Summer Garden and the Monsoon

   With monsoon season upon us in Arizona we have some very strange weather from the very unusual tornado to heavy rains and hail storms which create heavy flooding at times. The good thing is the moisture and the humidity levels going up that is what gets are gardens really going for us.

   What we are hoping for is surviving the storms. lol  Hail storms can reek havoc and have done lots of damage in the past. If our gardens can survive the storms then they will really explode and grow fast. In Arizona the humidity is so very low that our gardens do very little until the monsoon season arrives. The next thing we do is pray our gardens survive and if they do we pray our plants don't catch all the diseases that also comes with the high humidity that we normally do not have.

    Inspecting the garden is very important thing to do. Finding vines to tie up or just making sure the garden is draining properly.

      Leaf damage due to hail. Nothing we can do about it. It will not harm the growth of the cantaloupe that is growing here.

    We grow about seventy variety's of tomatoes this is our giant tomato. Dusty River Giant - last year we had a three pound tomato out of this variety and we are hoping for a larger one this year.

     We were lucky so far and I hope our luck continues.  The tomato plants are six foot tall and still growing strong looks like it could be a super year for our garden. later Dusty....

Tomato wind protection

  My biggest concern with my tomatoes in the spring is WIND protection. Most of my tomato fatality's are caused by the wind. A sustained wind of just a few miles per hour can murder your young tomato plants very quickly.
 A whole host of problems are out there in the spring to kill your plants from late frosts to insects here is a suggestion for my biggest problem the wind.

 This is just some cages we make out of wire we wrap a layer of fabric around the cages. This fabric is a weed barrier we purchased at home depot. We like it because it breaths well so it doesn't get to hot. All were doing here is wrapping the weed barrier around the wire taping it on and were done. So easy so simple.

 In just a few weeks we will take this fabric off and let the plants go. Young tomato plants need protection from the wind for at least 3 to 4 weeks. You will have better earlier tomatoes enjoy....  Later dusty

Touch of Summer during Winter...

  

   Indoor Dwarf Tomatoes - It is so nice to have a little taste of summer once in a while. Growing dwarf tomatoes in your house during the winter has it's pleasures...

I also planted some peppers today and I will continue through the week.

Jamaican Hot Chocolate a really good pepper.

Caribbean Red another nice pepper a little warm ok hot as heck.lol

Winter Dwarf Tomatoes

    

  Dwarf tomatoes- haha-yes I am loving it. Tomatoes in the winter yes!!! I love to try new things and my tomato buddies tell me that this is the way to go. I do have lights and a few tomato plants are still under the lights. 

  

  This is the cure for the winter blues for the gardener. I have six different tomato variety's.

  Such healthy leafs and strong stems these plants look so healthy and would probably look even better if I had a better light set up.

   Blooms are coming on the plants it won't be long before they start setting fruit..

 I will be transplanting the tomato plants to larger pots.  Right now the tomato plants are in one gallon pots. Most will get there final transplant to five gallon pots, some three gallon. The tomatoes that are still in one gallon pots will be given away to friends and family I will only keep one of each of the variety.             

  The plant that gets talked about the most out of this bunch is this one the -Jackass- this tomato plant is in the f-5 stage so it won't be to long before you will see this variety in the gardening websites and magazines for sale. Naming a plant can be very tough I wonder just what was going through his mind when he was naming this one lol or if this is what he was being called during the naming process...lol who knows for sure. Until next time later -Dusty-                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

Container Dwarf Tomatoes for your Winter Garden

   

    The little guy's are growing and at this stage they are just under three weeks old and time to be transplanted.

     At this stage these Dwarf Tomatoes are four and a half weeks old and looking really healthy. Good thick stems and a great color.

      It does not take long for tomatoes to just take off.  The only supplements I have given these tomatoes a little liquid sea weed in there water.

.
    This is what's so fun about gardening. I raised a few more than I will use and now my friends get a Christmas present... I am so excited the tomatoes are growing nicely.

  Well that is about it on this update good gardening and until next time  see ya Dusty....

Growing A Winter Garden Inside?

   A winter indoor garden is such a pleasure for me it is so nice to watch something grow during the long winter also a winter garden is not to much work hey now that is perfect for me. 

  I have a few things that I grew in pots which I brought in before the first freeze such as this pepper plant this is a Jamaican Hot Chocolate it can be a bit hot. Ok it is a very hot little pepper but bring it indoors for the winter and this plant can live several years I feel three is about the best I have ever gotten out of a pepper plant and the second year being the best. When I put them outside next spring they will do great and I will have the earliest peppers in town.

   I also started some Tomatoes yep maters. These are dwarf tomatoes I will be growing these dwarf tomatoes in 3 to 5 gallon containers. I have six types of dwarf tomatoes that I will be growing  this fall the average height is 3 to 4 foot tall and they load up pretty nicely with fruit so I will need to support these guys. lol this should be fun.

  Last year I grew Mizuna and Arugula these are greens with a attitude great flavor and a little zip to them yum.  I started them outdoors last year and I forgot about them during several freezes and they survived wow they can take a very hard freeze and survive. They are so easy to grow lucky for me, and are wonderful to add to a salad they really give a salad a pop and they are so very tasty. I am thinking about planting some of the cold hardy variety's of greens very soon.

  I hope to give updates of the dwarf tomatoes every very few weeks so you can see how they are doing. Until next time later Dusty...

Best producing Tomatoes of 2012

 This is the most productive tomato of the season for me a heart tomato called Pink Honey. I was very surprised that it was also the first tomato of the season a very fast grower only 49 days from transplant. It was also one of the largest tomato of the season with one tomato going just over two pounds.

 This is the Coyote tomato a very small tomato with huge tomato flavor. They say this is a tomato that is native to Mexico where it grows wild and I believe it, this tomato plant is huge and has taken over the yard.lol Wow what a good growing tomato plant you can abuse this little gem and it just produces. The taste is full bore tomato goodness great old fashion tomato flavor.

  Pink Berkeley Tie Dye - A early tomato great taste and very interesting looking. At the farmers market this is one of the first to go.

 Two different Tomatoes in this picture here, the one on the left is called Pinky Tuscadero and the one on the right is a Black Sea Man Tomato both are real good ok these are great eating tomatoes of course I do tend to like the black tomatoes for taste but the Pinky Tuscadero is tops too.

 Sweet Carneros Pink this is another tomato bred by Brad Gates of Wild Boar Farms. The production of this tomato was very very good the only down side is you got to use them they don't hold very well.

 I have talked about this one before but I love this tomato this is Evan's Purple Pear. This tomato gave me really good production and what a good tomato for the farmers market or at home they keep very well and the taste, well this is one of my new favorites it has a firm tomato texture the taste was very nice and crisp with full tomato flavor. This one is on my grow list for next year for sure also it is a potato leaf plant.

 I have a few others that I really like and will list soon but this is the bunch that made my list for today what a great bunch of tomatoes next time I will chat about maybe growing bigger Tomatoes? Later Dusty

Tomato Season...

 This tomato is called Dwarf Berly Beauty a wonderful tomato that was breed to grow in five gallon pots that you can bring in the house during the winter. It is a green when ripe variety.

 A row of San Marzano tomatoes that are going nuts.

  Some Mini Marzanos one of the only hybrids that I grew.

   Mr. Stripey a wonderful tasting bi-color tomato

  This is one of my best sellers and is a taste test winner.

  Pink Berkeley Tie Dye new for me this year. They are an early tomato with very good taste and very good looks what's not to like about this one.

  Plum Lemon a yellow paste tomato that looks like a lemon.

  This is a incredible tomato plant it is a multi-floral tomato it produces flowers by what seems the jillions. lol It name is Sweet Beverly and besides having unique flowers the fruit is wonderfully sweet.

  The darkest tomato I have ever seen the Indigo Rose is a eye catcher.

 This is the Berly Beauty a Green when ripe tomato. This tomato is amazing such a great eating tomato it has a very complex flavor I end up saying refreshing with a fruity flavor. A tomato I will be growing all winter that's for sure...
later Dusty...