The 2019 Garden, Landscape, and Other Stuff Thread...

[LEGION 12]

I suspect LEGION 12 you will be correct about the taste, but good to know it doesn’t matter that much.

22-rimfire I bet you are right about sun exposure. Even though the tomatoes and peppers weren’t competing for sunlight, the days were getting shorter, cooler, and the angle of the sun changed in such a way that maybe they got the best exposure earlier in the season.

Oops… I left a couple stragglers on the plants. (The big joke is “Goliath” tomatoes! Hate to see the puny ones.)

Even some of my banana peppers turned red this year , and they were really hot won't plant them next year unless I can find the mild one's .

 

[22-rimfire]

....Oops… I left a couple stragglers on the plants. (The big joke is “Goliath” tomatoes! Hate to see the puny ones.)

I had two Goliath variety plants and they did okay. The fruit size was not huge, but they did bear continuously. I would plant them again. I am not that concerned about having huge tomato fruit as I am for continuous production. You only need so much tomato to make a sandwich. Not trying to feed a big family.

The tomatoes that were labeled "Patio" variety produced in numbers but not big tomatoes either (larger than cherry tomatoes). The Goliath variety fruit were consistently larger. I would plant both again.

 

[annr]

I had two Goliath variety plants and they did okay. The fruit size was not huge, but they did bear continuously. I would plant them again. I am not that concerned about having huge tomato fruit as I am for continuous production. You only need so much tomato to make a sandwich. Not trying to feed a big family.

The tomatoes that were labeled "Patio" variety produced in numbers but not big tomatoes either. The Goliath variety fruit were consistently larger. I would plant both again.

Good to know. 80% of the Goliath were smaller than golf balls...some smaller than cherry tomatoes. Unless you were eating finger sandwiches, I don't think they would do.

 

[22-rimfire]

annr Yes, to golf ball sized tomatoes. Not my favorite size; more of a last resort.

I think soil and exposure make a big difference with tomatoes. I also think container size makes a significant difference if you are planting in containers.

The traditional large bearing tomato varieties for me have been Big Boy, Better Boy, and Whopper. Early Girl have never been "early" or maybe a few days before the others. In my garden, the initial batch of tomatoes are large but the second and third batches on the plants tend to be smaller even for ones touted as being "large" growing plants. I think tomatoes actually do better in a slightly cooler climate versus where I am.

 

[eisman]

Soil and exposure makes a big difference, not just on veggies. Here's a shot of a mushroom patch that sprang into being this past week under the oaks at work.

Here's a pic with a knife so you can get an idea of the size:

 

[taldesta]

Now that’s what I call positive spin!

My mom, born and raised on farms, says, “Aren’t you glad you don’t have to make a living that way?” She has a point.

You mentioned the bland store bought tomatoes, and I was wondering if you get the same Canadian tomatoes we get in our stores, it’s all relative, or they export the tasty ones to the US.

The reason: generally, the Canadian tomatoes are the best tomatoes in the supermarket.)

My sense is that tomatoes that travel the farthest are picked earliest and ripen partially en route ... and without those last sun-kissed days on the vine. Here, Product of Canada tomatoes are available almost all year except (rarely) for the deepest, darkest days of winter. Store bought, long distance tomatoes just don't seem to add much but colour to the palate for me. Spoiled by digging in the dirt during growing season for my own tomatoes I suspect

 

[22-rimfire]

Soil and exposure makes a big difference, not just on veggies. Here's a shot of a mushroom patch that sprang into being this past week under the oaks at work.
<snip>
Here's a pic with a knife so you can get an idea of the size:

My neighbor has that variety popping up in her yard in the root area of some trees she had cut down a couple years ago. They get pretty big as shown by your shot above with the knife.

Tropical Storm Olga was kind to our area with rainfall of about 3.8" yesterday and early this AM. It never absolutely poured rain; just a steady medium to heavy drizzle (all day) with short bursts of higher rates. So, it was a perfect rain event in terms of flooding with minimal sheet flow other than on hard surfaces. Probably a little more rain to come later on today, but not high amounts. I suspect this rain event has broken the back of the drought we were having in my area.

 

[annr]

Spoiled by digging in the dirt during growing season for my own tomatoes I suspect

So it’s relative? Hard to get that home-grown flavor commercially…and you know the difference.

I just checked, our recent tomatoes come from Maine with a statement that ‘if you are seeing these tomatoes in your store, you must live under a 12-hour drive from where they are grown.’ Website says they harvest last minute and get to stores ASAP.

Looks like the Canadian hub of hothouse tomatoes is Ontario (about 900 miles), so maybe they are superior to most of my other options but not up to what you can grow. I was just curious…and I like a good tomato! (I’m always curious how international trade works.)

New England actually produces decent tomatoes in season but it seems like our go to options are Maine or Canada. (Yea Canada!)

What options do you see in the market?

 

[taldesta]

In the interests of both international trade and flavour sleuthing I will look more closely at the packaging/signage on the produce and report back. Generally I do see the product labelling of the US and Mexico locally, especially in winter, along with more local fare. And, definitely yes, the tomatoes sought out by Daisy's stealth foraging trips into the veg garden are tastiest. The dog's nose knows.

 

[taldesta]

My neighbor has that variety popping up in her yard in the root area of some trees she had cut down a couple years ago. They get pretty big as shown by your shot above with the knife.

Tropical Storm Olga was kind to our area with rainfall of about 3.8" yesterday and early this AM. It never absolutely poured rain; just a steady medium to heavy drizzle (all day) with short bursts of higher rates. So, it was a perfect rain event in terms of flooding with minimal sheet flow other than on hard surfaces. Probably a little more rain to come later on today, but not high amounts. I suspect this rain event has broken the back of the drought we were having in my area.

Rain from Olga started here around midnight last night and is supposed to continue until about noon today - solid watering that bodes well for the trees over winter. Yesterday was a sunny day with great working weather. I was able to trailer a load out after cleaning up more of the years of accumulated 'stuff' left behind on the property. The rest I will tackle in spring when I hope to finish it up.

On another note, our growing seasons differ a lot as you know. Our first killing frost can come as early as Sep 17th (but more usually later in October) and we are not considered to be frost-free to plant out until after the 24th of May. So the descriptions of daffodils poking up in February is nice to imagine.

 

[taldesta]

Soil and exposure makes a big difference, not just on veggies. Here's a shot of a mushroom patch that sprang into being this past week under the oaks at work.
Here's a pic with a knife so you can get an idea of the size:

Moss and mushrooms seem to love the wet and cool fall weather for sure. Nice close-up. I was curious about the Joseph Fleming and came across that very interesting discussion here on BF ... sweet blade.

 

[eisman]

Yes, I'm still not sure about the knife; it's probably a personalized souvenir from a trip to Ireland, but it's a really nice daily user. I got it at an estate sale with some other stuff, and it gets used (lightly) every now and then. If it is a souvenir it's much better quality than most of those knives.

And as for moss, it's a constant threat here in the Pacific Northwest. I've been trimming back the normal bushes (daisies and roses yesterday) but it's time to get up on the roof and spread moss killer again. We have to do that twice a year just to keep the roofs clean; once it gets a start you can't get rid of it.

 

[22-rimfire]

In my area, most of the tomatoes are from Florida except when they are in season locally. So often the tomatoes labeled as "vine ripened" are tasteless and I have learned to distrust anything listed as vine ripened even at farmer's market type locations. I resist buying tomatoes at stores for the most part unless we have company coming and plan to make salads as part of dinner. The area in eastern Middle TN on the plateau is known for tomato production. It is also a very big nursery plant growing area for trees and shrubs.

I was very pleased with the rain. The final rain tally at my house was 3.92" (in my yard) after the storm moved out of the area and all rain ceased. After the main portion of the storm moved out of the area and there were scattered remnant pods of rain, it got windy and a lot of leaves were blown from the trees that are beginning to turn to their fall colors.

 

[annr]

In the interests of both international trade and flavour sleuthing I will look more closely at the packaging/signage on the produce and report back. Generally I do see the product labelling of the US and Mexico locally, especially in winter, along with more local fare. And, definitely yes, the tomatoes sought out by Daisy's stealth foraging trips into the veg garden are tastiest. The dog's nose knows.

Yes, the Daisy detector will be the best!

I cook/bake everything from scratch using little or no salt, sugar, oil, so I appreciate a good tomato taste (not bland potato-like).

I’ll pass on Mexican produce. FL and CA are variable. China is out of the question. SA can be good/excellent. Curious what your offerings are.

The reason I’m interested in the international commerce aspect is that my impression/experience is that the domestic and export products aren’t always the same article. (Two versions: one for domestic consumption, not available elsewhere, or only for export not available domestically. An example would be the many products from China not sold in China.)

Sometimes I track Winnipeg weather and brrr. Yours sounds quite similar.

 

[22-rimfire]

....I cook/bake everything from scratch using little or no salt, sugar, oil, so I appreciate a good tomato taste (not bland potato-like).

I’ll pass on Mexican produce. FL and CA are variable. China is out of the question. SA can be good/excellent. Curious what your offerings are.

I have been concerned with the liberal use of pesticides in other countries as compared to the US with regard to produce imports. Always wash stuff as best you can. Some pesticides that have been discontinued in the US like Diazon make control of certain insect pests a bit of a problem.

 

[annr]

I have been concerned with the liberal use of pesticides in other countries as compared to the US with regard to produce imports. Always wash stuff as best you can. Some pesticides that have been discontinued in the US like Diazon make control of certain insect pests a bit of a problem.

That’s a big part of my decision tree. Hygiene, water purity, pesticides, etc.

I watched a documentary on garlic, incl. garlic from China (Netflix). Stealth video revealed prison inmates peeling the garlic with their teeth. This garlic was later sold as some kind of processed garlic in glass jars. Yuck!

 

[22-rimfire]

That’s a big part of my decision tree. Hygiene, water purity, pesticides, etc.

I watched a documentary on garlic, incl. garlic from China (Netflix). Stealth video revealed prison inmates peeling the garlic with their teeth. This garlic was later sold as some kind of processed garlic in glass jars. Yuck!

Think I need to check where "canned goods" come from. I always assumed that everything you see here comes from the US or Canada. I wonder if they processed the garlic in their mouths? Yuck.

Water purity is something that is most difficult to gauge. In some areas, sewage from human waste is used as a fertilizer. I'm told that it is "okay" for non-root crop items, but not for stuff that grows below the ground surface like onions, garlic, beets, potatoes, and so forth. Farmers obviously spread their manure on their fields that are producing things like corn and other crops.

 

[taldesta]

Yes, the Daisy detector will be the best!
<....> Sometimes I track Winnipeg weather and brrr. Yours sounds quite similar.

Winnipeg takes the prize, though, not only being close to 5 degrees more Northerly in latitude but also bearing the brunt of more persistent winds more typical of the prairies. Think wind chill. Winnipeg is (in fun) said to be synonymous with cold and foreboding winter weather. This region is considered to be the winter playground for the snowmobilers, cross country enthusiasts, ice fishers etc. from the urban South ... Toronto and surrounds. 'Cottage country' in summer. I am lucky.

Now, there are those Westerners, like my dad from Saskatchewan, who claim no matter how cold it may get in the West, it is a dry cold and does not 'feel' as cold as winter in the more humid Eastern provinces. There is likely a lot to say for this observation. At least here, our climate is tempered by the Great Lakes, even inland where I live. Lots of water courses and lakes and hilly geography carved out by glacial action. Algonquin Park is just NE of me here.

Climate zones are critical for our choice of perennials here, for example. I'm in 4a generally and may have some 4b, even 5 ... niche locations on this South-facing hill property. I consider a hardy for zone 3 to be a shoo-in (and probably originating in Siberia!) Also, I'm in a shallow river valley.

I wonder do gardeners in warmer climes use their zones as guides for planting perennials - perhaps for the heat?

 

[LEGION 12]

 

[taldesta]

Thanks for the Distant Early Warning ... snow is coming in tonight here as well.

Happy Halloween everyone don't be SPOOKED by the snow!