i wrote up a little blog post for my seedsaving buddies, might as well share it here as a diary shot.
This was an abysmal year in the garden here in Rapahoe , West Coast. for all of spring and the first 3/4 of summer we got one fine day per week. All the rain washed the goodness out of the soil and combined with the lack of sunshine made everything that did grow very small. The slugs and snails had a field day, as we did not get much frost to kill them over winter and they thrived in the cool wet conditions. I planted beans over and over but lost most of them in their infancy. It was a real pity, as a few of them were from the lost list and possibly the last seed we had. one such was the rydall A yellow dwarf bean, last year i planted all the seed i had but had waited too long and only three plants grew, I had them in a bad place and they got overwhelmed by weeds at one point so i only had a handful of seed to show for it, from small plants. I planted those this season and with one thing and another have not had any pods on the plants at all . The one variety that did grow well was the devils defiance scarlet runner, but they are actually relatively plentiful on the list. I hope others have had more luck.
We finally got our glasshouse rebuilt after cyclone Ita ruined its predecessor three years ago. so I was able to grow some tomato varieties. In the picture you can see
1. DrWalter, a large round green shouldered variety which produces well for me. A tasty slicing tomato
2. JWalsh, yellow egg shaped tomatoes, these have a mild flavour but usually quite prolific.
3. Guernsay Island, a medium sized green striped tomato with dark flesh. these are very flavoursome for salads.
4, Yellow pear, I expected these to be productive but this is the only fruit to date!
5. Black cherry, always reliable and a tasty snack as I go about my garden chores , tall plants.
6. first time I have grown Waimana, I struggle to grow most large types, and these are going to be late.
7. Yellow Taxi. These grew nicely this year, they dont mind cooler conditions, dwarf plants take up very little room but reward me well.
8. Stupice is one i grow regularly because it produces early and over a long period. potato leaf type, similar to bloody butcher.
9. Gypsy Tsygan , this is one from the southland seedsavers, first time i have grown it and might be the last, just not very many fruit on them .
number 9 looks similar in shape to ones we had in the garden this year - no idea what they're called other than tomato hahaha - last year they were not good - this year produced reasonably well eventually and they tasted great
Love the cataloguing! The weather has really made things difficult here too. Our blueberry crop is struggling. I love tomatoes, so this is very educational!
It's amazing you can grow anything, it really does take a good hand. I try so hard and everything I plant always looks so sad 😳 I need to work on my green thumb 😜
still, it is a bounty of toms in my opinion. I have Terrible! luck at tomatoes. Once, I did have a yellow tomato bush that did wildly well, but both Ryan and I hated the taste of those stupid tomatoes and I haven't had any luck since. Which of the bunch did you have best luck with that tasted good?
@blueberry1222 haha yellow tomatoes are a bit bland i have to agree. 3. the guernsay are a great one, so tasty, but there are thousands of varieties of tomato, and depends what you want to use it for, i suggest you find someone local to recommend one, as they get acclimatized and prefer different conditions.
Nice collection there, I also had not much luck in the garden this year apart from potatoes and lettuces, just enough tomatoes to keep going but not enough to give away, fingers crossed for a complete change next year
