Viewing comments posted by TBGDN

I found this plant by accident when we stopped at a restaurant a few years back. The entry walk was landscaped with various ornamental plants which included these “miniature” pepper plants with fully mature crimson red fruits. Some had dropped from the plants and were scattered along the walk. I retrieved about three or four of the ripened pods and planted the seeds in containers for inside winter growth.

To make a long story short, I successfully raised two plants over winter, saving the seeds for spring planting outdoors. This year I have seven plants from seed, and the fruits are still in the green/yellow stage of development. I am hoping for full maturity before a killing frost occurs.

These peppers are extremely pungent with a “Scoville” rating of 50,000-100,000. I don’t know exactly what this rating consists of, or how it is measured, but I can personally say they are super-hot. Just to handle them requires caution, washing of hands and/or protective gloves. As an ornamental plant they are very attractive: We will overwinter at least one plant inside this season for seed-saving.

As a child of a farm family in the 50's (as in 1950's), my memories of summers are full of scenes of us kids performing assigned chores, such as assisting with crop planting and harvesting, as well as animal care. Haymaking was especially a bear! The days when we put up hay were always intensely hot, humid & sweaty! Inside the barn was suffocating, especially up in the hay mow! I sometimes think of those days much as a "Waltons" episode on steroids. But most of all, I remember we were always hungry; and we clock-watched for dinner (12:00 Noon) and supper (6-7 PM). Both of these meals were huge because of farm hands, kids & neighbors. Many of these meals included green snap beans in a large pan along with bacon rinds and new potatoes (like the ones shown in my picture). These were especially enjoyable when served with fresh crisp corn bread, chilled milk, and assorted vegetables, such as sliced cucumbers, onions, radishes, and slaw. Fried chicken, ham, or pot roast were often the meat choices, and desserts always included home baked cakes or pies. No counting calories back then: We worked it off the same day!

To this present day, we as a country family still raise most of our summer vegetables, including the "Strike" snap bean shown in the pictures above. A neighbor grew them one year; gave us a batch, and we were hooked. We've grown them for at least three years and just picked our final batch last week. They are a continuously producing plant with new blooms setting even while the ripe beans are being picked, as shown in one of my pictures.

I planted Scarlet Meidiland in spring 1995 along with several other roses. The catalog had listed it as "shade tolerant," so I planted it in a shaded area in close proximity to two large white oak trees. Today as I write, it has grown in that spot and bloomed beautifully without fail all these years. In reading several reports about it, I have seen that there seem to be differing opinions and observations about its garden qualities, hardiness, and shade tolerance. I can only report what I've observed and experienced these 18 years. It is one of the most carefree roses I've grown, and it comes through bitter winter freezes without serious harm like the oaks that surround it. Early spring pruning of dead wood is about the only care it gets other than a spring feeding of a good rose fertilizer.

This year I noticed a strange anomaly in one of the bloom clusters: There are three pink blooms within the same group of scarlet red flowers on the same stem. I had never seen this before; and I wonder if maybe it could be due to a soil deficiency or some other imbalance in nutrients. I have submitted a picture showing this rarity. I welcome input concerning this type of abnormality. It's a first for me.

This is my fourth year raising these onions, and there are no regrets nor disappointments. I recall a note I had made in September 2009 in my garden notes. Here is part of what I had written then: This is my first year raising Copra onions, and they are about what I had expected from reading about them. They are medium sized, usually no more than 3 to 4 inches in diameter. I grew them for winter storage -not size. A quote from the supplier reads, "This is the best storage onion available. Its extra-hard medium-size bulbs will provide you onions for cooking until you have to plant again. The blocky round shape and thin necks allow the onions to dry quickly and they still have the highest sugar content of any storage type." Unquote.

Four years later I am very satisfied with the overall quality of this onion. We usually have them in storage until about April 1st. Just as any other plant in the gardens, it can be affected by weather conditions. This means (to me) that problems can arise, including fungal diseases, moles, flooding, and high wind damage. 2013 has been a good year for all the onions locally.

Last year (2012) was the first year ever for Red Wing in our gardens. We bought plants after reading of their long storage quality. To make a long story short, 2012 was a disaster here for drought, high temperatures, and suffocating humidity levels. Most of the vegetables survived (with plenty of irrigation), but Red Wing was the champion survivor among the onions! And, along with our Kennebec potatoes, these onions lasted us well into April, 2013. Now with a near normal growing season, it looks like we have a bumper crop of these in addition to our Copra, Candy, and Big Daddy onions. Their size seems above average too. An excellent choice for keeping long term.

This is my first year growing these onions. They are everything I've read about them. They have a mild and very sweet flavor and crisp textured flesh. Their size varies here from about 2½ inches to around three inches maximum as shown in my photo above. These are considered intermediate day onions and therefore do not grow large in this zone. However, their other qualities make up for any lack of size. These can be stored for about two months.

This is our first experience growing these large sweet onions and I'm more than a little surprised at the size and quality of this cultivar. We are an onion-loving, country-cooking type of family; and onions fit into most of our summer and winter meal plans. We haven't tried these yet in a lot of dishes, but I'm sure they will fit in with burgers, hot dogs, and brats. Chili might require something with a little more zip. One thing we might do next year is to plant fewer onions because our cellar will be overcrowded for a couple of months.

I like to try different varieties each year, and Tomcat turned out to be a good choice this year. After washing and photographing the above fruits I decided to get a photo of one halved and sliced to see what the interior looked like. I don't like the paper-thin types, but Tomcat's side walls are at least ¼ inch thick and are crisp and crunchy. And they have a good peppery taste as well. These might do well for freezing too: I'll have to try them because I like green peppers in chilies for flavor.

Big Daddy is not the largest onion I grow, but it is a fairly good storage onion, keeping up to five months in cool, dry conditions. It is a Spanish hybrid with a fairly mild taste, which goes well with burgers, hot dogs & salads (for my taste). I have successfully kept these in a well-ventilated cellar into January and beyond. The plants do best with adequate moisture and a weed-free environment. I spray twice during the growing season, especially in hot humid weather, with a fungicide/sulfur solution.

This was one of the most exotic irises I had ever seen up until the time I bought it; and tried to grow it! I can't remember the exact year I got it, but it only bloomed one time for me in 2004. Afterward I tried and tried by splitting up the rhizomes and replanting in different places. But still no success! There was just too much rot and winter kill here. So I gave it to some friends who claim it blooms just fine at their place. I don't make this entry with any great pleasure, because it is a very, very attractive bloom.

I don't like using pictures which are somewhat inferior in quality. With that said, some of my pictures for older irises go way back to 10 years (or older); and even digital cameras at that time were nothing like the ones I use today. With that said, I'm posting what I believe is the only picture of "Caption" that I have.

These are some old pictures from 2007 taken using my first digital camera a Kodak Z-440. I believe it was a 4MP. Nevertheless, I add these pictures for what they are worth. I no longer have this iris, but when I did, it was a knock-out from across the garden.

If I could have only two MDB's they would be this one & Tingle.

Just a note clarifying color. The Checklist says "White; white beard"; and I don't question that information. However, every picture I've seen of this iris shows a definite blue cast on the falls.

I hesitate to add the last photo because of picture quality. My intent was to illustrate how TB's can fit in with other perennials.

SPARKY (J. T. Aitken, R. 1983) Sdlg. 80-15A. MDB, 6" (15 cm), ML; Violet with small deep purple spot around beard; frosty light violet beard. (Singing Angel x Cotton Blossom) X unknown, probably sib cross. Aitken's Salmon Creek Garden 1984. [From 1989 AIS Checklist]