Dwarf Tomato Alpatieva 905A. 7.26.2021

Well, this one is bad news and good news. The bad news is, the plants are quickly succumbing to the wilt fungi, unlike my other tomatoes currently. A few weeks ago, I gave these a paper mulch, probably too late. The good news is they are the first slicers to bear in my garden this year. I think I'll move the container to a location more distant from the other tomatoes, and see if remaining fruits ripen there. Alpatieva 905A is early, but the extreme fungal susceptibility puts it on my no-grow list for the future. I wont bother to save the seeds.

Alpatieva 905A is listed as ripe in 65 days from planting outside. I started the seeds March 31, planted outside May 1. That's more like about 80 days but it is still my first slicing tomato. Flavor was OK, home grown tomato flavor but not super outstanding.

The Best Dog on the Planet Earth. 7.25.2021

Rufus, hanging out and keeping me company.

Bush Bean, Green Bean Update. 7.25.2021

These are the green beans I planted 7.8.21, so 17 days ago, to fill in the raised bed after harvesting garlic. I gave them coffee grounds and crushed eggshells for fertilizer. Something, possibly slugs, ate the growing points from several plants. I always plant a lot extra in case things go wrong, so I think it will be OK. These are two rows Tenderette, two rows Blue Lake Bush 274, and two rows Roma. They are all historic, nonhybrid varieties so I can save seeds if they grow well. They seem to like the hot weather and irrigation method, and maybe the coffee grounds and eggshells. As for the irrigation, this 1/4 inch soaker hose is worthless. It started to clog up a month after I installed it. To make use of it, I used a safety pin and stuck holes in it every six inches or so. So now it's kind of a misting hose, which does work. I installed a big sediment trap in my water line to reduce future problems. Maybe if the garden line did not bypass the filter, the soaker hose would have been OK.

Harvesting the Rest of the Envoy Potatoes. 7.25.2021

These are the earliest yielding potato. They have great cooking properties, and very tasty. I'm about out of store bought potatoes, so dug up the rest of the row of Envoy. They turned out to ve just as early as potatoes I planted two months earlier, but I think Envoy were smaller size and smaller yield, maybe.

More Onions Harvested. 7.25.2021

These need to sit outside, but not in direct sun, for a few days to dry out for storage. The red skin ones are actually shallots from seeds. There are a few more remaining, mainly Yellow Spanish. These did so well this year. No need to grow hybrids or use onion sets, when these did so well - giant onions!