October 4, 2007

hen I was working outside yesterday afternoon, "Blossom" who free ranges in our 'front yard' during the day, followed me around as I was dragging 2,200 feet of hose out of the garden and rolling them up in the greenhouse for winter storage. "Blossom" actually stays out of the garden and just mows around it. I was laughing as we were out there, wondering if she will heed the 'line' next year. Hoses were wrapped around her feet as she walked over them to get to the next greener spot in the lawn, but when I pulled the hose, she just lifted her foot without a fuss or disturbing her grazing. I like "Blossom" so much more than "Daisy". Although "Daisy" was a good looking cow. 

I cut back all the peppers and tomatoes in the greenhouse and carted their remains out to the garden to eventually become soil. I picked the remaining fruits from them and they are all over the counters in the kitchen. As I was out there, I was going over in my head of what varieties to keep and which ones to drop.

Picture Above: Reds, orange, yellow, whites and greens ...hot, and mild.. and mild with a bit of spice.. got to love peppers!!

I raise 18 varieties of heirloom peppers. Total I think I have 371 varieties of heirloom vegetables which I try to rotate each year to grow out and same seeds from. I try to keep notes on them and keep track of my good producers and my failed ones. Even the failed ones I will try again for a year or two before I give up on them and send the remaining seed to someone in a different growing zone to see if someone else has better luck with them.

These are the varieties I grew this year..

Pepper - "Aurora"  Heirloom OP Small 10-12" plants, purple and green foliage, tapered fruits 1½" long. Upright fruiting habit, ripens from lavender to deep purple to orange and finally to red. Colorful ornamental, medium heat. 60-75 days from transplant.  I love mine as a houseplant.

            2002/5- Grew awesome as a potted plant. I have not grown more as I have kept this one alive for 3 yrs
            2006- No water for greenhouse, well ran dry
            2007 - Grew excellently, brought into the house to overwinter

Pepper - "Fish"  Heirloom Pre-1870s (OP) Extensively raised by the African American community from DC-Philidelphia by 1900. As the unripe pods are white, and maintain this color upon drying, they were extensively used to spice cream sauces, particularly with shellfish. This variety is specifically mentioned in H. Franklyn Hall's 1901 book 300 Ways to Cook Shell Fish, Terrapin, Green Turtle. Pre-1870s African-American heirloom. Beautiful green and white variegated foliage, 18-24" plants. Pendant fruits 2-3" long, ripen from cream with green stripes to orange with brown stripes to all red. Traditionally used in oyster and crab houses around the Chesapeake Bay. Medium hot, perfect for salsa. 80 days from transplant.

            2003/5- Grew as a houseplant, 3 to a window box, did EXCELLENT, destroyed as an incoming houseplant had spidermites,                            so did not save plants
            2006- No water for greenhouse, well ran dry
            2007 - Grew excellently, brought into the house to overwinter

Pepper - "Golden Californian Wonder" (OP)

            2007 - Grew excellently, brought into the house to overwinter

Pepper - "King of the North" Heirloom (Heirloom Acres 2005)  Arguably the best red bell for northern gardeners where the seasons are cool and short. Nice blocky fruits, great sweet flavor. Our stock is from Fedco Seeds in Maine. 70 days from transplant

            2007 - Grew slowly!!! Granted we had a wet cold year and I didn't run the greenhouse woodstove after June1. Put into
             the greenhouse 1st week of June and just got to eat them TODAY, Oct 3rd.

Pepper - "Sweet Banana" An open pollinated yellow banana pepper developed by Corneli Seed Co, from a mutation. Fruit are 7 inches long by 1.5 inches thick. They start out yellow and turn bright red upon ripening.

            2006 - Greenhouse a write-off.. well went dry
            2007 - Grew excellently, one of my best producers this year.

  Pepper - "Taltos" (OP) This is an early Hungarian white sweet pepper, very productive, goes white to orange to reddish-orange. 6” x3” wide. Blocky sweet juicy.

            2007 - Grew excellently, was my best looking pepper pods and plants. This variety is a keeper. It stayed white for me.

  Pepper - "Tequila Sunrise"  (OP) 70-80 days. Peppers ripen from green to golden orange, reaching 6-6 1/2 inches in length. Peppers hang nicely displayed on the healthy 15-16 inch tall plants. Adds color and zing to fresh veggie platters with its sweet, sharp flavor. Ornamental and delicious pepper, plants grow 12-16" tall by 12" wide. Carrot-shaped fruits, 4-5" long and 1" at the shoulder. Fruits ripen from deep-green to golden-orange. Upright habit, firm crunchy thin flesh with sweet slightly sharp flavor when ripe. 60-78 days from transplant. More sensitive to cold than the other varieties I have, granted .. it was 50F, but the "Quadrato Asti Giallo"  didnt look insulted at all

            2002- Excellent
            2003/4- Hates being houseplant, all leaves drop off Dec/Jan, destroyed plants when an incoming plant had spidermites
            2005- Cold wet, yucky year
            2006- Greenhouse a write-off. Well went dry

Pepper - "Thai Hot"   (OP) The tiny cone-shaped fruits of this variety are borne on a dwarf plant that makes an excellent ornamental house plant. But watch out: ripe fruits are incendiary! I love mine as a houseplant, it is probably my fav houseplant. 45 cm high plant with tiny green peppers maturing to red. 68 days. Ornamental variety. (Capsicum frutescens).

            2002/3-One of the best houseplants I have ever had, had over 1,000 pods on it, Cat finally knocked off shelf and it died
            2004- Did not raise this year
            2005- Grew 2 plants, outside, cold, wet year. Profuse flowering by mid August, no pods as of 9/1/05, will grow as houseplant
            2006 - Greenhouse a write-off. Well went dry
            2007 - Excellent!! As always. Will overwinter one in the house

Picture Above: Can you tell I like interesting shapes and colours of vegetables? None of these are completely ripe, but I had to pull them into the house before the greenhouse froze again.

Tomatoes. I have 61 varieties of heirloom tomatoes. Heirloom means that the variety has been raised for at least 20 years. Most of these have been grown for at least four times that. I will just put down the descriptions for the ones I was pleased with and which ones I am weeding out.

  Tomato - "Black Krim"  Heirloom Indeterminate (original seed from )This tomato variety actually hails from the Isle of Krim in the Black Sea off the coast of the Crimean peninsula in Russia. A rare heirloom variety of the black tomato. This tomato variety ( Black Krim) is a medium large sized ( 10-12 ounce),maroon beefsteak with green shoulders and an intense, unique taste! Ideal for slicing, salads and more. Due to their natural salty taste, sliced Black Krims do not require salting and only a hint of pepper, which makes them an ideal tomato variety for your tomato patch if you can not have salt in your diet. The production of this variety is intense and it will do quite well in containers, but if not watered evenly during the summer, this variety is subject to splitting. About 70-80 days to maturity. Nice medium sized, dark grey-black fruits. Seeds have a green gel around them. Very unusual tomato whose skin is so dark red it is almost black in color. The inside of the fruit are dark red and very sweet and tasty. 70 days. Indeterminate.

Tomato - "Free Emerald Evergreen"   Heirloom Indeterminate 72 days. Green ripening to stunning neon green, inside and out with pale yellow streaks on the skin. The excitement surrounding this tomato is well earned. tasty, richly flavored, with a delicately lingering tang, and sweet creamy solid flesh. When ripe it has lovely pale yellow streaks on its skin. Marvelous for frying when unripe, which increases exponentially its sugar content. When ripe it makes fantastic green salsa and is perfect for fresh eating.

            2007- I think my seed was mis-marked when it came in, as both my "Free Emerald Green" and Amy's turned red. I           will have to drop this seed as I believe it is not the variety represented.)

Tomato - "Garden Peach" Heirloom 1800’s Indeterminate(original seed from Colleen Butler, NH) 73 Days. This tomato truly resembles a peach. The fruits have a peach like fuzz and are yellow, often with a hint of pink blush when fully ripe. The flavor is outstanding. A good storage tomato if picked green right before frost. Highly split resistant.

            2007-  I love petting this tomato. It really IS fuzzy!! This is my 1st year growing it

Tomato - "German Gold" Heirloom Indeterminate 88 days , flattened globe, golden yellow skin with red streaks.

Tomato - "Large Red Cherry"  Heirloom Indeterminate Large 1½-2" cherry tomato. Extremely productive plants. Great full flavor. 75-80 days. Grew excellently in zone 2b/3a This is one of my staple plants

Tomato - "Manitoba"- 66 days- Heirloom Determinate bushy plants, 3.25” x 2.75”, red tomatoes, excellent yield. Early and crack resistance.

Tomato - "Mexico Midget"  Heirloom Indeterminate OP Very prolific plants continue producing heavily throughout the entire season. Round dark-crimson ½" fruits give an incredible flash of rich tomato flavor, great for salads. Indeterminate, 60-70 days from transplant.

Tomato - "Nebraska Wedding"  Heirloom Determinate  (Heirloom Acres 2005) Orange 4-8 oz, determinate Marvelous old fashioned tomato flavor!

  Tomato - "Old German" Indeterminate Mennonite family heirloom from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. 'Old German' is a large, very attractive and tasty tomato. Fruit color is yellow with a red center visible on the surface and throughout the core. Best color of several strains of this heirloom. 'Old German' is not a heavy producer, nor does it tolerate drought, but its flavor and color are outstanding. An attractive addition to salads. Fruits often weigh over a pound. Should be staked or caged.  

  Tomato  - "San Marzano" from jon 1005 This variety has a productive cycle of 85 to 90 days. The ripening is graduated. Rustic plant with covering foliage. The fruits are cylindrical, weigh 70 g approx., have a wonderful color and are uniform.

2007- I think this variety will replace my "Principe Borghese" for 2008

Tomato - "Stupice"  Heirloom Indeterminate potato leaf 60-67 days. This cold-tolerant tomato ripens sweet, red, slightly oval, 2 inch fruit that make an excellent choice for first-of-the-summer salads, lunch boxes, and juicing. Stupice consistently gets high marks for taste throughout the summer. Pumps out fruit over the entire season. Bred in the former Czechoslovakia. Indeterminate potato leaf variety.  Grew excellently in zone 2b/3a  2.5” x 1.75”, flattened globe, red flesh, excellent yield. (and for those of you calling it "Stu-pis", it is actually pronounced "Stoop-eh-chay")

Tomato - "Yellow Russian" Indeterminate Heirloom from Richard GA OHG 2002. This is a small paste type bright canary yellow tomato. Originally collected at a Moscow city bird market by SSE from an elderly Russian seedsman, the Azoychka is among the most outstanding of Russian heirloom tomato varieties. The name "Azoychka" is a common woman's name in Russia and came to be attached to this variety by SSE. The Azoychka Tomato is a marvelous producer of 3 inch, round, slightly flattened yellow-orange beefsteak tomatoes. It is one of the best yellow-orange heirloom beefsteak tomatoes for your garden and features a very rich, tangy, and sweet citrus-like taste. D-81, determinate, deep yellow. Potato leaf. Russian heirloom from elderly seedsman at the Bird Market in Moscow. Collected by Seed Savers Exchange. Old Beefsteak type, 10 oz, 3" diameter, unusual citrus flavor. Very good.  or (looks like more) Russian Plum Lemon Tomato (aka. Wonderlight, Limmony Liana, Lemon Vine) . This open pollinated heirloom tomato from Russia is also known as "Wonderlight". The original seed of this wonderful Russian tomato variety was originally collected by Kent Whealy of SSE from an elderly Russian seedsman who sold his garden seeds at the Kalitnikovskiy Ptichije Rynok (Kalitnikovskiy Bird Market) in the Eastern sector of Moscow (Note: the Kalitnikovskiy Bird Market, which had been operational in the same location since the 1930's, was closed down on December 29th, 2001 by Moscow City Police.This outstanding and unusual yellow tomato variety is  known in Russia as "Limmony Liana" (translation: "Lemon Vine")  and produces an abundance of lemon shaped, 4 to 6 oz. yellow tomato fruits. This tomato offers a great flavor and can double as an attractive decoration for the table or salad bar, but also makes excellent sauce or even yellow catsup. This tomato will excel in the short season and cold climates of northern areas. Indeterminate. About 95 days to maturity.