Dwarf Tomato Plants. Progress Notes. 6.3.2021

 Here are most of the dwarf tomato plants about one month after planting outside.   The plants in containers seem to he healthier and more vigorous than the ones in the ground.  That may be variety more than location, since they are not the same ones.

 For comparison, one of the open pollinated Romas, which is determinate, is in a similar size range.

Most of the others are 2 to three times taller now.  

I curious about what this volunteer yellow cherry will be like.  It grew next to a dahlia last year and really never got water.  It was only about 4 feet tall but was in such adverse conditions.  The seedling from that looks more vigorous this year.  I imagine this is descended from Sungold. From what I read, descendants of Sungold are not as sweet. Even so, I liked last year's tomatoes, so maybe this year's will be OK.

The Purple Russian has upturned leaf margins, similar to those of Extreme Bush.  However, the leaves themselves are narrrower and not rugose, unlike Extreme Bush.

Sisyrinchium striatum Flowers. 6.2.2021

 These "satin flowers", Sisyrinchium striatum, were difficult to find.  Two years I located sone and p,anted them here.  Establishment was slow, then all of a sudden they settled in with a big burst of growth.  Now they are blooming.  Not the most photogenic flower.  I think they are nicer in person.

Up-potting Chinese Chives. 6.2.2021

 Chinese chives are not usually in regular grocery stores.  They are the main and essential ingredient in Chinese dumplings, so we grow our own.  Chinese Chives are a grassy looking perennial, and grass often invades them, which is a mess.  So then it's time to grow new ones from seeds.  It takes two growing seasons to be ready to harvest.  Growing in containers raised beds is good, it keeps them a lot cleaner.

These seedlings are ready to transplant into larger containers, so I did.  I grew them from seeds that I saved last summer/fall.   I've been meaning to transplant the  for a few weeks now.

I Planted the Last Batch of Sweet Corn. 6.2.2021

 I planted the last batch of sweetcorn.  From what I read, sweetcorn seeds don't keep long, maybe two years.  I plant the row with every other seed being last year's seeds, fest is this year's, to use up old seeds.  If the old ones grow, they will likely get thinned out.  However, there is often a need to plant extras because they dont all grow, or something eats them.  Hence the closer spacing at sowing time.

Last year I plants the last batch June 15.  I think those were not as productive as those planted June 1, and this year already seems hotter.  It's funny- for years I read that sweetcorn didn't grow here.  But it does, if you choose early or relatively cool-tolerant varieties.  And it's really good.

This batch is "Delectable".  The new seeds were from Johnny's in Maine.  Last year's were from  Territorial Seeds, bit they are too expensive now and their shipping is jaw-dropping expensive.  

I'm happy to have the last of the sweetcorn planted.  That's pretty much the almost final seed planting, except some odds and ends.  That's good because I don't have energy now for any more major soil prep and planting.

Calcium Spray to Prevent Tomato Blossom End Rot. 6.2.2021

 Since the tomatoes are blooming, I want to try calcium supplement to prevent blossom end tot.  That happens mainly with sauce tomatoes.  I really don't know if it helps.  Internet sites are all over the place on that, as is research on google scholar.  It seems like the bottom line is, they just don't know and have not really done the work - spray some and don't spray others, and see what happens, and report on it.   Some sites say, absolutely, use the calcium.  Others say it's useless.  The joke is on me since I didn't think of that until I sprayed them all.

The instructions say, spray in early am or evening, during periods of rapid growth.  Spray to point of run-off.  Apply every 5 to 7 days.  It's just calcium chloride so I don't think it will hurt anything.  For the rest of the sprays, I'll spray all but one of the hybrid Romas and also leave a nonhybrid Roma unsprayed to see if there is a difference.