Viewing comments posted by DonShirer

     Developed at Cornell as a sweet (0 Scoville units) alternative to the very hot Habanero peppers, Habanadas produce dozens of 2" wrinkled fruit on a small plant no more than 24" high ( I grew them both in the ground and in a small 2 gallon container) from September 5 until frost. They ripen from a pale green to bright orange and have a thin skin.
     I found them rather bland when eaten raw, but liked them a little better fried with mushrooms. There are several other "sweet" or mildly hot faux-habenero varieties available commercially and I am going to try some more of them since I didn't think Habanadas quite delivered the flavor promised in the ads.

Mild heat. Wife likes to use for chili rellenos. Thin skin. Grew in 2 gal pot. Got first harvest in Mid-August, then a second round of smaller peppers in October.

Got 40 fruit averaging 11 oz from one plant in 5 gal grow bag, August through September. Taste was ok, not great.

Good yield of 1/3 oz yellow cherries from plant in 5 gal. grow bag, August through September. Tasted ok, not great.

Good yield from plant in 5 gal grow bag. 1/3 oz yellow cherries. Tasted ok, not great. Some splitting after rains.

9 oz fruit from plant in 5 gal grow bag. Tasted good not great. Unfortunately disease hit in August so yield was low.

Good yield August through September from tall plant in 5 gal grow bag. Averaged 8oz. Tasted good, not great.

Averaged 8oz. Got 26 fruit from one plant in 5gal grow bag. Tasted ok, rather bland.

Huge tomatoes, averaged 20 oz. 14 fruit, August through September. Tasted ok, nothing special.

Smooth skinned slicers with mild taste. They can get up to a foot long, but I picked them at 9" for fewer seeds. Only a slight curl when grown on a trellis. Did not produce as many fruit as my other cukes this year. I can't confirm the "burpless" claims since I've grown at least a dozen different varieties and never had one that made me burp!

     The name is appropriate since these plants quickly climbed to the top and spilled over my 6ft supports. Fruit is fairly smooth at 1.5-2" in diameter and can grow very long (over 12") but I preferred picking them around 9" so they had fewer seeds. Will curl if not trellised. Taste was ok, but I preferred Suyo Long even though it had thicker skin. Average yield.

Good-tasting slicing cucumber with smooth skin, also said to be good for pickling. Advertised as burpless, not seedless. I picked them at about 6-7" long. Average yield until they succumbed to a wilt, which hit almost all my cukes this year.

Good-tasting straight slicers, typically 10-12" long with average to good production. Supposedly burpless. Advertised as seedless if isolated, but I had other cukes nearby and mine did have seeds unless picked very early at about 6" long. Smooth thin skin.

     I have plenty of fruit on two Michael Pollan tomato plants, but as of Sept. 23 they show no signs of the yellow tint that is supposed to herald ripening. I picked some last month to test –they were as hard as a rock– then put them on a shelf and forgot about them. This week my wife noticed that they were a little softer. Still no yellow, but they were edible. Mild, slightly sweet, but not great taste. Fruit on vine still not yelllow. If you are looking for a long-keeping tomato, M.P. might be for you, but pray that yours ripen better than mine.

Stringless pole bean with good taste both when picked young or allowed to grow past 9" long. Kept producing over a long season. 7ft tall. This year a growing tree started shading my usual bean area and the production went down. May have to lose the tree or move the bean trellis.

I planted a C.M. Daphne 14 years ago and it flourished in part shade, about 20" high. Flourished too well! I planted it too close to a walkway and it had completely blocked it so this year I had to cut it out. {Sob!} The stem base was so thick I finally had to resort to a motorized saw.
You can bet I'm getting a new one so I can enjoy its sweet fragrance, pretty leaves and flowers, but this time I'll make sure to allow at least 3-4 feet between it and the walk!

Mountain Fresh Plus has a good taste for a hybrid tomato. 8-10oz globes, mid-season. Determinate vines grew to about 5 ft tall in a 5 gal container in the sun. Another plant in the ground in a shadier location was somewhat shorter. I harvested fruit from August to Oct. 5 in Zone 6.

Did well in medium shade under a magnolia bush with little attention. Bloom diminished in late summer, but with a little watering they perked up and are still going strong in late October.
Only about 4-5" tall and wide.

While the AGS tomatoes are great for slicing and salads, the first year I tried them I was disappointed in their yield. But that was in a partly shaded location. This year I moved them to a spot in full sun and the plant is doing much better. Firm flesh, good balanced taste, thin skins. Has a few early fruits, but most come later--it is now middle October and it still has a half-dozen green tomatoes that may beat the frosts. Don't confuse this one with its relative, plain Amish Gold, promoted as a paste tomato.

Very good production of saladette-sized tomatoes with good taste. Vines over 6' tall. Some of the fruits split after a heavy rain, so I got in the habit of picking them when only partially ripe if rain threatened.