Slacker!

Shah dang, been awhile :(
Well the Fall plants did OK but foilage disease was rampant from the wet weather and we had an early frost so it just tasted good. Things have continued though.
Finished up today with some cleaning up and planting. It was late and too wet but it is what it is. They are calling for more rain Monday so it had to be. Winter wheat and Austrian Winter Field Peas now own the gardens. The peas, first time and but a thought at the time of purchase, seem to be the trick. Researching, after planting of course, and I find that the Austrian peas can create 3-4 tons of dry matter and fix up to 200 lbs of nitrogen per acre!
Combined with the wheat and it seems that it was a good combination. See http://newfarm.rodaleinstitute.org/features/0104/no-till/chart.shtml So rye may have been better and earlier planting would surely have been best but it has been wet. Looking forward to seeing how it progresses.


Indoors, I think that I am still on schedule for a Jan mater sandwich. All Determinate because I'll need the space later for 2010 seedlings. BHN-589 ( right), Pik Red ( center, which was discontinued in 07 or 08 but you can find seeds for in a couple of places and has been replaced by Pik Rite -> http://www.harrisseeds.com/storefront/p-136-tomato-pik-rite.aspx ) and Mountain Glory ( left) that I really enjoyed this year.

Tomatoes are growing ...

Almost a month later and some tomato plants are over 5 feet tall. Some have already started producing good tomatoes and some seed has already been saved. A chunk of these tomato plants are cuttings off of plants I started for the Spring planting but never got in the ground.
Several took root in the ground through the pots and trays and hung on that way. They got a dose of Daconil this morning.



Here is an update on the Spring 'maters that I will finish ripping out shortly. It is just that time of year for tomato plants here. It gets to be too much of a problem with spraying at 8-10 feet - or at least more than I care to deal with. Besides, I have all these others coming on nicely.

Still at it

The Spring crop is falling out fast from disease so that is the next project ... rip out! Saving a chunk of seeds and I guess that is what tomorrow will be centered on.

Picked a 1 lb 14.5 oz Aker's West Virginia tomato this morning ( pics added, seeds saved). That's a good 'mater too!

I got the Fall tomato plants sprayed today as well. They already have some issues ( Septoria and Bacterial Speck I think) but I think they can pull through if I stay on top of it ... some have even started blushing.

As Fall/Winter draws nigh, there should be more time to update and to reflect on the "Best of ..." Now off to shower and man the grill ;)

Fall planting is DONE!

I ain't planting no more tomatoes this year. But I am working on my 2010 list ;)

We finally got rain!!! Close to 2 inches so that has had me waiting ( gladly I might add). The next few days are forecast with a good chance for more rain so these had to get set out. Until the 2 inch day, I had seen only a quarter inch total for the prior 5 weeks.
But I'm done planting and should be able to get back to updating TheTomatoGarden.com after a couple of days getting caught up with harvesting ... and seed saving ... and canning and ...
It has just about become a full time job.

Am I doing this again?

Fall planting has begun. I can't really understand why I am setting out more plants. Just want to grow them all I reckon ;)



The next few days will be extra busy getting the rest of this planting done and trying to keep up with all else. I literally have hundreds of pounds of tomatoes to process/can. It does not take long for them to add up with some of these ... 1 lb 9+ oz Aussie, 1 lb 3 oz 1884 that I updated pics on.
Tired, hungry and dirty ... Calling it a day.

Another Day

Spent today mainly fighting tractors! This spot had trees up to 10 feet tall in it earlier this morning.
The Bobcat worked flawlessly again and made short work of tree removal. The tiller attachment was on one tractor that I found to have a busted hose on but had been wondering if a smaller one would handle it and it went down hill from there.
The smaller tractor had a backhoe attachment on it that I had never taken off so that was the first part of the fun. Then I had to contact the dealer because I could not figure out how to disable the rear aux hydraulics and enable the lift. The one that could answer was at lunch.
Got that fixed as it was just a screw to turn a couple of rounds. Then I was not sure that the tiller would fit so I tried a bush hog. Didn't take but an hour or so to get it hooked up as all of those parts had never been used and were stuck/painted/rusted and I had to find the other parts needed. The ones that came with the tractor but had been "put in the barn" where I would not forget where I put them.
So now I'm hooked up and remembered the brush that I had been promising the wife to tend to. Another hour gone and then on to dropping the bush hog from the one, the tiller from the other and hooking back up.
Long day but this should make a fine Fall garden spot now.


And these puppies should have already been out but they are close to a new home.

Part of it

Spent the day dealing with seed saving. Plenty of stuff to do but ... fermentation awaits nothing. When it is time to process, it must be done.
By the same token, when a mater is ripe .... it is time to extract the seeds. So that is where I stand. Drought/disease is taking its tole but things have to be done.