Poll: Money spent for seeds and plants

[QuietlyListening]

How about doing both? Try a few new varieties with a tried and true- or buy one of the mixes that has a variety- the 'problem' with that is that you aren't certain which one you liked or didn't like in the mix to buy again. I try new varieties every year and usually something I can't buy just for fun. You can always buy your old favorite. Also, sow often - every 2-3 weeks up to the point you think it will be too hot for final product- also try a variety that takes heat and try that for late sowing. Once again fun to experiment and if it's a bust, well try again next year. Also mark your calendar to plant for fall greens. I forgot and didn't plant some lettuce til first of Oct- we did cover it kind of like a mini primitive green house over our raised beds. I still have a few tiny heads of bib lettuce. They didn't grow kind as large as they could but we have still enjoyed them this fall/winter.

Also- get a notebook, mark where you put varieties and then also mark what you liked and didn't or what did well or didn't. My husband has our different raised beds all on a sheet of paper and photocopied and each year we set out the plan ahead, where we will plant what veggie and keep about 2 years worth to rotate- you don't or most don't remember after a year usually

[Wayne in Maine]

Our garden has become quiet small. Last year we had a real bumper crop of beans and ended up canning over 240 pints. We also planted a variety of saved tomato seed to select out the best. This year will be our big tomato year for canning sauce, so our garden will be mostly tomatoes (100+ plants of our three best varieties). Our biggest expense will likely just be more stakes for the plants and jar lids.

[RZehr]

How did you collect the tomato seeds? How did you clean and dry them?

[Wayne in Maine]

How did you collect the tomato seeds? How did you clean and dry them?

I let some of the fruit get completely ripe (almost to the point of rotting). I cut them open and prod the seeds out. They are surrounded by a gel so I soak them in water for a few days, giving them a good snake occasionally, which removes most of it. After that I dry them on a paper plate, and when they are dry I bag them up.

We’ve kept a variety of Amish Paste going for 30 years by saving seed, always selecting seed from the best plants. This year I tested seed from 2008 and 2010 against seed from 2019, and I could see the improvement our selectiveness has had. The 2019 seeds produced more and better quality fruit.

[RZehr]

Maybe a garter, or corn? Don’t they just slither off the plate? Or are they too full of water?

I tried to save tomato seeds one year and didn’t have any luck cleaning them or growing them. But I did not know about the snake method.

How do you know the 2008 and 2010 were not just losing their vigor, instead of the genetics of the 2019 being superior? Or maybe these grew good bushes, just not as good of fruit?

[QuietlyListening]

Wayne had to laugh at this:

Our garden has become quiet small. Last year we had a real bumper crop of beans and ended up canning over 240 pints. We also planted a variety of saved tomato seed to select out the best. This year will be our big tomato year for canning sauce, so our garden will be mostly tomatoes (100+ plants of our three best varieties).

100+ plants is not my idea of small but then I don't know what your garden used to be. I've never done more than 24 tomato plants. I grew them all from seeds and had to share many that I just couldn't throw away, but 100+ plants is a lot.

[Wayne in Maine]

Maybe a garter, or corn? Don’t they just slither off the plate? Or are they too full of water?

I tried to save tomato seeds one year and didn’t have any luck cleaning them or growing them. But I did not know about the snake method.

After soaking I run the seeds through a tea strainer. The trick in the whole procedure is to get the seeds out of the tomato with as little pulp as you can.

How do you know the 2008 and 2010 were not just losing their vigor, instead of the genetics of the 2019 being superior? Or maybe these grew good bushes, just not as good of fruit?

I planted about 24 seeds of each variety. I picked out the best two plants from each. Seeds with poor vigor simply did not sprout or were obviously weak after a month or so. Some plants over the years have produced good bushes (and have had astounding heights) but we've been selecting for fruit quality and quantity. I'm satisfied that our small effort at "selective breeding" is working.

[Somebody]

Wayne, what kinds of tomatoes do you plant?

We should start saving seeds too. I like some orange / yellow tomatoes and usually need to start them from seed because most greenhouses don't have them.

We grew a green tomato that had good flavor.

And of course the red ones. I like the meaty ones without lots of seeds. Some of the beefsteak kind and some paste tomatoes.

For several years we got the hillbilly mix of heirloom tomatoes. The problem is having enough room in my garden to plant all the tomatoes along with everything else we want to plant.

[steve-in-kville]

I have the majority bought and paid for. Will be buying some tomato plants from the local greenhouse.

Plan to also build some new trellis for the gourds. Bought a few yard of mushroom soil late last fall, used about half.

[QuietlyListening]

In the next 2-3 weeks will plant my snap peas and will plant lettuce early to mid March- depending on weather etc.

Need to begin thinking about pruning the blueberry and raspberry plants- a warmer day in March.