Viewing comments posted by Weedwhacker

I grew this variety for the first time in 2023 and was very happy with the size and number of peppers produced; they were large enough to be confused with jalapenos, and a little milder than other serranos that I've grown. Planning to grow them again next year, I mainly used them to add to homemade salsa.

In October 2022 I planted 100 'Forum' onion sets in an unheated hoop house, and subsequently also covered them with a low tunnel of floating row cover. I expected them to grow, because I always have some missed onions grow in my garden in the spring, but these exceeded my expectations by developing into large bulbs - quite a few were about the size of a baseball - that were very solid and kept well in my garage throughout the following summer and fall (I harvested them on July 8th, 2023 and am still using them in late October). Very few of the 'Forum' onions bolted before harvest (about 6 did bolt), contrasted by onions that I started from seed ('Patterson' and 'Talon') and planted at the same time as the sets, of which quite a few bolted before I harvested them. I sourced the sets from Johnny's Selected Seeds and have ordered and planted another batch to harvest in 2024.

Grew this variety for the first time in 2023 and very pleased with it; large, blocky, solid tomatoes; fairly compact plants when grown in the ground inside my unheated high tunnel, about 4' tall. Open pollinated but every bit as productive as any hybrids I've grown. A little later than most that I grow, at 80 dtm, but well worth the wait. Obtained seeds from Totally Tomatoes this year but am saving seeds for future use.

I received a gift packet of these seeds from Seed Savers' Exchange in 2022 and first grew it in my unheated high tunnel in 2023. Very productive of smooth, round, red tomatoes that are solid red throughout, juicy and flavorful. The plant grew much taller than I expected for a semi-determinate type, easily at 7 feet high planted in the ground in the high tunnel; next year I will give it a taller cage!

I grew this variety for the first time in 2023, inside my unheated high tunnel. Despite the name, this was the only variety to develop blossom end rot (BER) this year, and in fact is the first to develop BER since I've been growing tomatoes inside the high tunnel starting in 2017. All 18 tomato plants that I am growing this year have received the same watering and fertilizing routine, so my conclusion is that this variety is prone to BER. Even after the tomatoes were not showing any sign of rotting on the outside, when cut into nearly every one has had an area of black rot in the seed cavity. This is particularly disappointing to me because the fruits are otherwise a perfect plum shape and solid but juicy on the inside; I won't be growing this variety again.

I grew this in 2022 from seeds purchased from Victory Seeds in 2019, my first-time ever actual success with celery (after several previous tries). I was very diligent about watering and the plants grew next to my hoop house, where any rainfall ran off directly onto them. The ribs were very large, crisp, flavorful, and not as stringy as any celery I have purchased in the store - and they stored nicely in the crisper drawer of my refrigerator from early October to the following February.

Very nice small pumpkin, great for autumn decorating as well as for its "naked seeds" (pepitas). The stems ("handles") are very sturdy and firmly attached. Most were about 6" across, a few were a little smaller, 4-5 inches. Grew well for me on an arch trellis in 2022 and I will definitely grow it again. My seeds came from Territorial Seeds and their description states it is a good pie pumpkin, although I didn't try using it for that purpose.

I grew this variety for the first time in 2022, in my unheated high-tunnel greenhouse. Although it did seem to set fruit quite early, the first ones ripened quite late, in mid September. The plant grew to about 6 feet tall and was quite "open," by which I mean not very bushy. The flavor was good, and the tomatoes were red all the way through and quite juicy. I probably will not grow again, due to the lateness of ripening; however, this may have just been an anomaly with this particular plant.

Nice slicing-type cucumber for growing in a container or small space, surprisingly productive for the size of the plants. This is the first time I've grown this variety and all the ones I've harvested so far have been nice and sweet, no bitterness. (Growing in a large self-watering container on the deck.)

This is an heirloom variety that has a lower oxalic acid content than most rhubarbs, allowing it to be harvested much longer in the growing season. The stalks tend to be more green than red (at least in my garden) and the plants seem quite eager to send up seed stalks, which should be removed unless you want to save the seed, as leaving the stalks will decrease the vigor of the plant.

I grew 'Jaluv an Attitude' for the first time in 2020 and was initially quite disappointed in how small the fruits were in comparison to the jalapeno peppers that I usually grow, such as 'Goliath' and 'Craig's Grande,' which I like to use for making poppers. However, it also turned out that 'Jaluv an Attitude' is much hotter than my usual jalapenos, more like a serrano in that respect, and they were a great addition to homemade salsa, hot sauce, and pretty much anything else where the great jalapeno flavor and a nice amount of heat is desired! This variety will definitely have a place in my garden again.

I grew Jung's Wayahead inside an unheated high-tunnel greenhouse in 2020; it was about the same size, but a little earlier and thinner skinned, than the hybrid '4th of July' tomato that I have grown for many years, and was very productive for me.

I grew this for the first time in 2017 and didn't plant the seeds until mid July, as an afterthought. The plants are pretty scraggly looking and for quite some time I was disappointed in that very few actual pods were forming, despite having lots of flowers. By late September, though, there were many pods to start harvesting; they're so tasty I'm not sure any are going to make it into the house to use in a stir-fry! As an added bonus, the flowers are very attractive to butterflies and bees. I definitely will be growing these again, they're a very interesting addition to the vegetable garden.

I've grown this variety for a number of years and it has never failed to produce well, despite being one of the first to succumb to disease every year. This year and last year I've been growing it inside a high-tunnel greenhouse and it has been disease free and continued to produce tomatoes all season long. The tomatoes are essentially always blemish free, slightly firm, tasty, and great for using in a salad as well as for making sauce, salsa, juice, etc. They are easy to pick, not the type that needs to be cut off the vine with scissors, and yet they don't fall to the ground with a touch or bump either. The skin does tend to be a bit thicker than many tomatoes, but it isn't unpleasantly so even for eating fresh and it makes peeling easy. I would note that one of the comments indicates that it is an open-pollinated type, but the seeds I have purchased have always been listed as hybrid. It also tends to get taller than most determinate types, mine usually get to about 5 feet tall.

I grew this variety for the first time this year (2017). The plants were vigorous and I did get a good fruit set of beautiful tomatoes. However, I thought the flavor was just "okay," and the skin seemed quite tough in comparison to most other heirloom types. Probably will not grow again.

My 2nd year for growing these and we finally had our first meal with them; last year I had only a few seeds and so left all the pods to mature to multiply the seeds. These are a yellow-podded, tall pole bean (over 8 feet tall), very productive for me in 2016, with very "meaty" pods for a flat-podded type, definitely not like a typical Romano bean. Although I didn't detect a "mushroom flavor" (maybe my palate just isn't that sensitive?), they are a very nice, mild yellow bean, tender and non-fibrous. The pods are nice and straight, averaging about 8 inches long. I'll definitely be growing these heirloom beans again.

I obtained seeds for Beaverlodge Slicer from TomatoFest in 2015. Their description said: "These extremely compact, determinate plants tend to creep rather than grow tall and would be perfect in a hanging basket or patio container." I started my seeds a month earlier than normal and put my plants out in an unheated "high tunnel" on April 29th (also a good month earlier than I normally plant my tomatoes). The plants are well over 6 feet tall, and they ARE loaded with golfball-size tomatoes that I started picking in July -- and I don't think I have EVER harvested a ripe tomato in July here in the Michigan UP. The flavor may not be quite as good as some of the larger, later tomatoes, but it certainly beats anything we can find in the supermarkets; the tomatoes are relatively thin skinned, very juicy, and very productive. Very happy that I tried this variety, and I certainly would recommend it as an early tomato for northern gardeners!

This year (2015) was my first year growing this variety. Nice big, bushy plants, loaded with tomatoes. I was afraid I would have trouble telling when they were ripe, but the bottom half turns a greenish-gold color that makes it easy to know when to check them. I was also afraid that the green color would be rather off-putting, but for me, at least, it isn't at all -- the flesh is the color of a perfectly ripe avocado! The flavor is a little sweet, balanced by just the right amount of tartness. This one is definitely on my list to grow again!

According to Heritage Harvest Seed Company, Limelight was first released in 1968. It was developed as a "lima bean for the north," maturing in 70-80 days for dry beans. They are useful as both fresh "shelly beans" and as dry beans. This was my first year to grow them and I had only an 8-foot-long row, so I harvested most of the pods for seed; however, I did pick enough to give the shelly beans a try and found them very easy to shell out and quite similar to baby lima beans. I don't know why this variety went out of favor with the commercial companies, but I will definitely continue to grow it and save my own seeds.

This round-podded, black-seeded bean is my favorite wax bean type. The pods are long and slender, and I've always had excellent germination from this variety. The golden color is beautiful on its own, as well as in combination with green beans. The plants benefit from some support (I use cheap garden border fence along the bean row) to keep the pods from contacting the ground, and like all bush beans have only a relatively short period of production; making successive plantings several weeks apart will increase the time that you will be harvesting fresh beans.