Viewing comments posted by farmerdill

926 found:

[ Radish (Raphanus sativus 'Royal Purple') | Posted on May 6, 2023 ]

The weather pattern this year has been hard on radishes. Of the salad radishes I grow, only Pink Beauty and Royal Purple produced well. Royal Purple is a bit slower than Pink Beauty, but developed equally nice radishes without bolting. Bolting was a major problem with icicles German Giant and Salad Rose this year.

[ Spinach (Spinacia oleracea 'Plymouth') | Posted on March 23, 2023 ]

A new smooth leaf variety from Sakata. I am growing it alongside Reflect. At this point performance is similar. Reflect and Alexandria have been my better performers. Plymouth seems a good replacement as my supplier no longer carries Reflect and Alexandria.

[ Onion (Allium cepa 'Red Sensation') | Posted on March 14, 2023 ]

Early large red Granex from Bejo, low pungency, designed for winter production in the Southeast United States. 125 DTM. Short term storage (3 months)

[ Rutabaga (Brassica napus 'Laurentian') | Posted on February 20, 2023 ]

This has been a rough season for rutabagas. Deep freeze in late December almost decimated my winter garden and rutabagas survived but were severely stunted. Laurentian has developed length but not girth. At this point, I rate it below American Purple Top.

[ Collard (Brassica oleracea 'Alabama Blue') | Posted on December 10, 2022 ]

My daughter took me to the Riverbanks Zoo botanical gardens. Of course, they were cleaning up and pruning but they had brassicas planted everywhere. Every type I was aware plus an array of these little plants that reminded me of purple kohlrabi but was somehow different. Naturally I ran down one the planting crew who identified it as Alabama Blue collard. New to me so I to turned to Google and Bing. It was given to Seed Savers Exchange by Ralph Blackwell of Alabama in 1989 as Ole Timey Blue. Introduced to the general public by Southern Exposure Seed Exchange in 2015 as Alabama Blue. A smaller more compact collage then Georgia. Claimed to be more tender than Georgia. Plant itself is ornamental in a mass planting. To my old eyes it has purple stems and veins similar to those of a purple kohlrabi. It is on my list for next winter. Can't have a collard out there that I have not grown.

[ Hot Pepper (Capsicum annuum 'Trident') | Posted on December 5, 2022 ]

Produced relatively small fruit, but lots of them. Mildly warm on the heat scale.

[ Long Day Onion (Allium cepa 'Yellow Danvers') | Posted on November 5, 2022 ]

This onion is known under many aliases, including Danvers Yellow, Round Yellow Danvers, and Yellow Globe Danvers. It is a highly productive, round, yellow-fleshed strain developed out of the old common yellow onion introduced from England in the eighteenth century. Bulbs are normally about 3 inches in diameter and about 2 3/4 inches tall. Seed can be planted in the spring for a September harvest. The skin is a distinctive brownish yellow. In spite of its many merits, it does not store well. It was essentially developed through selective breeding by the Market growers in the Danvers Connecticut area prior to 1800 and was a successful market onion until the Civil War. In my youth It was the main yellow onion used as sets. Today Stuttgarter has about replaced it in that market. It can be grown as a green onion/scallion in many areas. To attain mature size thay are restricted to the northern states and Canada.

[ Onion (Allium cepa 'Wethersfield Red') | Posted on October 27, 2022 ]

From the 1856 Comstock catalog; "It grows to large size, deep red, thick, approaching to round shape, fine-grained, pleasant flavored, and very productive. It ripens in September, and keeps well." This onion from the 17th century has an interesting back story. The founder of the town, John Oldham, was kicked out of Massachusetts for a disagreement with Miles Standish in which he pulled a knife. The Wethersfield settlers were more interested in commercial opportunity than religion and more robust than religious, which was most unusual at that time. By 1819 Onions were the major business of Wethersfield. Unfortunately, by 1865 economic turmoil and the introduction of the disease Pink Root forced the area to diversify. It is stiil the town mascot and greets visitors on the welcome sign.

[ Carrot (Daucus carota var. sativus 'Triton') | Posted on October 18, 2022 ]

An early maturing Imperator type from Sakata. Strong erect tops on a long (9-10 inch) Skinny (0.5 - 1 inch diameter) semi-blunt root. Recommended as a cut and peel type. Grows well here overwinter. Nice uniform shape. Not as sweet as Nantes types.

[ Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum 'Jolene') | Posted on September 19, 2022 ]

Large (12-14 ounce) round red touted for heat setting ability. Unfortunately, it is susceptible to TSWV. Not a single plant survived to bear fruit. Dixie Red planted under same conditions did well. Looks good on paper, so I may give it a second chance in a container under more controlled conditions than I can achieve in a field planting. 8/12/2023. Good tomato year, but Jolene succumbed to multiple disease before setting fruit. Too disease prone for this area.

[ Watermelon (Citrullus lanatus 'Estrella') | Posted on August 27, 2022 ]

F1 diploid hybrid in the 20-22 lb. class. Got off to a late start, endured a hot 2 month drought, and ending in soaking rains while ripening. It is not nearly as sweet as Crimson Sweet, but maybe growing conditions may have contributed.

[ Jalapeno Pepper (Capsicum annuum 'Paquime') | Posted on July 8, 2022 ]

Paquime is a super sized jalapeno with medium heat. Medium size sturdy plant approximately 2 feet in height. Fruits are smooth with minimal corking and will push 5 inches in length. They are growing vigorously here with good set. Pungency is perfect for my taste buds

[ Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum 'Mountain Rouge') | Posted on June 30, 2022 ]

Mountain Rouge is a relatively early pink slicer that averages about 0.75 Lb. An indeterminate that is supposed to be 4-6 feet tall. This has been an extremely difficult year for growers. Some years I can work around TSWV but it is rampant this year. Mountain Rouge barely made it two feet tall before succumbing. Should be a great tomato under more normal circumstances. This year only varieties with high resistance to TSWV are producing nice tomatoes.

[ Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum 'RuBee Dawn') | Posted on June 28, 2022 ]

Rubee Dawn is advertised as a large salad type round red with an exceptional disease package. Unfortunately, that disease package does not include Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus and the plants are quickly dying. I am getting a handful of small tomatoes on dying plants. It has a quite early DTM and did ripen with the cherry/grape types. Good flavor, just wish it was resistant to TSWV

[ Sweet Corn, SH2 (Zea mays 'Devotion II') | Posted on June 27, 2022 ]

A Bayer product that I received by accident. I ordered Eden and this was substituted. It is part of the production series, and it does produce. Nice 8 inch ears well filled out. weather conditions have been so hot and dry that few crops are doing much. I also don't have time to provide much care to the garden. I am not impressed at this point with its table qualities as there are several Se and Synergistic whites that taste better to me. Of course, the weather could have been an influence.

[ Eggplant (Solanum melongena 'Bride') | Posted on June 13, 2022 ]

A cute little Asian cultivar. Basically a white fruit with splashes of pink. Small compact plant that produces 7 x 1.5 inch fruit

[ Leek (Allium ampeloprasum 'Large American Flag') | Posted on May 15, 2022 ]

This variety does well overwintered in this part of Georgia.

[ Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica 'Artwork') | Posted on May 7, 2022 ]

This variety is essentially a sprouting broccoli. It is very early, already heading and my regular broccoli has not even buttoned yet. The central head is small, just slightly larger than a floret, which is followed by a multitude of florets. Could be useful for extending harvest. For my uses however, I will stay with heading broccoli.

[ Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum 'Dixie Red') | Posted on January 8, 2022 ]

Dixie Red is a consistent performer for me. One of the better TSWV resistant varieties. Second only to Saybrook among the TSWV resistant varieties that I have grown. Flavor and texture competitive with Bella Rosa with larger fruit ripening earlier. 10-12 ounce round red fruit ripening in 65 days from transplant.

[ Winter Squash (Cucurbita pepo 'Goldilocks') | Posted on October 23, 2021 ]

A 4 X 4 inch, one-lb., hybrid acorn that ripens to a bright orange gold.

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