Tomatoes in the ground, other garden news

We finally got the last of the tomato plants in the ground. We've had high winds lately, with a low of 34 degrees last night.

tomato varieties

This year, we planted Big Beef as our main beefsteak - heat-resistant and disease-resistant. Territorial says it stores better than most after harvest.

We also have Better Boy, one Beefmaster (a really big beefsteak), a Bush Early Girl, Celebrity, one Champion - an indeterminate cousin of Celebrity, a SunSugar cherry (couldn't find Sun Gold Hybrid -standard for flavor in a cherry tomato - locally), a Brandywine from David's Mom and a Mighty Tom grafted tomato - it is growing on two rootstocks - one is grafted in. David's Mom bought several plants this year because she wanted to try them. David's brother accidentally took them all home to the mountains. I bought one (pricey) to try it for her, and to investigate how the grafting is done. F. wanted us to plant a variety he got from a friend. We call it the "Mystery Tomato". He brought a dozen plants. We gave most of them away. We have one white eggplant in among the tomatoes, It doesn't seem too happy about the cold, windy weather. It may perk up in the heat this weekend.

Some tomato varieties which sounded good this year, from comments by the tomato fanatics on GardenWeb and elsewhere, included the heirlooms Marianna's Peace (pink), Neves Azorean Red, Stump of the World, Mexican (beefsteak) and Eva's Purple Ball or Rose de Bern (at least in cooler climates than ours) for a smaller tomato. Cherokee Purple and many other dusky tomatores should be picked when the shoulders are still green for best flavor. Pruden's Purple (pink like Brandywine) is said to be a good early heirloom.

A newer Japanese tomato which gets raves is Momorato. Among cherry tomatoes, favorites (besides Sun Gold and SunSugar) were Black Cherry, Green Grape, Yellow Submarine ( a pear tomato) and Sweet Quartz, which is dark pink. It's from Japan - like the famous Sun Gold. Sweet Quartz is a hybrid with multiple disease resistance.

Heartland, a dwarf indeterminate, sounded like a good choice for limited space gardening. Gold Nugget is an early determinate cherry tomato. Green Grape is also determinate, but is a later tomato. Small Fry, a red determinate cherry, tastes nasty. Glacier and Cosmonaut Volkov are recommended for setting well at cool temperatures. Oregon Spring sets nearly seedless fruit early in the season - not one for hot climates, though.

I like Fourth of July hybrid for a really early tomato, and it keeps going in our summer heat. I didn't start any plants from seed this year. It's said to be somewhat tolerant of nematodes. I may also have to start plants from seed next year to get some disease-resistant plum tomatoes which are good as salad tomatoes - not just for sauce and cooking. Classica is one variety to try. Those in cooler climates may want to try Orange Banana for exceptional flavor in a sauce tomato, though it is reportedly susceptible to blossom end rot.

Comments on your favorites are welcome.

This year's tomato-growing system

We planted our tomato plants about 30 inches apart in two rows, surrounded by field fencing (upside down) which is supported about 6 inches off the ground with t-bars. It has "holes" big enough to stick your hand through and pull out a big tomato. This system worked out well last year. Much less work than staking, and the extra foliage protects the fruit from sunburn. You could also make the field fencing into individual cages - 18 to 24 inches across is recommended for indeterminate varieties. Plan on at least 60 inches of fencing for each cage. We had to buy a 330 foot roll of the field fencing. We've given some away. It's about 4 feet tall. It is marketed for people keeping cows, etc. in fields. The bottom rows of wire are closer together to discourage small animals, I guess. If you don't mind rust, concrete reinforcing wire is a little taller and thicker. It doesn't require as much staking. The other recommended support systems include hog or cattle panels (on two sides to make a "hedge") and "Texas Tomato Cages" - Pricey.

Other Crops

F. has planted his favorite winter squashes from Mexico again this year. We find the seedlings everywhere. He gave away dozens of winter squash last year to friends. I think it's kind of nice for a guy with essentially no possessions to be able to give something away. One volunteer squash under the Texas Everbearing fig tree already has a female blossom on it.

We're trying to discourage him from growing onions this year. He's never been really successful at it (he thinks he should "hill up" all kinds of plants), and our water is too expensive.

Fruit Trees

A darling little stray puppy we're trying to place in a home seems to have girdled my little Flavor Grenade Pluot tree right at the bud union. He's teething. The next few days will tell. He also damaged the Geo Pride tree. Temperatures are supposed to go into the 90s over the weekend, which will be a stress test. I wrapped the damaged areas with flexible tape.

The folks at GardenWeb love both these newer varieties of Pluots. Flavor Grenade is said to be a weak tree, and mine is on Citatation, a dwarfing rootstock. It has not grown nearly as vigorously as the Geo Pride planted next to it at the same time. If it doesn't survive, I'll get one on a more vigorous rootstock. It's discouraging to think about losing the tree, though. Both trees were loaded with fruit this spring. Flavor Supreme Pluot, incidentally, is good on Citation because it reduces the vigor of the tree somewhat. Flavor King, another weak tree, should go on a more vigorous rootstock.

I'm still thinning other fruits. A big job this year, most trees have at least some fruit. Even Blenheim apricots, despite the rainy spring and blossom rot. The Flavor Delight Apriums are sizing up.

I am losing my Moorpark and Golden Amber apricot trees on the North side. Probably not enough air circulation. Moorpark is marginal for winter chill here, and the fruit gets pitburn in the heat, like Blenheim. Stark Sweetheart needs too much winter chill for our climate, I need to graft in something else. A gopher may have killed my Celeste fig. Maybe I'll get an Excel - better suited to our climate.

Flowers, fall-planted lettuce

The prettiest noxious weed ever, Mexican Evening Primrose, is in full bloom. Fragrant Evening Primrose, tap-rooted, looks like a good choice for dry areas where an invasive plant would be a problem. It's fragrant at night.

The roses are in full bloom - Just Joey, Helen Traubel and Double Dellight. One of the "Peace" variants - which one I can't remember. Also the big David Austin "English Rose" bushes in the back yard. Thornless 'Iceberg' is almost always in bloom. Scabiosia Butterfly Blue kept going all winter. It is now joined in one spot by a trailing verbena in a darker shade of purple and Mexican Evening Primrose, edged by a row of Francisco's ruffly lettuce. Quite a nice picture. I don't have any idea what we're going to do with all that lettuce all over the yard. One plant is already bolting. I was hoping that he had planned to give some of it away.