Got 12 Romas and 6 Better boys in the ground. Also peppers, marigolds, zinnia, zuccuni, cucumbers, and onion sets. I'm about a month behind on most of this, but got slack this year with the weather.

What 'bout you?

4/12/2008 11:02:39 AM

you may have fucked up

there is some cold weather coming this week


otherwise good luck with the plants, it's nice to see some peole have green thumbs still

4/12/2008 11:04:11 AM

I am learning, albeit very slowly, to not kill every plant I come in contact with. I haven't gotten to the point that I'm ready to plant things outside, but I planted some radishes in a big container a week ago, and those things grow like crazy. Hopefully if they do well they'll give me some more confidence to start a little garden next year.

4/12/2008 11:27:09 AM

^^just have to put some milk jugs over the tomatoes if it looks to be cold.

better boys are good, but i'm even more partial to supersteaks

[Edited on April 12, 2008 at 11:27 AM. Reason : ]

4/12/2008 11:27:36 AM

organic heirlooms ftw








anyone ever grown "pleated" tomatoes?

4/12/2008 1:48:27 PM

man those tomatoes look like shit! i want the nice big red round ones from harris teeter!

4/12/2008 2:41:05 PM

^
sadly, that's how some people actually think



this reminds me of something that happened to me years ago in culinary school

a guest spoke to our class about the wonders of [artificially] genetically modified tomatoes and the "dangers" of organic

when called on, I (having just finished a paper on alice waters,) refuted everything he had said,

mentioning the dangers of genetic modification, and "praising" the glory of organic tomatoes' flavor, health and variety

AMAZINGLY, both the teacher and the guest firmly "corrected" me and told the class to disregard what I had said

4/12/2008 3:05:06 PM

Quote :

"A chilly outbreak thrust deep into the South by a sharp dive in the jet stream will threaten widespread frost and freeze over the next three nights. The area at risk will reach from Oklahoma and southern Kansas eastward to Georgia and the Carolinas. There will also be frost and freeze farther north in areas that would normally still expect instances of such cold in mid April. In the West, it will be coldest early Sunday and Monday mornings, when light to calm winds and fair skies will favor maximum nighttime cooling. Farther east, winds and clouds will stave off frost and freeze until early Monday morning, or even early Tuesday morning. Some low temperature records will be challenged or broken. Especially across the southern part of the frost-prone corridor, vegetation has progressed such that frost and freeze would prove destructive to fruit, vegetable and ornamental plantings. Story by AccuWeather.com Meteorologist Jim Andrews."

4/12/2008 3:52:10 PM

i just planted 4 better boy, 4 grape, 4 roma, and 4 sweet 100. never had the sweet 100, so we'll see how those turn out.

4/12/2008 3:55:01 PM

^
they're awesome -- last year mine grew to almost 10 feet tall (supported)

once they get going, you'll be getting a handfull of fruits almost every day

they're great on salads, that is, if you're able to get them in the house before eating them

4/12/2008 6:19:59 PM

I ain't skeered

If you don't lose a little to frost on either end, you're missing out on at least 2 months of good eating. I've got enough buckets and whatnot to take care of this little bit of cool weather. Like I said, I'm about a month behind on most of this stuff.

My folks have some kind of open-pollenated tomato that's been in the family for at least 50 years. Picking up my cuttings next week from them. Also have a field pea that we've been growing going back to the early 1900's. If I wasn't renting this place, I'd quadruple the size of my little garden. Nothing better than walking around the garden after work, beer in hand, and grazing for dinner. First thing in the morning kicks ass too.

4/12/2008 6:24:51 PM

I'll start my garden next week

4/12/2008 6:43:36 PM

What's the difference in taste between heirloom and regular tomatoes?

4/12/2008 7:11:23 PM

Quote :

"What's the difference in taste between heirloom and regular tomatoes?"

regular = taste like water
heirloom = taste like tomatoes

4/12/2008 7:53:54 PM

^that is arguable. i've fiddled with a few varieties of heirloom tomato, and none of them were particularly tasty. my favorite tomato ever is a hybrid. burpee supersteak

4/12/2008 7:58:04 PM

depending on cultural growing practices any tomato can taste like anything


its all about having the right care to realize the full potential of any particular variety


there are some farmers and breeders that do a half ass job at their work

4/12/2008 8:00:44 PM

jesus christ, tww has snobs for every imaginable activity

tomato snobs???


what happened to just growing stuff, nurturing it and just being happy that you're able to enjoy it when it's time to eat it

4/12/2008 8:08:53 PM

^^^ i guess what i consider "regular tomatoes" is those massive slicing tomatoes in the open bin at HT. they're pretty damn tasteless when you're trying to rock out with a tomato & mayo sandwich. you gotta put loads of salt and pepper and even then all the fucking slice does is get my bread wet. thats what she said

4/12/2008 8:17:31 PM

they taste fine to me, like a tomato is supposed to taste

how can one say a tomato shouldnt taste like what a tomato tastes like? theyve tasted like this for millions (or thousands depending on how you believe) of years

i dont see how you can be against GMO and hold these opinions

[Edited on April 12, 2008 at 8:24 PM. Reason : s]

4/12/2008 8:22:59 PM

Quote :

"how can one say a tomato shouldnt taste like what a tomato tastes like? theyve tasted like this for millions (or thousands depending on how you believe) of years"

personally, i dont think the massive slicing tomatoes have as much flavor as say, cherry tomatoes or the heirlooms. next time you go to the store, get one of each and do a side-by-side comparison and you'll see what i mean.

and tomatoes are NOT AT ALL what they used to be even 50 years ago. there has certainly been extensive crossbreeding and selective culturing of certain strains to maximize certain properties (pest resistance, mass of fruit, nutrition requirements, etc.)...but what i'm saying is that the one thing left out of all this is taste. it seems to get progressively worse every year.

4/12/2008 9:09:05 PM

maybe you arent remembering the tasts as well as you think they are, it would be shocking to think that no one in the breeding world has considered the taste of a tomato as a criteria for selective breeding

im not comparing one variety of tomato to another


you said one tastes like a tomato and the other tastes like water


dont try to give me a breeding lesson

[Edited on April 12, 2008 at 9:53 PM. Reason : z]

4/12/2008 9:51:31 PM

some tomatoes taste bland as hell, others are stronger. it's as simple as that. typically the bland ones are the huge, great looking cheap ones in the grocery store, and typically the better tasting ones are heirloom.

and i'm not saying people in the business are totally ignoring taste, but it is being put on the backburner for more "important" aspects such as appearance and mass. obviously, if you are satisfied with the current stock tomato situation, they know their customers don't give a shit about anything but the look and feel. how the fuck can you tell me tomatoes taste exactly the same as they did 5 or 10 years ago? you got a 5-10 year old tomato?

4/12/2008 10:04:19 PM

the natural variation of tomato flavor hasnt changed

i mean if you want to get specific who is to say that one of the new fangled tomato breeds hadnt already been done in nature thousands of years ago and perhaps none of the seed were fertile or none of the seedlings resulting from that cross had the genes in them

people like the look of tomatoes, ud probably be surprised at how many tomatoes are culled even with traditional practices, youd probably vomit if you saw the cull pile of an organic operation

its not the farmers or the breeder's fault that the customer for whatever reason wants perfect lookin fruit, alot of the shit they throw out are perfectly good

hell ive had to throw out blackberries because one black drupelet had formed on them..ONE ..hrow the whole damn thing out because the truth is customers dont wanna see that shit

a tomato that wasnt completely pollinated and maybe has one flat side as a result? could be the best tastin tomato in the world but no one is going to want to buy it

[Edited on April 12, 2008 at 10:13 PM. Reason : z]

4/12/2008 10:12:04 PM

I'm going to plant some heirloom pumpkins and European cantaloupes for fun in addition to my corn silage and tobacco crops. I'm going to plant a little bit of Indian corn to sell in the fall (about 1/4 of an acre or so) and I think I'm going to plant the pumpkins in the middles after I plow it the last time.

4/12/2008 10:35:45 PM

i know this dude who is infatuated with growing pumpkins, he wants it to be his lifes work hes really passionate about it

4/12/2008 10:38:49 PM

I love growing pumpkins, but then again, I just love growing stuff

4/12/2008 11:19:31 PM

I figured if they make a good pie, fine, but if not the cows will eat them. I'm also going to plant an acre of icebox watermelons to see how they sell, and if they don't the cows will eat them too.

4/12/2008 11:31:22 PM

deer love them also, so you can always use them for that

4/13/2008 12:25:18 AM

I'm going to have an electric fence around them and I'll probably shoot a good many deer out of the field. It's hard to grow anything here and not lose it to the deer. A light and a rifle are farm equipment.

4/13/2008 8:31:52 AM

My mom likes to use sugar water to water her tomato plants. They come out really sweet and delicious.

4/13/2008 8:44:14 AM

I dont really have any yard to speak of, but yesterday I did start a container garden squash, peas, a couple tomatoes, peppers, lettuce, and lots of herbs. The most I've ever grown has been herbs and tomatoes, so wish me luck!

4/13/2008 9:34:46 AM

Quote :

"people like the look of tomatoes,...its not the farmers or the breeder's fault that the customer for whatever reason wants perfect lookin fruit,...the truth is customers dont wanna see that shit....but no one is going to want to buy it"

says you

healthy and educated people know that ugly heirlooms are leagues better than pretty "industrials"

what you're saying is true -- most people are too stupid to know the big picture, so they buy whatever's pretty and cheap

but that doesn't justify anything

mass "blind" commerce by a largely stupid and short-sighted society is nothing to be proud of, in fact, it's a huge problem

the people who won't buy a lop-sided or scarred fruit are diseased pawns -- they need to be educated and reformed, period

they are the problem with america

Quote :

"could be the best tastin tomato in the world"

which is why myself and many others in the rapidly growing organic culture would buy it and eat it without hesitating

Quote :

"youd probably vomit if you saw the cull pile of an organic operation"

you mean the compost pile? where they reuse the nutrients from their wastes?

that doesn't make me vomit -- I actually like the look of a big juicy compost

what makes me vomit is the amount of food waste produced by typical restaurants (and not composted)

if I were a democrat, I'd call for restaurants to pay a "hefty" trash tax




more pics!











beautiful!!!

4/13/2008 10:37:44 AM

you just have to make sure you really wash organic food's as they have been hosed with shit

and it's unfeasible for most food to be organic (way too land intensive)

4/13/2008 10:39:29 AM

I'm a libertarian and an independent, but I swear this 392 cat is the vinylbandit of those ideals

4/13/2008 10:53:48 AM

^^
ah, you're forgetting about organic hydroponics

and don't discount the contribution of residential horticulture (outdoor or hydroponic)

what we really can't afford is to continue conventional agriculture, with its damage to health and ecology

when you include the taxes we spend (and will spend) fixing the environmental and individual health damage it causes,

organically produced foods come out costing about the same (and are clearly better)

also, it may be land intensive, but since it works with nature, not against it, it's more efficient in the long run

I'm sorry

but organic for the 100% win

fact


(oh, and I'd rather get sick from eating cow shit than from eating chemical fertilizers/pesticides/fungicides.)



you go ahead and eat your bland "tomatoes" from florida or the soylent corporation or wherever




[Edited on April 13, 2008 at 11:12 AM. Reason : ]

4/13/2008 11:10:33 AM

Brandywine ftw.



392, keep up with the pictures... i'll be hitting the farmer's market here shortly...

4/13/2008 11:28:14 AM

I love me some pear tomatoes! My friends dad would grow them and they were awesome!

4/13/2008 8:42:37 PM

Quote :

"you mean the compost pile? where they reuse the nutrients from their wastes? that doesn't make me vomit -- I actually like the look of a big juicy compost what makes me vomit is the amount of food waste produced by typical restaurants (and not composted) "

hey smart ass, when i said youd vomit i didnt mean that a compost pile would be unattractive, its that the culled products for the most part barely have a blemish

and whats with YOU calling people fuckin stupid anyway? youre a consumer and youre no smarter than anyone else

shit go out there, get off your fat ass and go educate these stupid people instead of sitting behind the computer being a smug ass snob

[Edited on April 13, 2008 at 11:13 PM. Reason : x]

4/13/2008 11:10:28 PM

I wish I lived in a house so I could have a garden

as a kid I spent lots of time working in my mom's huge garden. every summer she grows enough basil to make pesto for the whole year! Nothing feels better than eating something you grew yourself

4/14/2008 9:33:30 AM

Quote :

"jesus christ, tww has snobs for every imaginable activity"

qft

4/14/2008 9:44:07 AM

Quote :

"I wish I lived in a house so I could have a garden "

4/14/2008 10:32:34 AM

Quote :

"man those tomatoes look like shit! i want the nice big red round ones from harris teeter!"

You get the nice big red round one for $1.00 or the crumpled decaying piece of shit looking one for $3.50.

I'll take the nice big red "inorganic" round one.

4/14/2008 10:41:14 AM

I live in an apartment and just bought a ton of pots. I have 2 tomato plants, 1 green pepper, and a shit ton of herbs going. Probably will pick up a cucumber plant and try to trellis it from the pot.

Anyone know if container tomato plants are smaller? Mine are only about 1 1/2 feet tall and are already flowering. The plants I have in my garden at my parents house usually get 3 feet tall or so before flowering.

4/14/2008 3:00:15 PM

i dont know if theyll be biggger or smaller

but theyll flower sooner and longer

anytime you pot bind a plants root system it encourages flowering

[Edited on April 14, 2008 at 4:53 PM. Reason : d]

4/14/2008 4:52:37 PM

^^^ most of them are not crumpled and decaying looking. but pretty much all of them have more flavor than the super market ones. definite fact, and this coming from someone who doesnt have a garden (and out of cheapness still buys inorganic supermarket fruits and veggies 99% of the time) and who has only tried some 'heirloom' tomatoes a few times. They were orders of magnitude better tasting than the ones I normally buy from the supermarket.

so who really cares what it looks like, its food. tasting better is 100x more important (although unless it IS decayed, most organic ones look just as fresh imo)

[Edited on April 14, 2008 at 4:57 PM. Reason : ]

4/14/2008 4:56:21 PM

most organic grown crops look just as fresh in the market but they have to cull ALOT more of the crop

thats why they are more expensive

4/14/2008 4:59:30 PM