PNW Tomatoes: March 2022

Monday, March 28, 2022

March 24 Sunshine this Morning .....

and the compost has arrived for Beds 10/11 and 64

March 23 Treasures from a Walk in the Rain

March 23 Seedling Update

Not terribly happy with my seed starter mix this year - went with Dutch Treat with the addition of Vermiculite ...... but the mix seems way too fine, heavy and wet, not light and fluffy

some Music garlic bulbils at the left, mixed kale in the middle and Black Prince snapdragon on the right - the snaps are proving very difficult to grow

Lillian's cross ..... 18 seeds planted, so not great germination so far ...... still a bit early to pick out the dwarfs .... but I'm thinking four

Winter mulch of leaves has been dug into raised beds ...... now just waiting for compost to arrive to top dress; I have read various thoughts on what to do with leaves in the spring - here I dug them in , but added them to the compost bin at my home garden

March 21 Spring is Here

the soft colours of early spring buds

March 19 'R' Garden

quick check in at my community garden plot .......

rhubarb, so beautiful - Canada Red and it actually looks red this year!!

the joys of a community garden - someone decided to snap of the top of my plant ..... I took the rest :-)

Brussels sprouts didn't make sprouts - wonder if the leaves are tasty?

and the overview of the plot

March 19 Back Forty

Last day of winter and the back forty is coming to life

cleared the leaf much from the small garden and fed the garlic (green shoots in back) with Gaia 4-4-4 then topped entire garden with finish compost; the tulips are starting to show buds ......

Santee sprouting broccoli almost ready to harvest - these are amazing roasted

a call out to Spring ........

container bulbs looking good and the violas have started to bloom after their winter rest

more bulbs, peony yet to emerge and alpine strawberry ...... blueberry (far right) has never been happy here, perhaps time to replant

March 12 The Tomato Season Starts

Decided to start my tomatoes today ....... the list, as expected, has expanded somewhat from my February plan ...... switched out Raya Rey for this year and Frank's Italian was a no show

I sowed two of each seed apart from Lillians Yellow X Dwarf Specked Heart F2 to allow for selection of hopefully dwarf and potato leaf

Here are the additions:

Dwarf Golden Gypsy: noted as one of the best tasting Dwarfs - vigorous, rugose, potato leaf dwarf plants produce heavy yields of smooth, oblate, medium-yellow fruits with pale-yellow flesh; originated with a cross made between 'Golden Dwarf Champion' and 'Elbe'

Yasenichi Yabuchar?: this was my saved seed from 2009 and the package simply said 'delicious' thought I'd give it another try; indet., regular leaf, red globes; not entirely sure of variety - could also be Tjutchev which I also grew that year ....

Blood Moon: another one from Brad Gates - heavy producer, 8-12 oz, meaty, rich, and sweet; cross of Pink Berkeley Tie Dye and Blue Beauty provides a mix of black and pink streaks and stripes

Brad's Atomic Grape: decided I couldn't be without this one; elongated multi-coloured large cherries grow in clusters; lavender and purple striped when immature, turning to green, red / brown with anthocycnin blue stripes when fully ripe

Wednesday, March 9, 2022

March 7/8 - Street Art and More

Q.E. Park Quarry

local mural

March 7 - "R" Garden

More growth........

Rhubarb is waking up .......

March 7 - Back 40

Growth is starting to happen in the bulb planted containers ....... still somewhat hesitant to clean up these plants in case of another freeze .....

the Santee broccoli is looking good in back garden .....

March 6 - Time to Start Sweet Peppers

Always like to have a few sweet peppers to add to salads and tomato sauce ...... only growing three varieties this year - two of each: Donkey Ears, Super Shepherd and Zolotistyi (this is correct spelling) ...... Super Shepherd is a new one for me, the other two are reliable tasty favourites