Tomatoes And Transplants

Tomatoes!

I love tomatoes.  Love them.  There is no experience as divine as biting into a freshly picked, vine ripened tomato still warm from the summer sun.  I wait all year for that experience.  So enamored of that experience am I, that I never buy tomatoes from the store.  It's just not the same, and just not worth it.  The only tomatoes I eat are the ones that come from my backyard!

So, naturally, I was very excited to sow my tomatoes this week.  I started four varieties this year: Rutgers, Super Sweet 100, Fresh Salsa and Cherry Red.

"Rutgers" is my absolute favorite tomato.  I have tried many varieties of slicing tomato over the years, and I just can't find one to outperform "Rutgers".  Although, I will admit I may be biased.  Rutgers University is my Alma Mater and I worked for them for many years.  They're also still holding my pension.  Nepotism aside, "Rutgers" is still a great variety.  It's hardy, disease resistant, prolific and flavorful.  It always has a place in my garden.

"Super Sweet 100" is another variety that has earned its place in my garden with it's hardiness and fecundity.   "100" is actually an understatement, they should really add another zero.  It produces steadily throughout the season, right up 'til frost. And the green tomatoes are perfect for pickling.

"Fresh Salsa" is a variety I just started planting last year.  It's a plum tomato that promises "all meat", and they aren't lying!  The first time I cut into one, I didn't know what to think.  There was no juice, few seeds and the texture was oddly crisp for a tomato.  The raw flavor was good, but I was really put off by the texture.  I didn't care for the pico de gallo I made with it, either.  The texture was just too weird!  I wasn't sure about planting it again.  Then I made a red sauce out of it.  Wow!  Cooking is this tomato's true calling.  I was so impressed, I'm planting more this year.  The only down side, it got blossom end rot mid season.  I'll be adding lime this year, so hopefully we won't have that problem again.

I've never planted "Red Cherry" before and don't know anything about it.  In purchasing it, I was the victim of a shameless marketing ploy.  Ferry Morse has cleverly emblazoned the seed packet with Sesame Street's Elmo.  As soon as my 2 year old daughter saw it, we had to have it.  I don't know what it is about that little red Muppet, but he's like toddler crack.  They can't live without him and will beg for any product emblazoned with his bug-eyed mug.  And so I'm planting "Red Cherry" tomato.  I tip my hat to you, Ferry Morse.

Along with my sowing, I realized it was time to transplant my celery.  They were starting to escape their container.  It was like a celery jungle.

Yum, celery jungle.......

I was originally going to put each little seedling in it's own container.  Then I realized that was way too much work.  So, I put them into some big nursery pots where they'll have room to spread.  It won't be long until they go out to the garden, anyway.

Which reminds me: We'll be having warmer weather this week.  It's time for the cool season veggies to start hanging out on the porch to harden off.  Here in zone 6, their transplant time is early March and that's right around the corner.  My babies are growing up!


For more seed starting fun, join Dave at the The Home Garden for Seed Sowing Saturday!

Celery and Basil

I started the celery today.   It's "Tall Utah 52-70 R Improved".  Whatever that means.  I chose it because this variety seemed a little more tolerant of weather and disease than others.  We'll see.

I decided to try it a few different ways, since I've never grown celery before.  I have no idea how it's root system develops, so I wasn't sure what type of container to use.

These are old fruit containers.  They're great for starting small, delicate seeds.  Just scatter the seeds, close the lid and you've got an instant greenhouse.  I usually use the shallow ones for starting shallow rooted seeds like lettuce.  I broadcast the seed over the top, then when it's time to transfer to the garden I break up the seedlings into clumps and plant them that way.  In this case, a shallow container got used for celery just because I didn't have much seed starting mix left.  Since I'm new to celery and everyone says that celery seed is temperamental, I figured I'd start some of it in actual seed starting medium....  just to give it a fighting chance.   The deeper container is compost.

I start most of my seeds in compost.  I'm a rebel like that.  My compost is made from horse and chicken manure and straw.  It gets hot, hot, hot.  I'm pretty confident I don't have much in the way of pathogens or weeds in there.  I've been successfully starting seeds in it for years.  Every once in awhile I have trouble getting something to germinate in the compost, which is why I keep a little seed starting mix on hand.

Once my celery seedlings get big enough, I'll thin them and transfer the ones in the shallow container to their own little pots.  I like to use those little red plastic drinking cups for individual seedlings.  I poke a few holes in the bottom, then put them all in a shallow tray.  They're cheap, easy to work with and infinitely re-usable.  Just don't leave them outside, they disintegrate in the sun.  Ahem, not that I've ever done that or anything.



Along with my celery, I started some basil seeds I collected from last years plants.  They'll stay in the sun room to supply me with fresh basil for the next few months, so they get a pretty pot.  I've found deep pots work best with basil, it gets root bound quickly.



In a few weeks I'll need to start the peppers and maybe some lettuce. 

Why Celery?

The short answer:  My husband suggested it and I wasn't thinking. 

The long answer:  Every year I plant something new in the veggie garden.  Something that I've never tried growing before, sometimes something that I've never even tasted before.  Last year it was Swiss Chard.  I'd never grown it or eaten it before, it turned out to be absolutely delicious, beautiful, low maintenance and will be a regular in the garden from now on.  That's actually the way most of my new things turn out.  Thanks to my "One New Thing" rule, I also grow Thai basil, many varieties of squash and melon, corn, bok choy, and daikon radishes every year.  Of course, all those things are fairly easy to grow.  I have my suspicions that celery is not.

Celery is a Mediterranean plant and favors a mild climate (like California mild ...not New Jersey).  It takes a long growing season, about 120 days to harvest, and is intolerant of extreme cold and heat.  I'll have to start it indoors and I need to start it soon if I want to avoid the ridiculous heat of July in New Jersey.  Even with starting it early, I will probably still need to protect it from the heat in May and June by shading it.  Celery likes rich soil, which isn't really a problem since I have three horses that are happy to supply me with all the compost I could ever need.  I will need to water frequently, since our property drains exceedingly well.

Last year I was able to keep parsley growing all summer by tucking it in along the north side of the tomato cages.  During the hottest part of the summer, the tomato vines provided enough shade to keep the parsley from over heating.  I believe parsley and celery are related, I may try the same trick for the celery.

Depending on my spring celery planting success, I may also try a fall planting and overwintering in a cold frame or in a pot next to the foundation on the south side of the house.  I've been able to successfully overwinter several plants I didn't think would make it that way, including tarragon, rosemary and cannas.  It's worth a shot.

Collards peeking through the snow.  They weather the ice and snow quite well and produce steadily from fall to spring.