Smarties Bar & Grill #77

Good luck. I'd be interested to hear how they go.

Of the tomatoes I've grown up here in Virginia, I bet you could grow Sungold Hybrid Cherry tomatoes down there. They're the toughest, most heat-tolerant tomato I've ever grown. The only downside to those plants, which is really nothing, is that they can get rather gangly, so it's best to grow them in cages. I'll plant several of them in cages side by side and then let them roam into each other's cages - works like a charm.

Of the plants that grow large fruit, I suspect the Brandywine OTV might work in your parts, too. It was bred specifically for hot climates, and the large "potato" leaves do a better job of shading the fruit from the sun than regular leaves.

 

It is my made up term. There is always one day when you walk out side and it is a gorgeous day, not hot, just a soft velvety feel in the air, kind of cool for an August day. That is the day I call a velvet air day. Then you know fall is just around the corner. That is the best way I can explain it.

 

Moths, butterflies, mosquito hawks, lady bugs, bumble bees and bees I love to see them in the garden. They are fun and the neatest thing is when you watch them everyday, I think they recognize you.

 

Really?

 

My mums haven't started blooming yet but when they do they put on a show. I have the old fashioned kind, I went to a nursery in Alabama to buy them, Petals from the Past in Jemson. Al.

 

@FatBack did you save the skull of your sail catfish to see the crucifix?

 

Yes, like a bear, a grouse up for a hard winter. Which, by the way, I had half pound of chocolate yesterday.

 

I guess that is a warning that a cold winter is coming.

 

I threw it in the brush pile behind the house. Might look for it later.

 

I actually have some Brandwine seeds waiting for it to be closer to planting time. I’m going to germinate in October and plant in November. I’ll post tomato pics when I have them.

 

humidity... 120 degrees in the shade would be better than all this humidity, the humidity just hangs on everything and follows you indoors. Makes everytihng sticky

 

It is usually very dry here, we don't sweat, the perspiration just sublimates. Have to warn visitors, tourist and especially motorcyclist that they need to rehydrate because they realise how much moisture they lose even tho' they don't get all sweaty (like I have been getting today)

 

Have a good prospect on a place to look at to start my own business after where I work closes this year. I'd be renting instead of owning it, but the owner is offering me below market rate rent (for now) just to keep me from having to say "you want fries with that". Supposed to go see it next week. I always say I don't have to know how it is going to work out, to have faith it will work out. People like this are why.

 

I've heard good things about Sungolds but haven't tried to grow them yet. Do you start from seed or buy them already as plants?

 

With a positive attitude it will work out. May not be exactly like you thought, it might be even better. Who knows we may be saying we knew you when...

 

People who know they can, can! It works the same for people who think they can’t.

Best of luck.

 

LOL thanks but doubtful. I plan to one day retire as early as possible--hopefully 55--and have no desire for anything more. I pinch my pennies because money is time.

 

A penny can mean a lot when you need it and don't have it.

 

Pretty. Love the colorful moths. They get such a bad rap vs butterflies sometimes.

 

I grow them from seed, which I purchase from Totally Tomatoes - they've got a great selection of tomatoes and I've gotten nothing but great results from their seeds:

https://www.totallytomato.com/product/T00696/82

My germination rates with their seeds are always close to 100%, but I do start them inside under controlled conditions.

Southern Seed Exchange is another great seed company (especially if you live in the Southeast), but I get all my pumpkin seeds from Harris Seeds.

As for planting them, I stick 2 seeds in a little plastic Solo cup and then transfer them outside when the seedlings and conditions are right. Then I plant each group of two seedlings as closely together as my tomato cages will allow. It's okay to pack the plants together - they'll help shade each other's roots and as Summer goes on the plants will thin out and spread out, so even if they look to dense when you plant them they won't be a month later. They've also got good disease resistance, but as with any tomato if you get a long wet spell they might start developing a fungal disease like anthracnose (black spot), but Daconcil fungicide will knock it right out.

Another great thing about these plants is that they're an "early" bearing tomato, so you can easily get two crops in during a growing season. Last year I had them growing from May to the first frost in late October.

Every year I experiment with different varieties of tomatoes, but Sungolds are the one variety I always grow.

 

Nice. I planted regular Brandywines once and but I must have screwed something up - they didn't pan out for me. That's why I tried the Brandywine OTVs this year, and the plants I stuck in the ground in June actually did better than the ones I planted in May. They must like the heat.

 

I feel ya, Todd. I'd move to New Orleans if it wasn't for the oppressive humidity. That and the food...



I'd eat myself to death if I moved down there.

 

This time of year is too hot for me to do much of anything in the garden. After years of trial and error my tomato choice is Celebrity. It is the only variety that does well in my soil. My dirt has some kind of wilt in it and tomatoes shrivel and die. But Celebrity does well with a medium size tomato with a very good flavor. I am fixing to let the goats go on the garden. It can keep them eating well for a while.

 

Do you make a small hole in the bottom of the Solo cups for drainage?