2017 Sunshine Community Garden Plant Sale

The annual plant sale was huge this year, and they still had plenty of plants - the volunteers were on their game today and removed plant signs as soon as they were gone so I didn't really even notice if they were out of varieties.  Of course, I also tend not to plan when I go to the sale (except for how many plants I'm going to get).

This year, I pre-determined that I should only get 3 or 4 plants since I grew peppers, basil, and tomatoes from seed.  Roberta also stuck to her guns and only got 6 tomatoes.  Of course, having it be cold and rainy may have helped with this.  The tomatoes I got this year were all recommended tomatoes in the book, Epic Tomatoes.

Purchased:

Black from Tula - Heirloom - Deep, reddish-brown Russian beefsteak. Smooth skin, fairly heat-tolerant, can be a good producer. Delicious slightly sweet fruit, 8-12oz. Indeterminate. 78 days.

Coyote - Cherry - A yellow jewel-like cherry, that bears 6 to 8 on a branch. Very flavorful. Indeterminate. 75 days.

Nepal - Heirloom - 10-12 oz., medium-large, globe-shaped, bright red fruits are rather soft but meaty with excellent flavor. Plenty of old-fashioned tomato flavor. Indeterminate. 78 days.

Rosella Purple - Container - Dwarf, good for containers. Similar to Cherokee Purple for great flavor and 6-10 oz. deep-purple fruits. Determinate. 65 days.

Grown:
Black Krim - Heirloom - Flattened 4-5" globes with dark greenish-black shoulders. Likes hot weather. Rich complex flavor, sweet-tasting fruit. Indeterminate. 75 – 90 days.

Cayenne - 75 days. Concentrated set of wrinkled, very pungent fruit, 6X1/4 inches. For sauces and drying.

Pasilla Bajio - 75-80 days. Good yields of 8-10 inch long fruit that are mildly hot and turn from green to dark brown when mature. Used to make smoky flavored sauces.

Spring Seed Starting

I usually start my spring seeds around the 1st of the year: new year = start yo' seeds, especially the tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants.  This is my second year using my seed starter set up - a shop light, 2 little Jiffy starter trays, and my textbooks (finally putting that Organic Chemistry book to good use). I also went through ALL my seeds, and boy were there a lot of them, selecting the oldest for use first. 

I'm a weirdo and will usually try to start my seeds in conjunction with a recommended day based on the Farmer's Almanacs.  Bob once told me the general rule of thumb for seed starting, but I don't remember what it is (it's probably something like between the first quarter moon and the full moon is the time to plant above-ground crops, and below ground from the full moon to the 3rd quarter moon and any seeds that need light to sprout should be planted on the full moon).

Seeds started:
Black Krim Tomato (from 2011)
Italian Roma Tomato (from 2011)
Long Red Cayenne Pepper (from 2009)
Red Demon Thai Pepper (from 2011)
Cossack Pineapple Ground Cherry (from 2012)
Custom Blend Basil (from 2010)
Pasilla Bajio Pepper (from 2016)
"Green Leaves" Renee's Black Jalapeno (from 2012)
California Poppy (from 2012 or so)
Elaine's Fennel (from 2010 or so)

As you can tell, I did start ONE seed that is new to me - the Pasilla Bajio Pepper which I found on clearance right before Christmas. 

It's been 10 days, and so far the tomatoes, basil, and Cali poppies have sprouted; the ground cherry, cayenne, red demon, and fennel are just starting to sprout.  The jalapeno and pasilla are doing absolutely nothing.

Freeze

Gird your loins, kids; it's going to get cold.

That's right - we're in for a hard freeze tonight and tomorrow night with temperatures MAYBE reaching 40 on both Sunday and Monday if we're lucky.

I've gone out and covered the spigots, I've watered the plants well, I've even set up boxes with "keep hot/cool" bags inside for the cats (if they'll even use them), I've even brought in the hoses (which I never do), all that's left is stringing out some Christmas lights with some bed sheets for the plants and I think we're good to go.

[update]

My garden is technically comprised of items that are hardy, but the cauliflower is on the fringe so I figured I should cover everything - especially with the rest of the week having been warm

Christmas lights strung up with care and cauliflowers/broccolis covered with bed sheets and weighed down with rocks.

Cabbage Worms

 

Eggs

What they turn into.

As far as I can tell, they're a cabbage worm.  I've just been checking the leaves, scraping of the eggs and picking off the worms, though I'm sure I could use Bt.