food and space late in the season, when they're likely to finally start cranking out peppers.]
I have a few basil plants here and there, but not even close to the armloads I get in a typical year.
Oh, and the nasturtiums are still with us. I was surprised they made it into the summer, and they've even started blooming again. :)
On to thinking about garlic and greens, and how I'm going to juggle beds for winter.
