2015 Peppers

I sowed my pepper seeds on Wednesday! This year I will be trying a lot of new varieties that I received in seed trades from other gardeners. I am mainly growing sweet peppers with the exception of three hot peppers. Here are the varieties I will be growing.

Sweet:

Doux Long D'Antibes

Ljubov Dlan Paprika

Golden Marconi

Yolo Wonder

Hungarian Pumpkin

Chocolate Beauty

Chervena Chushka

Elephant Ear

Albino Bullnose

Cubanelle

 

Hot:

Jalapeno Orange

Fish

Black Brant

 

Here are a few pictures I copied from the internet of a few of the varieties I will be growing.

Albino Bullnose

Chocolate Beauty

                 

Elephant Ear



 

Fish

 

Golden Marconi

 

Orange Jalapeno

What pepper varieties will you be growing this year?

 

Tomato Tuesday- Cherokee Lime

This week I am spotlighting a green tomato, often referred to as Green When Ripe. Yes there are tomato varieties that are supposed to stay green! When I first heard about them I was hesitant to try them thinking they would be very tart. I was totally wrong!!!! They are delicious with a sweet and tangy flavor. I'm sure most of you have heard of Cherokee Purple, this variety is from the same line. Over the years Cherokee Purple has produced other varieties due to mutations, bee crosses or intentional crosses. Here are all the varieties that originated from Cherokee Purple.

 

Cherokee Purple >> Cherokee Chocolate >> Cherokee Green >> Golden Cherokee >> Cherokee Lemon >> Cherokee Lime

Here is the history behind Cherokee Lime (History and Information was taken from Michigan Heirlooms)

 

Beautiful Green-When-Ripe (GWR) beefsteak tomatoes that are tangy and noticeably sweet (as GWR's are noted for) with the most beautiful rose-colored swirl in the center that extends out to the blossom end of the fruit. Fruits average just under a pound.

 

HISTORY: Bill Jeffers wrote: I ordered Golden Cherokee from an SSE member via the SSE Yearbook several years ago (IL LO N). I grew 3 plants. One was true Golden Cherokee (deep yellow flesh with red streaks and yellow epidermis), one was what I call Cherokee Lemon (pure yellow w/clear epidermis), and the third plant was yellow flesh with a red blush on blossom end and clear epidermis. I regrew seeds from the pure yellow/clear epidermis off-type and got what we now call Cherokee Lime (pure green-when-ripe with clear epidermis).


 

 

If you haven't tried a Green When Ripe tomato variety yet, I highly recommend them. There are many GWR varieties available that I have tried and recommend, such as Aunt Ruby's German Green, Kiwi, and Green Grape.

 

 

Thanks for taking a look at my Tomato Tuesday post!

Stop by next week to see which tomato variety I will be spotlighting from my 2014 garden.



Tomato Tuesday- Solar Flare

Here is another beauty I grew last year! This is Solar Flare, a creation made by Brad Gates. Solar Flare is a 6-10oz. red beefsteak with gold stripes. They are very meaty with a delicious sweet flavor. The plants are indeterminate with regular leaves. This variety was a result from a cross with Beauty King. My plant had great production and produced up until the first frost in mid October. 

Thanks for taking a look at my Tomato Tuesday post!

Stop by next week to see which tomato variety I will be spotlighting from my 2014 garden.

Tomato Tuesday- Danko

Danko is a red heart-shaped or ox heart type tomato. I thought it would be fitting to spotlight a heart-shaped variety this week beings it is Valentine's Day week. The determinate plants have wispy regular leaves and produce in abundance. I did not realize at first that this variety was supposed to be short and wispy, I thought my plant was sick. I was relieved when I found out is was not sick. I did have to support the branches of my plant because the weight of the tomatoes pulled on the branches. The tomatoes formed in clusters of 3-4 tomatoes, so there was a lot of weight on each cluster branch. This plant could easily be grown in a bucket or container with some type of support. The tomatoes averaged between 5-10 oz. and had a delicious flavor.

 

Danko is a Russian commercial variety that was developed by Siberian Research Plant Breeding Institute. Danko is a hero from a legend/story by Maksim Gorky. Danko sacrificed himself to save his people by tearing out his heart and holding its burning heart to lead them from darkness to freedom.

 

 

 

I enjoy growing heart-shaped tomatoes because they have the meatiness of a paste tomato, but have the flavor of a standard tomato. I try and grow a few heart-shaped varieties every year in my garden. I will be spotlighting the other heart-shaped varieties I grew last year in upcoming posts. I definitely recommend giving this variety a try in your garden! Stop by next week to see which tomato variety I will be spotlighting from my 2014 garden. Happy Valentine's Day!!!!!

Onion Seedling Update

Well it has been a month now since I started my onion seeds, so I thought I would give you an update. They are growing nicely for the most part, except my leeks and Spanish White onions had some germination issues. I have been trimming them every couple days to prevent them from getting too tall and falling over. I am also keeping the soil moist but not sopping wet. I am hoping the weather starts to get a little warmer so I can start getting them outside little by little. They are all getting their true leaves and starting to get thicker stems. I am hoping they will be big enough come spring, so far so good!

How are your onion seedlings doing?

Tomato Tuesday- Snow White

This weeks spotlight is on a very yummy little cherry tomato called Snow White. I always try to grow a couple cherry tomato varieties in my garden every year. Snow White was my favorite cherry last year! The plant is indeterminate with regular leaves and produces creamy white cherry tomatoes that ripen to pale yellow. Most white tomato varieties have a bland flavor, not Snow White. They are sweet and fruity. Everyone who tried one from my garden loved them. My plant was very productive and I loved snacking on them while working in my garden. This variety was developed by Joe Bratka of New Jersey. This one will definitely be returning to my garden!

Thanks for stopping by and checking out my Tomato Tuesday post! Stop

by next week to see which variety I will be spotlighting from my 2014 growing season.