Viewing comments posted by farmerdill

An old melon from yesteryear. I have not grown this melon since 1954. Just obtained seeds from Sandhill and will revisit old paths this summer. I do not remember anything special about it except that it did not bottlenose as much as Kleckly's Sweet or Tom Watson. In that time and place we mostly grew more round melons, Dixie Queen and Stone Mountain, because of the bottle nose problem. Here I can grow long melons so looking forward to new data. Up date. It is no better than I remember from the fifties. Fruits bottlenose and vines are not very productive. Taste and texture very inferior to melons like Crimson Sweet. Very thick rinds may be desirable for making watermelon rind pickles or preserves. 2018. Conditions suited Halbert Honey much better than 2017. Production was acceptable. Largest melon was 30 lbs and the large ones have excellent shape. Still about one third bottlenose. Taste and texture still fall short of more modern melons.

A 90 day hybrid Nantes type. Blunt tip 7-9 inches long x 1 inch in diameter. Does well here as a winter crop. It has a very long season and in this climate not suited for spring planting. Excellent flavor.

I have not been able to uncover much history on this sweet potato. It grows as rampant vines with a unique leaf shape, which reminds me of a sweet gum leaf. Skin is red with dark orange flesh. Flesh is sweet and moist. On my palate, not as good flavor as Copper Jewel or Carolina Ruby, but acceptable. Yields are good, but not quite to the level of Beauregard, Covington, Carolina Ruby, or Jewel. Good enough, though, that I will give it a second trial in 2017.

This is a small cream pea that produces well. Vines are compact and bushy. Its most significant trait is its ability to self seed. Under my conditions, disk down the pea patch at the end of the season, disk again in the early spring, and you have a new patch. This is the only variety I have grown that will lie in the ground all winter and emerge in late spring.

Caseknife is a real antique. It became popular in Europe, known as Schwertbohne (Sword Bean) in Germany, and Soissons in France. The name came from the curved shape of the pod, which resembled the table knives of the period. This version has white seeds, and 8-9 inch flat pods. As a snap bean it can be used at about half size. Many variants, including brown-seeded version shave, subsequently were introduced, but this description is of the bean grown by Jefferson.

A pretty wildflower that grows here on the interface between open field and wooded areas. One of the few fall blooming plants here, contemporary with Golden Rod. Bloom period is short, and most often the blooms do not appear until a wet September occurs. I have been here 22 years and witnessed it for two of those years.

A light dark yellow variety with good size and shape on the roots. Average yield, not competitive with Carolina Ruby, Covington, or Beauregard in production. A semi-bush vine that does not run all over creation. I also grow the Ivy leaf Carver, which is a better producer. Did not care for the taste or texture. Not one I intend to grow again.

A 1998 introduction from Petoseed (Seminis). An early round red in the 6-8 oz class. Compact determinate that sets a large crown set, very productive and good flavor for an early (72 day) variety. Good disease package. Hybrid. Good for a concentrated early crop as it peters out about the time maincrop varieties come on line.

Introduced as an open pollinated alternative to Early Girl. Small salad-sized fruits of similar appearance, as is plant growth.

A bush-type dual-purpose squash that can be used at baseball size as a round yellow zucchini or allowed to mature into a 2-lb pumpkin.

Striped purple and white three-ounce round fruit on a compact plant. One of a series of eggplants designed for container gardening.

Small, black, three-oz. eggshaped fruits on a compact plant. One of a series of plants designed for patio planters. Also called Jackpot.

Small 2-oz fruits are medium green with white streaks. Compact plant developed specifically for container growing.

Black bell-shaped fruit weighing about one pound on a vigorous plant. This one falls in the middle of the pack. It is an good large market type that performs well here. There are a number of varieties that perform as well and a few that perform better.

Large, black, one-pound bell-shaped fruit on a vigorous plant. Fruits have few seeds.

Large, black, oblong (7 x 4 inch) one-pound fruits on a vigorous plant.

Elongated, clubbed fruits of a large size and an average weight of 300-350g. Brilliant black color with green spineless calyx and white flesh with few seeds.

Black 4 X 8 inch fruits on a a vigorous plant. The only parthenocarpic eggplant variety known and will produce seedless fruits under green house conditions or when grown in isolation. Very prolific with uniform fruits. Definitely a keeper. Still have to see if theplants holds up as well as my current favoite among the large eggplants ( Night Shadow) That one will keep pumping out fruits until November.

Small compact plant developed for container growing. One in a series of patio edibles by Vegetalis. Neon purple eggshaped fruits average about 3 ounces and are ready in about 60 days.

A long Japanese type variety. Fruits are very dark purple , 6-8 inches long by 1.5 inch diameter. Medium size plant 18-20 inches.