...and boy, did I ever need the lift out of late winter, deep snow and frigid temps mopey-ville!

My first sprout (indoors) of the 2014 season is...Kidney Vetch (Anthyllis vulneraria var. coccinea)!

I'll add a picture once it unfurls its wee little self.

I have seeds for that----and did not know the common name. Thanks, Chelle.

You're welcome, Caroline. All I did was to copy and paste what's in the database; otherwise, I probably wouldn't have known it either.

My first tomato sprout appeared this morning. I'm experimenting with germinating them inside in vermiculitel


Karen

Yippee!

Which one is it, Karen?

Oooh, I get to feel smug! I have a bunch of teeny tomato and pepper seedlings, and a very few little spinach plants. And carnations, too. And I tried the vermiculite germination technique on my Lavatera trimestris seeds and got twice the germination rate of starting them in potting soil. Impressive.

It's Snow White, my favorite tomato of all. I put them into the vermiculite on 3/5 , inside the house, but no bottom heat. I did use a little heat with the echinacea last year and a few got leggy and weird. I'm trying room temp first. I haven't grown tomatoes inside in years. In recent years I always wintersowed them with good results. But last year was so cold and wet, they didn't sprout until May, so this year they're inside again. This has been the worst winter we've had in years.

So far I'm pretty impressed by the technique of sprouting things in vermiculite.

Karen

woofie said:Oooh, I get to feel smug! I have a bunch of teeny tomato and pepper seedlings, and a very few little spinach plants. And carnations, too. And I tried the vermiculite germination technique on my Lavatera trimestris seeds and got twice the germination rate of starting them in potting soil. Impressive.

Yay! That's great to hear, Woofie.


I'm taking it really slow this spring. I don't want to have to set my indoor seedlings out in a snowbank for some sunlight! Just joking...but the 'banks by the deck and sidewalks are still three to five feet tall!


Karen,
Why is Snow White your favorite? How would you describe it? I know I like my skins thin and the rest juicy and tangy, not thick and mushy. Is it similar to that?

Chelle, Snow White is a sweet little yellow cherry tomato. I think it definitely leans more toward sweet than "tangy". It's my favorite snack when in my yard. I always have a bowl of them sitting in the kitchen when the plants are producing. A couple of neighbors visited and sampled them several years ago and they've asked me to grow them for them ever since, and I do.

http://www.tomatogrowers.com/S...

Karen

Thanks!

I'm going to try to reproduce a pink cherry type that I grew last year from a mislabeled seed packet. It grew tons of yummy fruit that everyone here just raved about...definitely (like yours) a grazing tomato.

Karen, I think you're the only one I've ever heard mention "Snow White." I tried the Yellow Pear a couple of years, but I was the only one who'd eat them. I grow the little marble-sized red "Sweetie" myself--everyone loves them! They're yummy and produce early and prodigiously. But it's always fun to try something new. May have to give those Snow Whites a try. After reading the article on tomatoes, I'm trying the Cherokee Purple this year, just for fun. Just got the seeds and planted them yesterday. Ha! Going to be another year of waaaaaaay too many tomato plants!

Too funny, Woofie! I was just talking with my other half just the other day...somehow, I ended up with seeds for like 30 different types of tomatoes this year!
Now, how do I choose just a half-dozen or so? Put 'em all in a pile, close my eyes and grab???

What IS it about tomatoes?

I can never decide to "not grow" something.
Instead I make lists and pick out those that I want to grow FIRST.

Then from that list I pick out "just a few" that I want to grow "very first" .

Then I narrow down that list to the number that I can ACTUALLY grow THIS year.

Yes! First come the things I "just gotta get started" Then come the things, "oh, yeah, these, too!" And then "Oh, gee, I forgot about these!" Repeat the last as needed.

>> And then "Oh, gee, I forgot about these!" Repeat the last as needed.

First, I do the things that are really, seriously, WAY overdue.
Then I do the things that just WAY overdue.
Hopefully I find time to do some of the things that are merely "late".

I have calendars and lists. I just don't have time and energy after working all week.

woofie said: What IS it about tomatoes?

That's a no brainer for me. I love home grown tomatoes, which are only available here for a very short time. I become obsessed by the thought of that first tomato.

I never buy tomatoes from the grocery. They taste like plastic.

Karen

Oh, of course, Karen! Those nasty red things from the grocery do taste like plastic, although I think I've chewed on tastier plastic. Nah, I was just pondering why we all seem to end up with seeds for so many different varieties. Quest for the best, I guess? (ooooh, alliteration!)

Ha! So I go back to the home page, and what do I see, but a podcast about selecting from the different varieties of tomatoes! Dave is reading minds here.

woofie said:

Ha! So I go back to the home page, and what do I see, but a podcast about selecting from the different varieties of tomatoes! Dave is reading minds here.

...and he's not the only one. I think my computer has ears.
Yesterday I had one of my cluster migraines...never wrote about it, just told my fella about it verbally...guess what ads are popping up now???
Anyone (besides me) hearing the theme music from Twilight Zone right about now?

Oh, boy! I really do think I need to sign off now.

I have Anthyllis vulneraria var. coccinea seed this year, too. Haven't planted them yet, though.

I assume you scarified them, Chelle? How long did it take to sprout?