2009 Gardens

[klsm54]

I grew the hybrid Brandywines last year...Brandy Boy. Wanted to try them since they were supposed to have the same flavor as Brandywines, which I had never tried but heard such praise for. Without a doubt they were the most tasteless tomato I have ever grown, in over 40 years of growing tomatoes. I agree with Lavenders "watery" assessment of the flavor.

 

I'm done experimenting, going back to tomatoes that I know will taste good.

[lavender]

I'm done experimenting, going back to tomatoes that I know will taste good.

That's kind of the way I feel. I've planted them all: Aztec pyramid shaped tomatoes, yellow cherry tomatoes, purple Cherokee (first time I've ever seen sun-scald), German green, Russian ox-hearts, current tomatoes (cute little buggers but a pain to pick) and who knows what else. Sometimes I'd get a dozen tomatoes from a dozen plants and sometimes they would grow like weeds but no one would eat the tomatoes. Some of them got every disease known to tomatoes and some of them hated our climate and soil.

There are tomatoes that do well around here and are excellent for eating like Celebrity. They grow well even if the summer is dry. They don't split, crack or grow into funky shapes so it looks as though you have three tomatoes growing together and you can't slice them.

You get tired of wasting time and garden space after awhile on the "experiments" and go back to the tried and true. The catalogs never mention the fact that some tomatoes, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli and other veggies are not suitable for every area of the country. That is why those old gardeners out there are so valuable; they know what grows well and what tastes good.  

 

[eimilesmom]

So I need to grow beautiful, tasty, perfect Brandywines in a pot to prove you all wrong? Ooo the pressure is on

[lavender]

Might taste better if grown further south. Climate does make a difference in how veggies taste.

[PSTeach]

Got a booklet from Agway the other day. Looks like it is almost time to start the broccoli and cauliflower seeds. Woo hoo! My son drew a map of the garden tonight too. I can almost smell the dirt now......

[lavender]

I start them early in March. The only thing I start in Feb. are the leeks. I don't know why as they never get any bigger than when I start them later but that is the way I learned to do it. It used to be that the seeds took a long time to germinate but that doesn't seem to be the case now. Wonder what I do differently?

What kind of broccoli and cauliflower did you get? I ordered Premium Crop Hybrid and Snow Crown Hybrid, the old tried and true favorites. I also got Graffiti cauliflower, the purple one. Want the yellow one too but can't grow it. I might pick up something else off the racks but I like to have the ones that I am sure will grow.  Broccoli didn't do so well last year. I'm getting complacent; Mother Nature showed me.

[Beeman]

I'm just growing pot and some herbs this year

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  OH. MY I'd have expected better of you............well to each his/her own.   :K)

[lavender]

 

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  OH. MY I'd have expected better of you............well to each his/her own.   :K)

With the price of seeds gardeners are going to need a quick cash crop to pay for supplies. Shall we try Brussel sprouts or rutabagas do you think?

[eimilesmom]

 

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  OH. MY I'd have expected better of you............well to each his/her own.   :K)

BA HA HA! We were over at the "new house" yesterday and I pointed to the corner of the yard and said to my husband "That's where the pot garden goes!" and he raised an eyebrow...