New Seeds To Try

I participated again this year in the Canadian Autumn Seed Exchange.  This is it's 8th year running!  My return package arrived yesterday.  It is always fun to see what seeds are enclosed and to look up the details of the unfamiliar varieties.

In this year's package...

Flowers 
Lavatera “Silver Cup”
Marigold “Crackerjack”
Marigold “Jane Bright”
Marigold “Vanilla”
Prairie Crocus
Sunflower “Sunspot” (dwarf type)
Sunflower “North Pole” (dwarf type – Sunspot – put out by Canada Post)
Zinnia “Pink Seniorita” 
  

Vanilla Marigolds - Territorial Seed Company

Herbs
Chamomile “Bodegold”
Dill “Mammoth Long Island”
Lemon Balm

BodeGold Chamomile - Adaptive Seeds

Lovage
Marshmallow
Sage – broadleaf (perennial)
Sage - common
Sweet Marjoram 


Beans (bush) 
Contender
Flageolet
Greencrop
Garbanzo “Magic Carpet”
Round Pod Kidney Wax
Wood Mountain Crazy
YerFasal
Zuni Shalako 

Beans (pole) 
Early Riser
Kentucky Wonder Blue 

Kentucky Blue Pole Beans - Park Seed

Carrots 
Rainbow Mix 

Cow Peas 
California Black-Eye Pea 

Garlic (bulbils) 
Persian Star (Purple Stripe)
Spanish Roja (Rocambole) 

Spanish Roja - Territorial Seed Company

Greens 
Cabbage “Early Dutch”
Cabbage “Early Golden Acre"
 Kale “Lacinato” 
Lettuce “Buttercrunch” 
Lettuce “Freckle”
Swiss Chard “Fordhook Giant” 

Leeks 
Blue Solaise 

Peas 
Desiree Blauschokker
Margaret McKee’s Baking Pea 

Margaret McKee's Baking Pea - Heritage Harvest Seeds

Pumpkin 
Baby Boo 

Squash 
Early Prolific Straightneck
Pink Banana
Spaghetti 

Tomatoes 
Amish Paste
Coastal Pride Orange
Manitoba
Opalka
Purple Russian
Sausage

Solar Flare tomato - Baker Creek Seeds

Solar Flare
Tasmanian Chocolate
Virginia Sweet

Missing The Sunshine

I discovered Bea tucked under the grow light this morning, nibbling on the not-quite-ready cat grass that recently sprouted.  She decided to snooze in that spot for a while.  I don't blame her.

Time to set up my daylight lamp, I think!

 

Going Stag

An afternoon visitor!  This fellow wandered through just before 2:00PM. He was alone and seemed a bit lost. It looked like he was trying to head North, back out of town. Usually, when we do see deer, it is early in the morning. Kind of strange to see one in town in the middle of the day.

(The pictures were taken with a basic camera, through winter-grimy windows on an overcast day. Click to enlarge!)


Heading up the driveway...

...and then North...

...taking a detour into the backyard of the property two doors up...

  
....before hearing the (many) dogs in yards across the alley and heading back out to the street, going North again.

Hoping he safely made it where he was going without too much interference from dogs or traffic.

Good Morning, Deer

   Just after 6:00am, as I was getting dressed, the light over our front step turned on.  It is motion-activated, and I thought a neighbourhood cat might be visiting.  I turned towards the living room to go look out the window and, surprise...!

   When this one started to started to walk away, I raced to the front window to get a closer look.  It was just in time to see a male about the same size follow her around the side of the house.  I waited for them to come back around the other side, but they must have hopped over our back fence and left through the alley.

A nice way to start the day.  :-)

Early Start to Winter

Hallowe'en night brought flurries that continued on and off for the next day days.  It started snowing in earnest - fine, icy beads of it - on the evening of the 3rd and didn't stop until yesterday morning. We got over 20cm of snow.  The ground wasn't frozen, so shoveling paths around the house was slow (the shovel caught on the leaves and grass) and I'm sure it made for tricky driving on the dirt roads outside of town.  School buses were canceled yesterday, though the schools in this region stay open no matter how much snow or freezing rain falls or how insanely cold it gets. (No, it doesn't make sense to me, either.)

Snow and Tomato Sauce

Monday afternoon (October 1st), I began putting together seed packets to include in my package for the 8th Annual Canadian Autumn Seed Swap.  When I walked to the living room to get some tape, I looked out the window and saw this:

It snowed for much of the afternoon and stuck around until Wednesday.  The nights have been chilly, ranging from -1 to -8.   My favourite floor-length flannel tartan nightgown is in regular use again!

Day 87 of the Great Tomato Processing.  Okay, that is an exaggeration, but it feels like it has gone on that long.  As of today, I have 25 litres of tomato sauce canned and a litre in the freezer.  I think I will be able to get 6 or 7 litres from the remaining tomatoes.  I love growing different kinds of tomatoes every summer, but will have to try to control myself somewhat next year.  It would be easier on me come harvest-time if I limited my choices to medium-to-large sized red, pink, and black/purple varieties, as most of the tomatoes we grow go into sauce.  No cherries or ruffled shapes (tedious to process), and no greens, yellows, or oranges.   That's the current plan.  Let's see what the enthusiastic, "It's time to start transplants!" version of me decides next March.

Garlic Patch 2018

I finally got the garlic planted today.  I moved it back to the North garden this year.  The varieties planted are Brown Tempest, Siberian, Central Siberian, Kiev, Baba Franchuk's, Northern Quebec, and Red Russian.   

The Brown Tempest, Siberian, and Central Siberian cloves (started from bulbils in 2016) are still fairly small, so I planted those in pots in the ground.  

Kiev and Baba Franchuk's garlic (also started from bulbils) were big, beautiful bulbs when I harvested them in August.  I planted these cloves in-ground.  To my surprise/disappointment, I found that the inner skins of these two varieties were quite thin and peeled off a number of the individual cloves when I split the bulbs for planting.  The bulbs were so large that I thought their skins would be thick and sturdy, like Red Russian.   I forgot to count the number of cloves planted this year, but I estimate about 9 Kiev and 18 Baba Franchuk's.

Finishing off the plot is one row of Northern Quebec (about 11 cloves) and five rows of never-lets-me-down Red Russian (about 50 cloves).

Just have to cover the plot with shredded leaves, and the garlic will be ready to settle in for the winter.

Update: A-ha...now I realize why the Kiev and Baba Franchuk's garlic had such thin skins.  Both are rocambole varieties, which are easy to peel (thin skins!) and not the best for long-term storage.   Red Russian garlic is a Marbled Purple Stripe variety and is good for long-term storage (thicker skins). 

Tomato Notes 2018

May 8 – Started hardening off tomatoes, peppers, and eggplant.

September 7 – First hard frost was September 3rd.  Flurries, freezing rain, and overnight temps of -4 forecast for the week of the 9^th, so I will have to bring in all the tomatoes this weekend (Sept 8-9^th)

Work Release Paste  (pink, heirloom, heart-shaped, paste, indeterminate, large, origin Italian, mid-season ~80 DTM)

Date sown:  March 17

Transplanted: May 20

Observations:

March 29 – good germination rate even though these seeds are a few years old. 

June 19 – I read on several forums and in seed reviews that this variety produces well.  I hope so!  The plants themselves are droopy and need to be staked and tied with twine to keep them from flopping outside of the tomato cages.  Not a robust or sturdy plant. 

September 7 – These plants have been productive!  Not early to ripen, but a lot of meaty tomatoes per plant. Nice heart shape that will be easy to process.

Approximate date harvested: 

Would grow again? YES

Early Annie  (red, heirloom, 3-inch round, canning/slicing, DETERMINATE.)

Date sown:  March 17

Transplanted: May 20

Observations:

March 29 – these have been slow to germinate, and only about half planted germinated. 

September 7 – Productive and early to mature.  Nice round shape that will be easy to process.  Plants compact and easy to manage.

Would grow again? YES

Mazarini (pink, heart-shaped, heirloom, few seeds, meaty flesh, paste, wispy foliage, indeterminate, rare Russian tomato)

Date sown:  March 17

Transplanted: May 20

Observations:

March 29 – these were quick to germinate and are robust even as seedlings.

June 30 – The Mazarinis I planted (3) all ended up being snapped in the extremely windy weather we had earlier in the month.  I had to replace them with other varieties.

Would grow again?  Yes, this variety was a favourite from the last time I grew it.  Similar to Work Release Paste.

Dwarf Roza Vetrov  (pink, open-pollinated, dwarf/determinate, small/salad fruit, round pointed fruit, origin Russian “Wind Rose”, early)

Date sown:  March 17

Transplanted:  May 20

Observations:

September 7 – Very happy I tried growing these!  Productive, sturdy plants.  Small, heart-shaped pink tomatoes that will be easy to process.

Would grow again?  Definitely, yes!

Black Krim  (black/purple, beefsteak, indeterminate, Russian heirloom, juicy, rich flavour)

Date sown:  March 17

Transplanted:  May 20

Observations:

September 7 – When all was said and done, after the windy weather in June that snapped tomato and even some cabbage plants, I only had one remaining Black Krim.  That plant wasn’t particularly productive, though typically this variety puts out a decent number of tomatoes.

Would grow again?  One of my favourites, so yes

Russian Rose

Date sown:  March 17

Transplanted:  May 20

Observations:

March 29 – these were quick to germinate and the seedlings are robust.

September 7 – Happy with these plants!  Productive and early to ripen.  Large and pink.  The tops tend to be wavy/scalloped.

Would grow again?  Yes, but I’m not sure if I’d grow them every year. I like everything about them except a fair number have bottoms that are wrinkled, which can slow down processing.  That is the only (minor) drawback, though.

Bush Beefsteak  (red, open-pollinated, determinate, medium sized 6-8 oz globed-shaped fruit, early 65 DTM, slicer)

Date sown:  March 17

Transplanted:  May 20 in large pots

Observations:

March 29 – average germinate, the seedlings have been weak and many malformed.  Not living up to my expectations so far.  I received these seeds in a trade; perhaps they are old or were taken from a hybrid variety.

Would grow again?  Meh.  Doubtful.  This is the second time I’ve tried growing them and the production was underwhelming both times.  I didn’t see anything that resembled a beefsteak, either. 

Rutgers  (red, “commercial heirloom”, determinate, heavy yields, medium sized 6-8 oz round fruit, ~75 DTM, canner/slicer/general use)

Date sown:  March 17

Transplanted:  May 20

Observations:

September 7 – I either got seeds in a trade that were mislabeled Rutgers, or else Rutgers isn’t really a determinate plant!  These things branched and grew like mad and I had to top and stake them in August.  The tomatoes are nicely uniform and round.  Average production – I wasn’t blown away, though.  Not early to ripen – in fact, these are among the last of the varieties I grew this year to ripen.

Would grow again?  Yes, I would give these another try.

Scotia  (red, open-pollinated, determinate, medium fruit, origin Nova Scotia, early 60-70 DTM, prolific, slicer/canner)

Date sown:  March 17

Transplanted:  May 20

Observations: June 19 – first tomatoes of any of the plants!

September 7 – Fairly productive, round tomatoes that will be easy to process.

Would grow again? Yes

Principe Borghese  (red, heirloom, determinate, small, dry, few seeds, good for sundried tomatoes,~ 75 DTM)

Date sown:  March 17

Transplanted:  May 20

Observations:

March 29 – quick germination.

September 7 – this variety is always crazy-productive and fairly early to begin ripening.

Would grow again? Yes, one of my favourites.  We slice and dehydrate these.

Malakhitovaya Shkatulka  (green, heirloom, indeterminate, medium sized fruit, Russian origin “Malachite Box”, early – 70 DTM, slicer)

Date sown:  March 17

Transplanted: May 21

Observations:

March 29 – these were quick to germinate and the seedlings are robust!

September 7 – Very productive!  Large, smooth fruit.  None ripened on the plant.  Looking forward to tasting these once ripened indoors.

Would grow again?  Maybe.  I find them very mild.  I think I might prefer Emerald Evergreen for flavour.

Golden Jubilee  (orange, heirloom, indeterminate, round, medium sized fruit, 70-80 DTM, slicer)

Date sown:  March 17

Transplanted:  May 21

Observations:  June 19 – These plants have remained small but are quite sturdy and lush.

September 7 – All foliage and no fruit.  Not productive, late to ripen, and a number suffered from Blossom End Rot.  Disappointing, as many of the reviews I read about it were glowing.

Would grow again? Doubtful

Amana Orange   (orange, heirloom, indeterminate, large beefsteak, midseason DTM ~80-85)

Date sown:  March 17   (Only had 2 seeds, trying to grow out)

Transplanted:  May 20

Observations:

March 29 – Only 1 of the 2 seeds planted germinated!

June 19 – The wind and cool temps of the past few weeks have beat the heck out of this plant.  It’s still standing, but not looking all that healthy.  Fingers crossed it still produces a few tomatoes.

September 7 – Pleasantly surprised!  Large, bright orange beefsteaks that were early to ripen.

Would grow again?  Yes

Auria   (red, heirloom, paste/canner/cooking, elongated/banana, “suggestive shape”, sometimes called “Adam” in the Ukraine (origin), indeterminate, wispy foliage, midseason)

Date sown: March 29

Transplanted: May 20

Observations:  

September 7 – Of the three seeds I started, only one plant made it through to the transplant stage.  The plant is large and sprawling, needed a fair bit of twine and staking.  Productive, but most of the fruit suffered from Blossom End Rot.  Not early to ripen (none ripened on the plant) but I have brought some of the larger tomatoes inside.  I’ll try to ripen them and save seeds.

Would grow again?  I’d like to try this variety again at least once.

Damascus Steel  (stripe/bi-colour purple & red, high anthocyanins, bred by Dean Slater, open-pollinated, 2-3” fruits tapered to round, “sweet with a bit of acidity”, indeterminate, midseason DTM ~80)

Date sown:  March 29

Transplanted:  May 21

Observations:

September 7 -  Wow!  An eye-grabbing, deep purple colour.  The bottoms (as of this date) are pale green with small, dark-green stripes. I won’t know what “ripe” looks like for this variety until after I’d brought them inside and put them in boxes for a week or two.  Much more productive than I expected.  As far as I can tell (?) none have ripened on the plants (the fruit is still hard).

Would grow again? Yes

I managed to get a start on canning tomato sauce this past week.   There are still boxes and boxes of ripening tomatoes stacked in the kitchen, so there is plenty yet to do!