The Nightmare that was - and still is - Helene. We are fine - so many are not. Lots of weather, some garden topics

The Storm

2 of our pines that represented the border between our house and our neighbor's house. One other of these went down in the back.

Sue woke at around 4 AM on Friday, September 27. Wind, the thumps and cracks of trees falling, the torrential rain and gusty wind caught her attention. We got up at first light to see Helene in action. Winds of 70 mph with higher gusts and horizontal rain made for a frightening view. We lived through Fran in 1996 when in Raleigh, which happened at night. This was our first observation of such a storm in the light of day. The gentle little waterway at the end of our street, Shaw’s Creek (which feeds into the French Broad) was up to our neighbor’s fence and had large waves. When we opened the door, we could smell pine.

By 10 o’clock it was all over and the sun started to peek through. We lost power in the very early morning. We realized we were SO LUCKY. The dozen or so trees that fell all went outward from our property into neighboring yards. We had a gas stove, and a gas hot water heater. We had a bit of phone service - very slow, but texting, phone calls, and if patient, some websites for gaining news. It turned out that our little area of Laurel Park received over 20 inches of rain between Wednesday and Friday. That explains our back yard being a marsh, our driveway a small river. Yet by some miracle we experienced no water damage inside, no exterior damage to our home.

Once we got out and took a walk down our short street and saw the instances of huge trees broken or twisted off, or completely uprooted - once we talked to neighbors and realized that on the next street over, half a dozen trees fell onto a house, puncturing the roof in several places. The family made it out safely and were sitting in their truck from the dark of very early morning, in the height of the storm.

Trees torn apart at the end of our street in the yard of the corner home

Our daughter and her boyfriend joined us a few days later, and the four of us hunkered down and tried to make sense of this storm. News reports were horrific - places not far from us, such as Chimney Rock, experienced unimaginable damage. Hot Springs, Asheville, Black Mountain, Saluda, the Blue Ridge Parkway, Swannanoa - missing people, folks swept away, all access roads destroyed. Even now we don’t have a clear picture of the extent of horrific damage.

Finally, the reports of disinformation being reported here and there were infuriating. Disruptors, those that got off on spreading smears and lies - I simply don’t understand this type of thing at all. I have no concept of what makes certain people do this.

So here, on a sunny Tuesday morning, as we wait to go to get our flu and COVID boosters, I am listening to our superb local radio station WNCW as they intersperse great music with critical information on sending help where aid is needed. Later, when we go out into our yard, we will continue to see the helicopters and drones. We will hear the chainsaws competing with the birds as the soundtrack to this disaster. When we head out on errands, we will be patient as we go through intersections with no traffic lights due to yet to be restored electricity. We got our own power back on Friday night on October 4, along with internet. We will be in lines of traffic with utility repair trucks and tree cutting and removal services. We will be patient - and we will be thankful. We were only very slightly disadvantaged, relatively speaking. We will never forget this event, as we never forgot the horror of Fran in Raleigh in 1996.

Post storm - the few things in the garden

The Garden

It is not easy to talk about gardening when so many are still struggling horribly, so this will be short. In the pic above, you can see the two quartets of bales, front - both contain plants from very late planted experiments and crosses. The right bale - front right is a potato leaf selected from planting crossed Cherokee Chocolate seed. It will likely not fruit - a hail storm removed the growing tip and it is just starting to bud, as well as battling septoria (as they all are). Right front is a very special plant - Sun Gold hybrid X Captain Lucky (which I am calling the Captain family). I will show pic of the developing fruit, see below.

Right bale, rear left is another hybrid - my cross of Cherokee Purple onto a flower on Dwarf Choemato X Dwarf Walter’s Fancy hybrid - this one is looking good and is also pictured below. Right bale - rear right plant - is a regular leaf selection from the crossed Cherokee Chocolate seed. There are some small oblate fruit, so it may make it.

Fruit on the Sun Gold F1 X Captain Lucky plant - the new Captain family. There are 16 tomatoes coming along, so I will have a decent saved seed to distribute.

Fruit on the Cherokee Purple X (Dwarf Choemato X Dwarf Walter's Fancy hybrid) plant - this is the Triply family.

The left hand group of bales has 4 plants from F2 seed from Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet X Dwarf Walter’s Fancy - the new Peppy family. I am growing 2 chartreuse dwarfs, 1 variegated dwarf with normal green leaves, and 1 amazing find - variegated chartreuse leaves. I’ve put that one into a 2 gallon plant so that I can keep it alive in the garage when frosts are forecast. Maybe I can bring it along into next spring, by taking new cuttings if needed. There are small fruit on one of the chartreuse, and on the variegated. Below is the variegated chartreuse plant.

This is the "needle in a haystack" combination - a variegated chartreuse dwarf?

About 8 tall trees fell outward beyond our back fence. We have a completely new view from our back yard of David Mountain.

September - what happened to August! Long, long overdue 2024 garden update and report

Strawbale garden area as of September 1

Remarkably, my last blog entry was July 8. Our very first Mexico Midgets - the earliest variety - we ready to harvest. All other tomatoes were unripe. We were eating loads of cukes, beans, shishito peppers, and about to start harvesting eggplants.

That was then - and this is now. As you can see from the pic above, most of the garden is gone. Four eggplants, 2 shishito pepper plants (all healthy and going strong), and some late planted tomatoes (more on those later) are all that remain.

It was a very unusual garden season. Insect and worm pests were nearly completely absent. July was warm leaning toward hot, humid and endlessly rainy. August was nearly perfect - warm and dry. The July rains brought on lots of foliage disease on the tomatoes. The tomato harvest envelope was very short - mid July to mid August - but the flavors were delicious and yields were fine. I really liked having just one tomato in a strawbale, and my disciplined pruning and topping carried throughout the season.

We actually had plenty of tomatoes for our needs and gave quite a few away. We didn’t can any raw tomatoes, but did make a lot of roasted sauce (which we did can), and slow roasted tomato pieces (now resting in the freezer). We are pleased with the eggplant and shishito yields, which continue to this day with no end in sight. Beans were delicious and ample, but the second planting failed due to the endless rain (the seeds rotted). We were overwhelmed with summer squash - our 2 Zephyr plants went totally wild, and it was actually a relief to finally remove them a few weeks ago.

NOTE - there are not as many pictures of ripe tomatoes as I hoped, because I tended to do updates using video clips and weekly Instagram Lives. Those are all viewable - go to my Instagram Profile and check on my Reels tab and you will find all 20 of my 2024 IG Live (my name there is @nctomatoman)

Garden in late July

Below is a detailed review of the tomatoes grown in 2024.

Dwarf Walter’s Fancy X Dwarf Choemato F1 hybrid - this ended up being a prolific tasty variety, with size varying from 3 to 12 ounces. The oblate tomatoes were yellow with red swirls, and the flavor full and balanced and delicious. The flavor doesn’t really matter - it is what we find in future selections that are important. I saved lots of seeds, and welcome folks to work on this new family (which needs a name!). The best finds will be potato leaf variegated dwarfs with fruits of good size, interesting colors and excellent flavors. I also crossed one of the flowers with pollen from Cherokee Purple - this will make for a very interesting future project. The cross took and I am growing out one of the Cherokee Purple X (Dwarf Choemato X Dwarf Walter’s Fancy F1) F1 plants as I type this, hoping for a ripe fruit and some saved F2 seeds to start next year’s work with.

Dwarf Walter’s Fancy X Dwarf Blazing Beauty F1 hybrid - this was also prolific and delicious, with the flavor more tart than that above. Fruit size was also variable, 4-12 ounces, smooth nearly globe shaped and deep pink - which was a surprise. Lots of seeds were saved for future work - this new family also needs a name - and volunteers. Potato leaf variegated dwarfs of interesting colors and flavors of good size are the targets.

Dwarf Walter’s Fancy X Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet F1 hybrid - as expected, this was a slightly taller dwarf that produced a lot of medium sized ribbed pink tomatoes with a nice sweet flavor. Also needing a name, this fun family will be interesting to explore, with the big payoff being variegated chartreuse leaf dwarf potato leaf plants. My friend Eddie and I both planted some saved seeds - and each of us are growing out some chartreuse F2 seedlings. So far, we’ve not identified one with variegated leaves. Lots of work lies ahead next year and beyond - I have loads of saved seeds.

:Late planted test varieties - seedlings of F2 from Dwarf Walters Fancy X Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet are in the left bale group.

Sun Gold F1 - This was a bit of a surprise to me. I thought giving it its own strawbale and caging (and not pruning) would lead to an enormous yield. The plant struggled with septoria leaf spot all season, and although the tomatoes were delicious and fairly ample, disease eventually took it down sooner than hoped.

Egg Yolk and Mexico Midget - These two favorite cherry tomatoes shared a straw bale, with the plants caged together and unpruned. This ended up being the cherry tomato factory, with heavy harvests of each all season long. Picking them was a real pain, though - the dense vines and rampant growth made picking them a messy challenge. Though we found them typically tasty, we may go for different cherry tomatoes next year.

Some of each of the cherry tomatoes - orange Sun Gold, yellow Egg Yolk, tiny red Mexico Midget

Cherokee Purple - This was the most disappointing of the large fruited slicing heirlooms I grew due to season long struggles with blossom end rot. At one point, I pulled nearly 30 small tomatoes that had BER. The seed lot I used is largely fine, though - the 8 plants grown at the Veterans Healing Farm turned out just fine, with not a single instance of BER. I think I harvested no more than 3-4 unblemished tomatoes. Although I did save some seeds, it is possible that I was unlucky, and that the genetics of this particular plant had a tendency to show BER. Needless to say, the saved seeds will not be shared, or be a primary source of plants for future grow outs.

Polish - No, THIS was the most disappointing of the large fruited slicing heirlooms because it died very early on with apparent pith necrosis. The plant grew quickly and set loads of fruit, but it was clear something was amiss - before any of the tomatoes ripened, the plant began to wilt. The stems felt hollow. The tomatoes did eventually ripen - the flavor was not the best due to the poor health of the plant. I saved a good amount of seeds, but they will not be shared or be a primary source of plants going forward. The 4 plants at the VHF grew fine, tasted great and seeds were saved. This was the first time I’ve ever had an issue with this superb variety.

Potato Leaf Yellow - Oh my, we love this variety. One of the healthiest and heaviest yielding varieties of the 2024 garden, it excelled at the same level as it did last year. Whether it is a variety to be grown each year, or every other year remains to be seen. Victory Seeds is growing it out this year for release in its catalog next year.

A nice cluster of Potato Leaf Yellow nearing readiness for harvest

Captain Lucky - Once again, Captain Lucky takes the mantle of best flavored tomato in the garden. Because it was grown caged and unpruned, the yield was very generous and the plant remained healthy for a long time (relatively speaking). We love this tomato - and I actually managed to cross pollen from Sun Gold on to one of the flowers. The cross took and I am growing out a plant of Sun Gold X Captain Lucky as I type this. My hope is to get a few ripe fruit for seed saving.

Captain Lucky lower left, Cherokee Green upper right

Abraham Brown - This was one of my last varieties to ripen, and shading from the Egg Yolk/Mexico Midget monster cluster probably reduced its performance. The large chocolate tomatoes I did harvest were all I hoped they would be flavor-wise, and seeds were saved.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom - This was a very interesting mystery. Early on the plant seemed to be struggling with crown rot, alternaria stem canker, or another issue - with dark spots appearing where foliage met stem. I pruned as often as the issues arose and the plant somehow grew out of the affliction, providing a very good yield of the latest ripening variety in my garden. Flavor was superb - seeds were saved. It was also one of the last plants pulled.

Lucky Cross - It is nice to have this tomato very close to where it was when I selected and named it. Perhaps the flavor is just a tad off the Brandywine ideal, but it is head and shoulders above other bicolored varieties. The plant did fine - not great, as I lost a few early set fruit to blossom end rot, and septoria effected it a bit - but it did well enough, and I’ve plenty of saved seeds.

Cherokee Green - I was quite anxious to grow this plant, which was from 2016 saved seed - the only viable seed that traced back to my discovery of this variety in my 1997 garden. The vigorous plant was super prolific, with medium sized yellow skin, green flesh fruit with very good flavor. I noted some tiny dark spots in the flesh - this is a flaw that happens on occasion to green or white fleshed varieties. It seemed to vanish with later harvested fruit. Though it did meet its demise due to pith necrosis, I harvested plenty and saved lots of seed as well. It seems to be not quite as large as the selection released by Johnny’s just after I sent them the seeds years ago.

Cherokee Chocolate (actually Cherokee Chocolate X a 2022 nearby potato leaf variety F1)- One of the true mysteries of my 2024 garden, as well as a healthy tomato machine (the last plant to be pulled), there is an easy explanation. It is a hybrid! When it began to ripen, rather than the rich mahogany color expected, it was scarlet red. The flesh was firm, fruit were large and plentiful and flavor just fine. The big question - is this a seed mix up, or a chance hybrid? If I was lucky and Cherokee Chocolate saved in 2022 crossed with a potato leaf variety, it would show as the occurrence of a few potato leaf seedlings from saved seeds from the unexpected red fruit. Bingo - 25% of the seedlings were potato leaf. Looking at my garden map from 2022, the nearby potato leaf varieties were Lucky Cross, Lillian’s Yellow, Captain Lucky and Polish. I have a regular and a potato leaf plant in straw bales, hoping for a late harvest fruit from each. I will be asking if anyone wants to help me unravel the mystery next year.

Earl - Earl was the health and harvest (and nearly flavor) star of the garden. It seems to love the four stem, 2 stake growing method. The large pink oblate tomatoes were free of blossom end rot and had limited cracking. Flavor was superb. Earl is simply a big winner of an heirloom tomato.

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As for the tomatoes as the Veterans Healing Farm, disease struck there as well once the rains of July came, though our plants in strawbales fared far better than ones planted in the ground.

Plants grown at the farm were mainly the same as those in my garden, with a few additions - Nepal (which was splendid), Red Brandywine (very good, not great), Brandywine (superb), Big Sandy (early septoria issues, but did fairly well), and four important one-offs - Fairytale Fruit (very impressive regular leaf large yellow/red bicolor, a few tending to heart shape, a really excellent variety), Mary’s Favorite (superb - a large, bright yellow, regular leaf selection from Cherokee Purple X Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom), Lucky Bling (just delicious - a potato leaf, variegated leaf selection from Blue’s Bling X Little Lucky - yellow with red swirls and green areas), and the one disappointment, the example of Lillian Rose that I grew (potato leaf, another selection from Cherokee Purple X Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom - ended up being a medium large bright yellow with flavor a bit lacking, rather than the hoped for pink with yellow). It is back to the drawing board for this one. There were two other varieties of interest as one offs - a small purple tomato with green stripes sent to me to check as to whether it is a dwarf (it is not), and one of the regular leaf seedlings from my 2023 saved Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom seed - it produced an oblate medium large yellow with areas of red, with fairly good flavor. Oddly, saved seed did not produce any potato leaf seedlings. This one, therefore, is a true mystery.

We did a tasting at the farm, the most of the varieties showed very well, as hoped (and expected). Yield and health wise, Nepal, Captain Lucky and Potato Leaf Yellow were well above the rest. The three Cherokees (purple, chocolate and green) were first to ripen, heavy yielding, tasted great, but went down to a number of diseases fairly early in the harvest part of the season. Seeds were saved from every variety we grew there.

Dwarf Blazing Beauty X Dwarf Walter’s Fancy F1

The last few weeks from the backyard garden - it has been hot and dry!

Zinnias in one of our 2 new raised beds.

Two weeks ago I talked about the very beginnings of harvest on a few of the main crops. Things change fast, and now everything is coming in, filling our refrigerator, ending up in recipes, being canned - as always, the terror of the harvest is upon us. It is delicious, fun, keeping us busy, and occasionally stress-inducing.

Let’s go crop by crop and see where things are on this steamy Monday afternoon.

Greens in raised beds

spinach and garlic replaced

A few weeks ago spinach was removed (bolting indicated it was high time to do so) from the elevated raised bed. In its place are a few types of basil and a zinnia variety called Cupcakes. The basil is a new one called Emerald Towers, which should emulate the Greek Columnar type available only as seedlings from past gardens. So far, so good.

new lettuce seedlings

We really enjoyed lettuce from one of the new driveway raised beds right through early July, but the heat was bringing on bolting, so it too was removed. In its place are lettuce seedlings I began from seed a few weeks ago. That raised bed is in the shade from early afternoon, so we hopefully can get a month or so of harvest before it decides to bolt. I’ve not planted lettuce this late, so it is an experiment.

The original raised bed that contains collards and kale continues to provide greens, but probably for not much longer. After the garlic was harvested, cilantro was direct seeded, and it is up and growing well.

Swiss Chard

We continue to enjoy Swiss Chard from both new raised beds, and hope to keep it going well into the summer.

Potatoes in large containers filled with last year’s spent wheat straw

potatoes in large containers

The plants in all four containers continue to flourish. One the tops yellow and die back I will go digging to see what kind of yields were obtained. Potatoes will never be a primary crop for us, but Bill Minkey’s generosity provide an annual opportunity to grow some unique types in our driveway.

Fowler bush bean in a driveway container

Fowler was the first seed requested upon joining the Seed Savers Exchange; aside from being an excellent green snap bush bean, it has real meaning for me due to the SSE association. I was very low on viable saved seed, so decided to grow 8 plants in a 10 gallon container on my gravel driveway. I started them indoors in early spring, and over the last few weeks harvested quite a few pods that hung on the plants until they became yellow. I still have perhaps 10 more pods to harvest, but already have 150 or so good seeds that I can use for my strawbale bean plantings next summer.

Cucumbers in a strawbale

A perfect Deli Star F1 ready to pick

My friend Sam, from the UK, sent me seeds of a few of her favorite cukes that are not easy to find in the US. We started picking cukes from both types over the last few weeks, and they are simply delicious - sweet and crunchy and with no need to peel. The shorter one, Deli Star hybrid, is 6-8 inches long and pale green; Carmen hybrid grows to a foot long or more, is dark green and ribbed and similarly sweet, crunchy and wonderful. Sue has already made pickled out of them both. The plants remain healthy and flowering and setting more cukes. I typically lose cuke plants early due to virus likely spread by striped and spotted cuke beetles, but so far, so good this year. I have a total of 5 plants of the above. A rare Italian variety is growing (2 plants) but not provided any cukes yet.

Bush snap beans in 3 rows in 4 pushed together strawbales

Marbel bush snap filet bean

We’ve had an avalanche of beans for a few weeks now, and every day are provided with a gallon bag. Needless to say we are eating (and enjoying) them daily, though we’ve also frozen 2 gallon bags. All 5 varieties are growing beautifully and yielding heavily. We have half rows of Marbel (very slender, long pale green with lavender stripes), Maxibel (very slender, long green), Endeavor (typical bean diameter, a bit shorter, green), Roc d’Or (slender very long yellow wax), and a full row of Goldilocks (long slender yellow). We love them all, but have to be careful not to let Marbel grow too long, as it rapidly develops strings.

Summer Squash - 4 hills, one each in 4 pushed together strawbales

Zephyr, of course!

I don’t think I’ve ever experienced such a heavy yield of our favorite summer squash, Zephyr. Going to one plant per bale seemed to not diminish our squash quantity a bit (two years ago we had 16 plants - yes, that’s insane - last year we had 8 - and this year only 4). The zucchini variety we are growing is Emerald Delight - lovely, but thankfully nowhere near as prolific as Zephyr. The 3rd variety is the round dark green zucchini type called 8 Ball - it is also slower to grow and yield, thus providing us with some relief. Sue made a batch of zucchini bread and we are preparing it various ways to enjoy with our meals.

Peppers - it turns out I’ve got 2 plants of Shishito

Shishito peppers

I had a mislabeling error, so instead of Shishito and Pinata, two gorgeous Shishito plants are taking up a strawbale. They are being grown caged and today we had our first decent harvest. On to the grill they go tonight. We are going to have a lot of Shishito peppers this year.

Eggplants - harvest is imminent on 2, and 2 more were recently planted

Mardi Gras eggplant on the way

The garden strawbale containing the varieties Twilight Lightning (slender, long, white with lavender) and Mardi Gras (teardrop medium light green with a purple blush) is about to provide its first specimens of each. The plants are caged, healthy, and set to be very productive. I put into use one of our self watering containers sent by Gardeners Supply to rest and evaluate. Into that are seedlings of Midnight Lightning (slender, long, black purple fruit, heavily purple blushed foliage) and Skinny Twilight (slender medium purple fruit, green foliage). We are a few weeks away from seeing fruit on them, which is fine.

Tomatoes - it is just about that time!

The tomatoes will be more of a mixed bag than usual, as a few issues have already arisen. Let’s get to the plants one by one.

New hybrid Dwarf Walter’s Fancy X Dwarf Choemato, 10 gallon container, caged

Dwarf Walter’s Fancy X Dwarf Blazing Beauty F1

The gorgeous potato leaf dwarf plant is loaded with medium sized oblate tomatoes. A few ripened prematurely due to blossom end rot (proving to be a stubborn issue this season for me, which is very unusual). The two parents are ivory and yellow/red bicolor. The hybrid appears to be yellow with a red blush. I tasted a small piece and found it really nice (though the flavor of the hybrids is not that critical). On the plant is a tomato that is a cross with Cherokee Chocolate - I must keep track of it for future seed saving. This variety is being grown out primarily for seed saving and future work.

New hybrid Dwarf Walter’s Fancy X Dwarf Blazing Beauty, 10 gallon container, caged

Similarly gorgeous and fruit-laden, the tomatoes on this will be medium to a bit larger and oblate. One prematurely ripe tomato (due to BER) shows that it will surprisingly be a scarlet red tomato (the parents are ivory and orange). I didn’t taste any, as the tomato had very little that was appealing to it due to the extensive BER damage. As with the variety above, it is being grown primarily for seed saving and future work. I did attempt a cross with Lucky Cross, and it looks promising.

New hybrid Dwarf Walter’s Fancy X Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet, 10 gallon container, caged

This is the third of the new hybrids I made that are primarily for seed saving and future work. This will be a medium pink tomato - the plant looks great and has lots of green fruit. Work with saved seed will be interesting, as this is a starting point for a chartreuse, variegated leaf, potato leaf dwarf variety. I attempted a cross with Cherokee Chocolate and it looks promising.

Sun Gold hybrid, growing in its own strawbale, caged

Whole lotta Sun Gold on the way

We harvested the first ripe fruit today, 68 days from planted seedling. They are as expected - round, orange and just delicious. The main issue with plant has been septoria leaf spot, so the plant keeps me busy with removal of blemished leaves. I guess this has to be considered issue #1 for my 2024 tomato growing. Being grown unpruned, yield should be very heavy.

Cherokee Purple, growing on its own in a strawbale, 4 fruiting stems, 2 stakes

This long time favorite is giving me headaches (for the first time). The healthy plant is setting lots of tomatoes, but I’ve had to remove at least 20 due to blossom end rot. I still hope to have a reasonable yield, but I wonder if something is up genetically with the particular plant I decided to grow. The plants at the Vet Farm from the same seed are not having the BER issue. This is just one of several mysteries emerging in this year’s garden. This is issue #2.

Polish - growing on its own in a strawbale, 4 fruiting stems, 2 stakes

A sick Polish

Here is issue #3 - one major stem had to be removed due to suspected Fusarium wilt. It would be a shame to lose this plant because it is loaded with green tomatoes. The plants at the farm from the same seed are just fine. Am I starting to build up tomato diseases in my yard? It’s one thought I have. Polish has never given me trouble in the past, and I’ve been growing it since 1990.

Potato Leaf Yellow - growing on its own in a strawbale, 4 fruiting stems, 2 stakes

Potato Leaf yellow

All is well with this plant, with heavy fruit set and excellent plant health. The pruning on this plant allows for easy following of main stems and flower clusters.

Captain Lucky - growing on its own in a strawbale, unpruned, caged

It is interesting to compare an unpruned caged indeterminate with its pruned neighbors. Aside from some lower septoria leaf spot, this plant is growing very well and setting plenty of fruit. One developing tomato is a cross with Sun Gold, which should provide some fun to play with going forward.

Egg Yolk - sharing a bale with Mexico Midget, unpruned, caged

Egg Yolk and Mexico Midget monstrosity

The complexity of this plant with the next in a single strawbale is unreal. When the large cherry tomatoes produced on this favorite start to ripen, we will be inundated. There are no issues at all with this one.

Mexico Midget - sharing a bale with Egg Yolk, unpruned, caged

Mexico Midgets ready to pick

See my Egg Yolk write up, above. The only thing bothering Mexico Midget is some lower early blight foliage, which is immediately removed. Fruit set is heavy and we ate the first in 54 days from planting. Harvesting from this bale will be an ordeal - but a useful and delicious one. The mass of green is over 3 feet in width, and over 6 feet tall in height.

Abraham Brown - growing on its own in a strawbale, 4 fruiting stems, 2 stakes

This very well behaved, monster plant put on its first fruit clusters quite high up on the vine. Aside from some lower septoria, there are no issues with this variety (yet) - it will be quite late ripening, I believe.

Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom - growing on its own in a strawbale, 4 fruiting stems, 2 stakes

Now for issue #4. A disease seems to be slowly working up the plant and has caused some stunting of growth. There is a brown patch at the junction of the leaf stem and main stem, and the main vein of the leaf eventually turns brown. Yet, the top of the plant is setting fruit and looks fine. I have a few suspicions - pith necrosis or collar rot being 2 disease candidates.

Lucky Cross - growing on its own in a strawbale, 4 fruiting stems, 2 stakes

Another very well managed, well behaved plant, all is well with Lucky Cross save a few instances of blossom end rot on green young tomatoes. I expect that we will get a very good harvest of large, tasty tomatoes from this perennial favorite.

Cherokee Green - growing on its own in a strawbale, 4 fruiting stems, 2 stakes

This has been the densest, most challenging to prune plant in the garden. Seed for this selection is from 2016, which is the last link to Cherokee Green from the find in my garden (all others I’ve grown recently originate from Johnny’s Selected Seeds company seeds). There are some instances of BER but the plant looks great and fruit set will be heavy. I am anxious to see what this one gives.

Earl - growing on its own in a strawbale, 4 fruiting stems, 2 stakes

Well behaved Earl

This is the best behaved tomato plant in this year’s garden, and the pruning and staking technique clearly suits it well. This is the first tomato I’ve topped this year, both fruiting stems on the primary stake. If all holds well, we will get a lot of these to eat.

Cherokee Chocolate - growing on its own in a strawbale, 4 fruiting stems, 2 stakes

The largest number of tomatoes in a cluster goes to this Cherokee Chocolate plant - which, alas, looks as if it is not Cherokee Chocolate. The first tomato to ripen (due to BER) showed it to be scarlet red, indicating a cross. I do hope that it tastes good because we are going to get a lot of them. The plant is very dense, complex, and healthy.

Lots of (not) Cherokee Chocolates

The garden is smaller, but no less interesting. Things are moving along well.

Perfect weather means remarkable growth

What fun I am having! We are still harvesting lettuce, chard, collards, kale and various herbs - including that most important of home grown delights, basil. Those crops are now joined by summer squash, and within a week, cucumbers and snap beans.

The Veterans Healing Farm garden is revealing much as well. The long row of in-ground tomato plants is struggling mightily. The straw bale tomato plants are thriving. Since the ground in which the tomatoes have planted has been used for some years, including growing tomatoes, it is not surprising that diseases are hitting the plants hard. My suspicion is that verticillium or bacterial wilt are the culprits. Happily, all of the straw bale tomatoes are thriving, and fruit set appears to be very heavy. There are instances of early blight and septoria here and there but nothing that isn’t being managed with regular infected foliage removal. I need to get some representative pictures to post.

Zephyr summer squash

As for the back yard tomatoes, I’ve had time to be very rigorous with plant care. We are quite dry and warm, so the plants get a deep morning watering and a lighter evening watering to keep the plants as stress free as possible. Feeding happens weekly. I am continuing my strict pruning, and each indeterminate plant that is not caged or a cherry variety has 4 fruiting stems - the main plus 3 suckers.

I’ve had 2 issues emerge - extensive blossom end rot on Cherokee Purple (very rare, from my long time experiences with the variety), and possible pith necrosis on Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom. I’ve removed 20 small BER fruit from the Cherokee Purple plant and will watch to see how future tomato development proceeds. As for Lillian’s, I am rooting a healthy sucker taken from a Vet Farm plant in case a back up is needed.

The plants are growing roughly 2 inches per day, and a few varieties are already reaching the top of the stakes. Fruit set is reflective of the ideal weather we’ve had. I’ve experienced no damage from critters yet. The main disease issue is a bit of early blight, and septoria leaf spot, especially on lower foliage of Sun Gold.

Beans on the way

I’ve attempted several crosses. 2 look like they have taken - Sun Gold F1 onto Captain Lucky, and Cherokee Chocolate onto (Dwarf Choemato X Dwarf Walter’s Fancy) F1. I am watching Cherokee Purple onto (Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet X Dwarf Walter’s Fancy) F1, and Lucky Cross onto (Dwarf Blazing Beauty X Dwarf Walter’s Fancy) F1. All of these will be complex, interesting and fun to work with.

I will get better with picture taking. The screen on my Pixel phone cracked, and I’ve been frustrated getting it to do what I want. A new phone should arrive in a few days and I will be back in business.

Watching our dogs watch for our cats - view from the hammock

One month from planting - here's a progress report

June 5 view of the garden

That was a really fast month. The May 6 blog detailed what was planted. This entry will take a look at the various crops and plants. We managed to squeeze a week at Ocracoke Island (lots of kayaking and seafood consumption), so the following represents 3 weeks of garden care. Please also note that I am now engaged in my weekly Instagram Live sessions (my name there is @nctomatoman), Fridays at 4 PM eastern.

Flower garden, early April

flower garden, early June - and all of this was there (perennials are such fun!)

Above are two views of our main flower garden. Pretty much everything vanishes over the winter. Warm weather wakens the various perennials planted in there, and we get the view shown in the second picture. At this point, astilbe, miniature roses and spider wort provide the color. Soon, zinnias, salvia, phlox, echinacea and rudbeckia will join the show.

Zinnias, chard and herbs May 4

June 5 view

What a difference a month makes. The small zinnia, chard and basil plants really took off over the last month in this new raised bed. We are cutting the zinnias to bring in, and using the chard and basil in our meals preparations.

Lettuce, chard and herbs May 4

June 5 view - wow!

Lettuce grows very quickly in cooler weather. We are having a lot of salads - we steal outer leaves - but the plants will bolt soon. I started some new lettuce plants so that we can take advantage of the partly shaded location of this new raised bed #2. Nothing tastes better in the spring than home grown lettuce!

June 5 view of bush snap beans that were direct seeded into the bales

June 5 view of direct seeded cukes

June 5 view of direct seeded summer squash

The above pics show the strawbales that were direct seeded in early May. Due to the warmth created by the composting interior of the bales, growth is shockingly rapid. We expect to see blossoms on all of the above very soon, and harvest of the various crops within a month or less. Strawbales really work so well!

Eggplants on June 5

Peppers on June 5

Above our pics of the eggplants and peppers planted into the strawbales on May 3. Both heat loving, it took some time for them to really catch on, but they are now growing very well. The plants were very tiny when planted. Small buds are showing on all plants.

The tomato Polish on May 3, just after planting

The same tomato plant, Polish, on June 5.

Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet X Dwarf Walter’s Fancy F1 in mid May

Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet X Dwarf Walter’s Fancy F1 on June 5

The set of pictures above show the remarkably rapid, healthy growth of the tomatoes, from 2 inch tall seedlings in early May to 3 plus foot tall beauties on June 5. The staking and/or caging is all in place, and plants have been pruned to 3 suckers each (for 4 fruiting stems) - except to those in cages that will not be pruned (Captain Lucky, Sun Gold, Mexico Midget and Egg Yolk), and the three new Dwarf X Dwarf hybrids, that will not be pruned at all.

That is it - a tour of the garden roughly one month from planting. So far, so very, very good (knocks on wood, crosses fingers!). I hope the gardens of all of you are off to a great start.

Garden on May 11 - compare to the first pic in the blog, June 5 view!

Sue on the beach at Ocracoke during our May escape

The Seeds are all Planted. Greens are Transplanted. Here's what I am growing...

Cell of Bright Lights chard ready to separate into individual cells

A typical season (since I dove into heirlooms in 1987) would mean 5 or 6 plug flats, all 50 cells filled with seeds. This season is now so clearly different - 2 plug flats, one of which less than half full (the greens plantings). A few days ago I planted tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and basil. That’s it - my 2024 garden is now well underway, including varieties that will be in my back yard and the Veterans Healing Farm Flag Garden, with a few planted to bring to local events. I’ve also separated and transplanted the greens that were seeded a few weeks ago into individual cells in a plug flat. It is the last day of February - I’d call this progress.

Here is the list and seed lot number of what I planted:

• Abraham Brown T23-4 - for my garden

• Polish T23-5 - maybe my garden, maybe VHF garden

• Big Sandy T23-7 - for the VHF garden

• Lucky Cross T23-8 - for my garden, and perhaps the VHF garden

• Brandywine T23-13 - maybe my garden, maybe VHF garden. If T11-7, 11-49 and 11-60 germinates, one of them could be in my yard, the others at the VHF

• Cherokee Purple T22-3 - both gardens. If T11-51 germinates, that will be in my yard

• Cherokee Chocolate T22-2 - both gardens. If T11-13 germinates, that will be in my yard

• Cherokee Green T23-22 - backup

• Earl T21-5 - one or both gardens

• Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom T23-10 - my garden

• Cherokee Green T16-142 - my garden

• Lucky Bling T23-24 - not sure

• Mary’s Favorite Yellow T23-27 - not sure

• Captain Lucky T23-173 - both gardens

• Potato Leaf Yellow T23-36 - both gardens

• Sun Gold hybrid JSS packet - my garden

• Egg Yolk T23-46 - my garden

• Mexico Midget T21-70 - my garden

• Dwarf Choemato X Dwarf Walter’s Fancy F1 hybrid T23-123 - my garden

• Dwarf Blazing Beauty X Dwarf Walter’s Fancy F1 hybrid T23-124 - my garden

• Dwarf Zoe’s Sweet X Dwarf Walter’s Fancy F1 hybrid T23-125 - my garden

• BrandyFred X Polish F1 hybrid T23-126 - just a check to see if the cross took.

• Fairytale Angel T23-132 - VHF garden

• Lillian Rose T23-133 - not sure

• Fairytale Fruit T23-131 - not sure

• Nepal T23-150 - VHF garden

• Red Brandywine T18-11 - VHF garden

• Sample sent to me to confirm whether dwarf

• Uluru Ochre T23-52 - to share

• Dwarf Gloria’s Treat T23-60 - to share

• Dwarf Eagle Smiley T23-199 - to share

• BrandyFred T23-88 - to share

• Dwarf Beauty King T23-97 - to share

• Dwarf Wild Spudleaf T23-111 - to share

• Dwarf Saucy Mary T23-110 - to share

• Sweet Scarlet Dwarf T23-117 - to share

• Dwarf Purple Heartthrob 7583 - to share

• Dwarf Chocolate Heartthrob 7577 - to share

• Shishito pepper T23-3 - my garden

• Pinata pepper T22-9 - my garden

• Midnight Lightning eggplant T23-3 - not sure

• Mardi Gras eggplant F23-1 - not sure

• Skinny Twilight eggplant T23-4 - not sure

• Twilight Lightning eggplant T23-2 - not sure (I will plant 2 of these 4 in my garden)

• Various basil - Devotion, Prospera, Genovese, Caramel Chianti, and saved from the WNC Arboretum - 6 cells, a pinch in each - I will have some in containers in my yard

Separated chard seedling all tucked in deep

Reiterating thoughts on both gardens: For the Veterans Healing Farm garden (VHF), there will be big changes from last season. The farm has to relocate, so there is no use of the greenhouse. We will have use of the flag garden on the other side of Shaw’s Creek for this growing season. Current plans are to put the plants into prepared straw bales, 2 plants per bale. We hope for 30 bales/60 plants, focusing on those varieties that combine flavor with productivity. The varieties I planted will cover our needs. We will also have a few bales ready for varieties for the farm volunteers. The main challenge will be providing adequate water. The tomato team will surely rise to the challenge!

2 of the three transplanted greens flats - spinach, kale, collards, lettuce, chard

For my garden, I plan to put one plant in each bale, with 12 bales for tomatoes. I may have a few driveway containers for experimental varieties. Anything I planted that won’t be grown out are extras to distribute at my events.

The above does indeed represent a significant change, and I look forward to have the ability to focus more on each plant and share techniques and care during the weekly Instagram Lives. It should also leave plenty of time for me to complete the book on the Dwarf Tomato Project.

While I am planting seeds, Sue is down in the cats’ downstairs room working on a quilt

It's Planting Time! Here are my choices. And - some milestones. And March events.

Greens planted on Feb 6, getting some filtered sun outdoors Feb 23

With just a week remaining in February, it is time to get my seed planting plans in place. I already have some things up and growing, which I will show and describe below.

Let’s start with some milestones.

• Epic Tomatoes was published in December 2014. It’s been 10 years since its release!

• My first significant garden was in 1981 - 43 years ago. That’s a lot of pounding stakes into the ground, dealing with dirty fingernails, feet with ground in clay soil, and tomato foliage-stained T shirts!

• I joined the Seed Savers Exchange in 1986 - 38 years ago. No wonder my heirloom seed collection grew to the size it now is.

• The SSE was formed in 1975. That means next year is its Golden Anniversary - 50 years for the great idea and incredibly relevant organization.

• I received, and first grew (and named) Cherokee Purple in 1990. That is 34 years ago.

• I’ve grown Cherokee Purple 52 times, Cherokee Chocolate (which appeared in my garden in 1995) 40 times, Cherokee Green (which appeared in my garden in 1997) 28 times, Brandywine (Sudduth strain which I received from Roger Wentling in 1987) 45 times, and Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom 30 times - these are the varieties I’ve grown the most often by a wide margin.

Time certainly flies when you’re having fun - the speed that the above transpired can only mean I am having a blast!

Now, on to seeds planted, or planned to be so soon.

My first 14 cells, planted on February 6, included spiderwort (a slow germinator, still waiting for it) Bright Lights chard, an heirloom Collard, a smooth leaf Kale, the spinach varieties Acadia, Space, Seaside, and Giant Nobel, and lettuces Magenta, Cherokee, Cimarron, Gabriella and Green Ice. The seeds germinated quickly and mostly well (a few varieties are a bit old and were no shows), and are getting their first taste of outdoors and sun today.

As for tomatoes, I always like to go back and germinate some really old seed of important varieties. Sadly, the list of potential candidates is much smaller this year. Today I planted Cherokee Chocolate from 2011 (T11-13), Cherokee Purple from 2011 (T11-51), and Brandywines from 2011 - T11-7, 49 and 60. These are the oldest vials, closest to originally sent seed, that could germinate. for Brandywine, 11-7 is 4 plantings removed from source seed, and 11-49 and 11-60 are 5 plantings removed. Cherokee Chocolate 11-13 is only 2 plantings removed from discovery, and Cherokee Purple 11-51 is 3 plantings removed.

At this point, it seems the 12 tomato plants destined for my main tomato strawbale garden, 1 plant per bale, are Abraham Brown, Polish, Lucky Cross, Lillian’s Yellow Heirloom, Cherokee Purple, Cherokee Chocolate, Cherokee Green, Captain Lucky, Potato Leaf Yellow, Sun Gold F1 hybrid, and Egg Yolk - and either Earl, Mary’s Yellow or Rainbow Bling. I will have Mexico Midget in a container in a different location, and am pondering growing out 1 each of the new hybrids I made last year at the Veterans Healing Farm greenhouse. For all of these plants, I will be going to most recently saved seed.

Varieties I will start for the Farm straw bales in addition to the above are Earl, Big Sandy, Nepal, Red Brandywine, and. Fairytale Angel. I did want to have a few plants at my home to donate or give to local gardens, so am also going to start Lillian Rose, Fairytale Fruit, Uluru Ochre, Gloria’s Treat, Eagle Smiley, BrandyFred, Beauty King, Wild Spudleaf, Saucy Mary, Sweet Scarlet Dwarf, Purple Heartthrob, and Chocolate Heartthrob. All of these will be from most recently saved seeds. Filling the 50 cell plug flat will be peppers Shishito and Pinata, eggplants Midnight Lightning and Twilight Lightning and some downy mildew resistant Basil, as well as some Genovese.

Events for March

• March 4 - Containers and Strawbales, Zoom for a PA library

• March 16 - Veterans Healing Farm, US Garden History, Johnson Farm on Rt 191 Hendersonville, 10 AM, free

• March 19 - Containers and Strawbales, Hendersonville Library 5:30 PM, free

• March 20 - Tomatoes, Sonoma CA garden group Zoom, details to follow

• March 27 - Containers and Strawbales, Sow True Seeds, Asheville, 5:30 - link to follow (fee event)

first flowers are crocus - we did not plant these (thanks birds or squirrels!)

Seed Sending Update, Gardening Thoughts, Latest Events Schedule and more...

Last time Sue and I were on cross country skis in a big snowstorm in Raleigh 24 years ago

January is done, all gone in the blink of an eye. That’s 8.3% of 2024 now behind us. The weather here has been pretty consistently cold and wet - no snow (sadly), but it certainly feels better to be snuggled indoors. Growing season is right around the corner, though - that is clear from the new growth on the hellebores and the emerging growing tips of tulips and daffodils, and swelling buds on the quince bushes.

Here’s a series of updates on topics noted in the blog header

1. Satisfying all seed requests. All done! My 2023 seed request folder is empty. My seed supply is now uniformly very low. I won’t be able to fill any seed requests until the coming fall - and it will be much, much smaller due to the low number of tomato plants I will be growing this year. For all those who got (or will soon be getting) seeds from me, any donations you would like to make are welcome - the donate button at this link goes to Paypal.

2. Gardening thoughts for the coming year: Our garden will be very different from nearly all other gardens. The goal is 12 tomato plants - 12 tomato varieties. I haven’t completely settled on the varieties, but Cherokee Purple, Captain Lucky and Sun Gold will be three of them. I think I will skip bell peppers and have just Shishito and a Jalapeno. There are likely to be two eggplants. There will be cucumbers, and lots of bush snap beans. I am pondering having ONE tomato plant per straw bale to maximize production. This would all add up to 20 straw bales total. To get things started, I hope to get some greens seeds started indoors soon. Tomatoes, peppers and eggplants will be seeded on March 1, with a target plant out date of May 1. I hope to get straw bales conditioning in early April.

3. Gardening at the Veterans Healing Farm: Recent news is that the Farm has to relocate. We will not have access to the greenhouse, but will instead put the tomatoes in the flag garden on the other side of Shaw Creek. My tomato team is intact from last year, and I will be gathering them soon to plan things out. We will plant in straw bales, and my latest thoughts are 10 varieties, 6 plants each - about half of last year’s plant and variety number.

Digging in the garden with my dad Wilfred in West Chester, PA, 34 years ago. This was the garden that I first grew the unnamed purple heirloom sent to me that I named Cherokee Purple.

Finally, below is the latest event schedule - it has been growing over the last few weeks. I am not sure which of these may be open for registration beyond the organizing group, but will let you know as each approaches.

• January 16 - WI MG Zoom, topic Strawbale and container gardening, 7:30 PM eastern (closed event, no wider attendance possible) (completed)

• January 18 - The Growing Space podcast recording (my friend Erin Hostetler, The Patio Gardener’s new podcast) - I’ll let you know when this runs and how to listen (recorded - will air in the spring - more info to follow)

• February 3 - central IL MG Zoom on Tomatoes - time - 10 AM eastern - closed event, no wider attendance possible) (completed)

• February 10 - Greater Greenville (SC) MG SC symposium - giving two talks (tomatoes and containers/strawbales). Event requires registration - see the link. It is apparently sold out. (completed)

• February 21 - 56th Annual Winter Vegetable Conference, Asheville NC - Dwarf Tomato Breeding Project - Event requires registration - see the link. (completed)

• February 21 - Hardy Plant Society, mid Atlantic group Zoom, talking tomatoes, 6:30 PM. Not open for others to join (completed)

• March 4 - Peters Township Public Library, McMurray PA Zoom - straw bale and container gardening - 6 PM. Not sure if it is open for others to join.

• March 16 - Veterans Healing Farm, History of Gardening in America - 10 AM, Johnson Farm off of Haywood Road

• March 19 - Hendersonville Public Library - Gardening with Containers and Strawbales - 5:30 PM, free

• March 20 - Sonoma County CA MG Zoom - tomatoes - 8 PM eastern. Not sure if others can join.

• March 27 - Sow True Seeds - containers and straw bales - 5 PM - I will post registration link when available.

• April 5 - Veterans Healing Farm - Strawbales and containers, at the farm on Yale Road - more info to follow

• April 5 - Tomato Talk - live discussion at 7 PM eastern.

• April 6 - Central Oregon MG Zoom - tomatoes - 1 PM Oregon time, 4 PM eastern. Not sure if others can join.

• April 8 - VA Beach MG Zoom - tomatoes - time TBD. Not sure if others can join.

• April 20 - Morganton - containers and straw bales - much more info to come

• May 14 -Veterans Healing Farm - tomatoes - Yale Road location - more info to follow

• September 12 - Brevard train depot, strawbales and containers - more info to follow

• October 9 - WNC MG Symposium - Hendersonville - tomatoes; time TBD.

• I am also working on an article for The American Gardener on tomato staking and pruning that will run in the spring.

Possible participation in other podcasts, such as Joe Lamp’l, possible additional workshops at Sow True Seeds, and unforeseen requests are all possible - check back for updates.

As for the Dwarf Tomato Project book, now that seed requests are fulfilled, I hope to dive into that project very soon. I want to write it (I NEED to write it), and it will get done - eventually. I plan to self publish the book.

On into February we all go! Keep following my Instagram posts (@nctomatoman), and keep reading my blog. I should start Instagram Live sessions some time in March. Any questions - just shoot me an email - nctomatoman@gmail.com - and I do read and respond to comments on this blog.

Picture of my dad, Wilfred, in his scout uniform, age 10. Picture found when we were packing for our move from Raleigh to Hendersonville in 2019. My dad was a major influence on my love of gardening.

A very brief seed request fulfillment progress report, upcoming activities, and more "what's next"

Sue and Betts on our Blue Ridge Parkway walk last week

It’s a blustery, chilly Tuesday morning, and I am just back from the post office. The last padded envelopes that fulfill recent seed requests are on their way to gardeners here and there in the US. A few books tucked with seeds will be on their way as well. All that will remain are a few complex seed requests that are headed outside of the US, always a challenge! Hopefully those will be done by the end of this week and I can call this task complete.

My first Zoom, for a Wisconsin master gardener group this evening, is not open for wider attendance, unfortunately. I’ve updated my list with additional details - my current list of events is in this blog entry.

With seeds and books on their way to you, and events underway, the next topic on my to do list is planning my 2024 garden. Initial estimate is to get lettuce and spinach planted indoors on Feb 1. Tomatoes will follow on March 1. I will of course share my thoughts on this blog, and on Instagram.

Also on my list at a high priority is digging into the Dwarf Tomato Project book that I will write, then self publish.

One of our peaceful afternoons - still life with dogs and Sue

Seed Request Fulfillment Update as of morning January 9

The complex process of fulfilling seed requests

With another trip to the post office soon, I am moving at a slow but steady pace through all of the seed requests received last year. I don’t know the exact count, but from 120 emails in my 2023 seed request folder, I am at 38 emails to be processed. 2/3 done, 1/3 to go.

I use a bit of a triage method - some requests are easy - just 1 or 2 varieties. Those get done first. For whatever reason, there are quite a few “complex'“ requests looking for older seeds, or to play in the dwarf tomato breeding project, or heading outside of the US. These take more time and I leave them for last.

I am running out of quite a few varieties that I talked up, so don’t be alarmed when you find seed packets with but a few seeds - Abraham Brown in particular. I will save 5 for myself, but that will end up being the extent of that variety in my collection (I will grow it next year to bump up my seed supply a bit). Captain Lucky and Cherokee Purple are also running down fast. The lead selection for Lillian Rose is down to just a few seeds for me, so I will be sending F3 seeds to select from.

This represents my very last large scale seed distribution, an activity I’ve done each winter for many years. It is the end of an era! My seed stock will be appropriately depleted after this, so for those obtaining seeds from me, be a seed saver!

NOTE - I did a bit of work on the Dwarf Tomato Project release page on this website. I have to work on descriptions, but the releases via Victory per year should now be accurate and stands at 157 varieties. Though the project is officially done, a few remaining releases are working their way through the system - the eventual final number will be between 165-170!

View from the Blue Ridge Parkway on our walk yesterday