I did just sow some Double Yield cucumber seeds. Awfully late to start cukes here but it is an early variety, said 50 days. I I thought I would try it.

All those cucumbers Celeste is picking is driving me green with envy!

Well, sprayed all my zucchini and Squash with the Neem Oil again. Just finished. It is cool today, not even 80 so I was able to do the spraying much earlier in the day than I do in the hot summer weather. If it's hot, I wait till the sun starts going down.

I have to do this to keep up with the Powdery Mildew problems. Gosh these darn summer squashes are so prone to getting mildew. Even the young replacement plants I have coming along are already getting some mildew. I can't image what the plants would be like if I didn't spray.

Plus the mildew control, the Neem is also good to kill any pest eggs that might be laid on the plants. I am hoping SVB season is over but you never know.

The big zucchini plants (Cavelli and Elite) are looking pretty ratty. The Golden Egg Summer squash not as ratty. I have those Caserta plants that are showing small will be flower buds and will be zucs. And the Green Tiger started later is getting some size on the plants. So squash and zucchini season is not over around here.

Tomato taste challenge!

4 tomatoes competed. All four varieties new to me this year.
Jet Star
Big Beef
Supersonic
Rutgers

None compared to my three favorites from last year which are Big Boy, Better Boy and Beefmaster. So those favorites from last year not about to be knocked off the top of the list.

Favorite of the four, Rutgers with a very nice taste. Worse Jet Star which I would rather not be eating. Supersonic came in second and Big Beef third. Right now I am questioning if any of these will be brought back next season. The jury is still out as there are a lot of tomatoes still to be eaten. I usually do my taste challenges and then a while later do it again to check taste. Just to be sure.

Rutgers is my Dad's fav

I like Big Boy

On the tomatoes, I have them in various tomato beds. I have one bed that has the 4 types I was talking about. The Rutgers, Supersonic, Big Beef and the Jet Star. So I have been picking tomatoes but by the time I bring them inside I have all the varieties all mixed up so I don't know what is what. On eating them, I knew there was one of the 4 I liked a lot and one of the 4 that I just hated. I always knew when I ate one of those tomatoes but of course I didn't which it was. Now I do. On the 4 the Rutgers was hands on an easy winner. Easily the best tasting to me. The Jet Star easily the worst. Not needing to think about it, it was the worst. The other two might switch around as it was a close call as to how to rate them.

I judged tomatoes by taste last year also. Last years loosers were all judged not to be brought back this year because to me they tasted bland. So I tried these 4 new to me ones instead. I picked them because on another forum (Garden Web) these were repeated mentioned when the question of good tasting red hybrid tomatoes came up.

I see why these were all mentioned as someones favorite. They all have strong flavor in the sense than none of the four are bland tasting. As long as a tomato is not bland then which taste one likes best is rather subjective.

I did a taste test challenge last year also. This was originally published on August 3, 2012. I think it is useful so here it is again.

The great 2012 tomato taste test challenge!!!!!

I did my own tomato taste testing just for fun. First I picked tomatoes from six hybrid varieties I am growing. Put post it notes on them so I could not get them confused!!!

Superfantastic is new to me this year and so was Beefmaster. Whoppers I have grown on and off for nearly 16 years. Skip some years but they always return. Big Boy was the tomato I grew up with as my mom grew these when I was a kid. Again I have some most years and lately have the Better Boys most years also. Early Girl is an old standby here.

Results are-

1- Beefmaster
2- Big Boy
3- Better Boy
4- Early Girl
5- Whopper
6 - Superfantastic

Those first three I can definitely taste a difference on but really, really like the flavor of all three. Early Girl is good and I am very dissapointed in the flavor of the Whoppers this year. I remember them being much better. So I don't know if my memory is wrong or they just don't have as much flavor this year. Superfantastic is not so super since it is definitely, definitely last in my taste tests.

I also have PATIO and BETTER BUSH new this year. Have already determined that neither has much flavor and neither of this two will be back next year. Also I have 4th Of JULY which I have had once before. Too bland for me and I do not like that the fruits are so small. The size of golf balls. Not coming back. Joining them on the not to return next year will be the Whoppers and Superfantastic.

Those first three, Beefmaster, Big Boy and Better Boy are the true winners to me. Early girl I want to grow but would like to cut back the number of plants in order to try another early variety. Not that I know what that will be.

I'm not a fan of Red tomatoes. To me they have a higher acidic taste which I can't handle. I've been leaning more towards growing Black Krim's which is by far one of my favorites. I can't stand cherry tomatoes either so this year I grew Yellow pear tomatoes which I can eat by the hand full. I did start from seed Bloody Butcher tomatoes (being into Halloween the name caught my eye). They are bigger than a cherry tomato and so so sweet.
I have three unknown tomatoes this year. Two I got at the plant exchange and they are producing a good size tomato which ripens to a pink color. Definitely saving seeds from this plant. Another tomato plant I got from a teacher at work who's family specialize in hybridizing this particular tomato from Scotland. The plant is awesome, stem is very thick, the double flowers are huge, also has huge tomatoes coming along., I'm waiting for it to ripen, Had to sling a few as the weight was pulling the plant down., Next year I'm going to start Cherokee Purple which I grew last year and loved..

Rita I'm keeping close tabs on your tomato survey. Sounds like some of those varieties might be perfect for me to make Salsa with and satisfy my families like of red tomatoes. They are not happy with me having fancy darker tomatoes or yellow pear tomatoes,

I think Black Krim was the tomato I tried at least twice that always cracked and split for me and then rotted so that I could never get a ripe fruit. Cherokee Purple I did grow last year. It was a nice tasting tomato, not overly productive but not bad for an heirloom. But I seriously doubt I will be growing it again. I have tried Brandywine, I was lucky to get one tomato off a plant. I can't see what the fuss was all about on the supposed flavor. Yes, it was good but geez. I have tried other heirlooms also and I should be sticking to my hybrids.

Karen, you want a sweet cherry tomato try Sungold. It is yellow and sweet and tasty. On the cherry and grape tomatoes I am growing Sungold, Sugery, Sweet Million and Juliet.

I have some, actually quite a lot of tomato seeds but never have started my own. Always just buy plants.

As far as varieties of tomatoes that I choose to bring back year after year, production definitely comes into the mix. Just that when I do the tastes tests I don't worry about those factors, Just judge on taste.

Production and other factors are very important to me. The best tasting tomato in the world that only puts out a few tomatoes will not be growing in my garden. And ones that are overly prone to crack and spit also will not be grown.

And I bought tomato seeds last winter wuth the good intentions of starting them for spring. But I never did do that so I still have all my tomato seed.

I have seed of quite a few of The Dwarf Project tomatoes. In case you have never heard of these here is the official website-

Dwarf Tomato Project-
http://www.dwarftomatoproject....

I have seeds for-
Iditarod Red
Tasmanian Chocolate
Summertime Gold
Rosella Purple
Perth Pride
Dwarf Mr Snow

And I have other tomato seeds for regular tomatoes. I have-
Amazon Chocolate
Money Maker
Market Wonder
Cowlick Brandywine
Purple Dog Creek

Last two from Blue Ribbon Tomato Seeds off E-Bay and two before that from GourmetSeed.

Lastly I found a fabulous place out in California called Wild Boar Farms that hybridizes their own tomatoes.

Wild Boar Farms-
http://www.wildboarfarms.com/

I have seeds of a bunch of their intros also. I have-
Black & Brown Boar
Pink Berkley Tie Dye
Pink Boar
Red Boar
Sweet Carnaros Pink

I ordered melon seeds I picked out from Park Seeds.
Melemon Melon
Dove Hybrid Melon
French Orange Hybrid Melon
Lambkin Melon
Inspire Hybrid Cantaloupe.

They came today but I will be planting them in the spring. I really can't wait to try them all!

Besides my list of melons, which I will be planting next year, I got this really adorable squash called Poquito. Looks like a tiny watermelon!

http://parkseed.com/squash-pic...

I decided to try it out so planted 4 seeds to see what it is like.

neat Rita

Looks like it might rain later so I was already picking tomatoes and cucumbers just in case it does rain later.

Tubs of tomatoes


Cherry and grape tomatoes.


Cucumbers


And here are some of my late planted second crop cucumber seedlings.



Hey, bean towers have beans forming.



And look, Sugar Cube Melons almost ripe.

Well, I fixed two empty spots on daylily slope from two daylilies that used to be there but are just hot there any more. Moved one from the driveways side garden were it is in the way of my fenceline tomatoes. And moved one from the backyard. The Korth daylily I moved should look better out on the slope that were it was.

I have to fix up the front yard planterbox bed. I used to have two rows of daylilies along the front there. Last year some really dwinded to one fan. This spring still one fan, looking mighty poor. I can't have this looking so ratty and all those emplty spots. I am moving daylilies from one section of the backyard bed to fill it back up so that it looks pretty out there. And this will work out well as I will just use this mini section that I move daylilies from as veggie garden space. It is right there by the cucumber trellis and the used to be mid backyard Tall Bearded Iris bed that now is back to veggie garden space.

So funny that the backyard mid yard space there used to be all veggie space and now I am converting some of it back to veggie garden space again.

yum!!!

Yesterday I picked my one and only spaghetti squash. The vine was an absolute mess. It had another fruit comming, or so I thought but when it touched it, it was totally soft and I found insect holes. So probably borers. The stems were a totall borer mess. I am not going to be planting these again next year. The plant was just horrendously large and all that for one fruit. So that was one thing tried new that I did not care for and will not be grown again. I will just stick to summer squashes.