Season Roundup - Spring 2013

J.D.'s Special C-Tex Tomato: (Sunshine Community Garden Plant Sale, $2)
Description:  J.D Brann's cross of a black and early red that produces purple/black beefsteaks with outstanding flavor. Indeterminate. 80 days.
Planted: 3/16 in the grow box
Experience for the first half of the season:  2 tomatoes, the plant looks healthy.
Taste:  I like the flavor a lot - like I really hope I have a Krim and a JD at the same time so I can do a comparison.  The flavor is very assertively tomato - not quite smokey, but not acidic.
Experience by the end of the season:  The plant did pretty well (though not a heavy producer).  I think I will try it again in the future.

Raspberry Miracle Tomato: (Sunshine Community Garden Plant Sale, $2)
Description:  Bears large deep red fruit with delicious flavor. Up to 16 oz. Indeterminate. 80-85 days.
Planted: 3/16 in the grow box
Experience for the first half of the season:  4 tomatoes, the plant looks sickly.
Taste:  The flavor is much better than store-bought tomatoes, but it's very much a basic tomato flavor.  So basically, I'd grow it again, but I still prefer the flavor of the Krim and JD's better.
Experience by the end of the season:  Produced better than the JD's CenTex, and better than Krims, but I don't like the taste as much.

Pink Berkeley Tie Dye Tomato:  (Sunshine Community Garden Plant Sale, $2)
Description:  Unbelievable looks and flavor. Striped with port wine interior that gushed tomato flavor. Indeterminate. 75-80 days.
Planted 3/17 - there were two tomatoes in the same pot.  One planted in flower pot, one planted in the west garden bed.
Experience by the end of the season: Meh.  I liked the other tomatoes better.

Black Krim Tomato: (From Seed - Botanical Interests, pack opened Jan 2011)
Description:  70 days from transplanting. Indeterminate.
This Russian heirloom originated in Krim, a Crimean town on the Black Sea. Baseball-sized fruits weigh 10 - 12 oz. and have reddish-brown flesh filled with an earthy, almost smoky flavor. Fruit sets well in heat and is the most reliable of the black tomatoes, producing even under adverse conditions from summer to fall. Provide support for vines that reach 6 feet or more.
Planted 3/17 - two planted - one in the west garden bed, one in a flower pot.
Experience by the end of the season:  The one in the flower pot died, but the one in the garden produced a few tomatoes.

Roma Tomato: (From Seed - Botanical Interests, pack opened Jan 2011)
Description:  80 days from transplanting. Determinate.
An absolutely excellent heirloom tomato – firm, meaty, 3-inch oblong fruits with few seeds, on compact plants. Very prolific plant for a bountiful harvest! As a determinate type, most of the fruits ripen at the same time, which makes this tomato a good choice for canning. In areas with a long growing season, a second successive planting will double your harvest!
Planted 3/17 - two planted - one in the west garden bed, one in the flower pot.
Experience by the end of the season: the one in the flower pot died, and the one in the garden became infested with root knot nematodes.  Before I pulled it up, it did produce enough green tomatoes for me to make green tomato chutney.

Trinidad Scorpion Pepper: (Sunshine Community Garden Plant Sale, $2)
Description:  90-120 days. Outrageously hot, these peppers mature to a red color. It is a tall plant that should produce many 2-3 inch peppers.
Planted 3/17 in the flower pot.
Experience by the end of the season:  Didn't produce anything.  Saved for next year.

Marjoram: (Sunshine Community Garden Plant Sale, $2)
Description: Tender perennial. Flavor is considered milder but more complex than its relative, oregano. Some describe the flavor as having a hint of balsam. Very popular ingredient in German sausage and herb breads.
Planted 3/17 in the flower pot.
Experience by the end of the season:  The oregano is hardier and actually survived the winter.  This plant just always seemed a little behind the 8-ball and didn't make it through the winter.

Dill: (Sunshine Community Garden Plant Sale, $2)
Description:  Warm season annual. Foliage is delicious sprinkled on potatoes, tomatoes, salmon, spinach, cucumbers and lamb chops. Dill is an important host plant for caterpillars of swallowtail butterflies. (and thus the main reason why I have it every year - that and to make a batch or two of Dill Dough Bread).
Planted 3/17 in the flower pot.
Experience:  This spring started out a bit warmer than normal and so the plant was a bit aphid ridden - but it also ended up hosting both swallowtail caterpillars and lady bugs (on account of the aphids).  I didn't get to make the Dill Dough Bread, though.

Sage: (I don't remember - I've had the plant for a while now waiting to be planted)
Description: Perennial. Sage’s flavor is bold and assertive, and considered very valuable as a digestive aid to high-fat foods such as pork, wild game and cheese. Often paired with stuffing, it also livens up vegetables, potatoes, soups and stews. The plant has beautiful, edible purple/blue flowers, and the gray-green foliage provides an excellent contrast in the garden or containers. Deer resistant.
Planted 3/17 in the flower pot.
Experience: Is flourishing in the flower pot and made it through the winter.

Pot Douglah (or whatever the new hottest pepper in the world is):  given to me by Laura at WillsFamilyAcres.
Description:   "News of the douglah possibly being the hottest won’t come as shock to those who have had one. I’ve read post after post and watched countless taste test videos where the verdict was that the douglah was the hottest pepper the person had ever tasted."
Planted ??  I don't remember when I planted it, but it's in the east garden
Experience:  The plant doesn't look all that hot - almost like it's constantly not getting enough water.  It also probably isn't getting enough sun.  Dug up and saved for next year.

Chocolate Habanero: given to me by Laura at WillsFamilyAcres
Description:  The notorious & viciously hot Chocolate Habañero ranks among the deadly few at the top of the heat scale registering upto 450,000 scoville heat units. Indeed the Chile Pepper Institute of New Mexico State University reported that the Chocolate Habanero Chile was the hottest chile pepper they had tested. Also known as the 'Congo black' the fruits have a unique, rich flavor unduplicated by any other pepper. The 2" fruits ripen from an emerald green to a gorgeous, chocolate brown approximately 100 days after transplanting. The ultimate salsa pepper used to make the famous Jamaican Jerk Sauce. The variety is a must for heat lovers.
Planted ?? I don't remember when I planted it, but it's in the east garden
Experience:  The plant(s) are still tiny, but I have high hopes now that the heat has set in.  Dug up and saved for next year.

Cossack Pineapple (Ground Cherry):  From seed (____ pack opened in Jan 2013)
Description:  60 days. 1/2" diameter berries have a delicious flavor reminiscent of pineapple. Bite-sized berries are so tasty that they may never make it into the kitchen, especially if you have children. Excellent for preserves, hot dessert toppings, salads or mock pineapple yogurt. Plants are short (12"-18") but with bushy spreading lateral branches which choke out weeds. Fruits ripen to a pineapple yellow. Pkt (0.06 g).
Experience:  The plants flowered and have produced fruit before planting into the garden.  I've only ever gotten a few fruits at a time and so I just eat them straight from the plant.  The fruit are tangy and good - don't know if I'd want more than a few at a time, though.


Holdovers from last year -
Lemon Balm:  (2 plants) Planted in 2010.  Removed from the garden in fall 2013 because I just wasn't using them for anything.

Oregano: Planted in 2012

Garlic Chives: (2 plants - one transplant, one from seed) Planted in 2012.  One plant removed in fall 2013.

Parsley:  I always let the plants seed out every year, so they're essentially wild in my yard now.

Lavender:  Planted in 2012.  Died during the summer.

Summer Thyme: Planted in 2012

Chile Pequin: Planted in 2012.  Died in the winter of 2013

Aurora Pepper:  Planted in 2012 - the original plant died, but I just threw a pepper in a pot and it's sprouted.  The plants have one pepper each.  Plants saved through the winter.

Aji Crystal Pepper:  Planted in 2012 - dug up and kept in a pot over the winter, now sitting in a pot.  The plant is covered with peppers.  Plant kept over the winter to be planted in the garden in 2014.