pepperhead212's 2021 garden

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#81

Post: # 50251Unread post pepperhead212
Sat Jul 10, 2021 10:48 pm

My Numex peppers are getting fully grown now - the Giuzeppi is what I picked, about 7½", without the stems. The Big Chili Numex seems about the same - I didn't pick any, but a couple seemed to have stopped growing, so it won't be long. I also picked a bunch of gold cherry tomatoes, ripe, or just starting - only a few of the reds and blacks, so far. And my first two large tomatoes were ripening! The largest of the two June Pinks was 14.0 oz.
Image2 1/2 qts of ripening cherry tomatoes, plus 2 fully grown Giuzeppi Numex, 7-10 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
ImageMy first ripening large tomatoes - June Pink - 14.0 and 9.7 oz, on 7-10 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#82

Post: # 50384Unread post pepperhead212
Mon Jul 12, 2021 10:32 pm

I harvested a few eggplants, and more cherry tomatoes - would have had more tomatoes, plus some cukes, but the lightning stopped me! :lol:
ImageOne Hari, two Ichiban, and five Neon eggplants, 7-12, and a batch of ripening cherry tomatoes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

All of my pepper plants are getting peppers on them, some of them, like the Thais, loaded with them. Even the chinense peppers all have some full sized ones on them. Nothing is ripening yet, but soon, the superchili will have some ripening - the first ones almost every year to start. Here are some photos, of some of the peppers on the different plants.
ImageThunder Mountain, 7-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
The one above was corrected to Thunder Mountain from Thunderbird - sorry about the confusion.

ImageThai Vesuvius, 7-11. Have to look hard, but there are a lot of them! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageOne of the Big Chili Numex plants, showing some of the chlies on it. 7-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

And here are some of the chinense peppers:
ImageA cluster of Paper Lantern Habaneros, a few full size, but none ripening yet. 7-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageA few full size Death Spiral, but not ripening yet. 7-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageSome full size chocolate habs, but not ripening yet. 7-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageThe Chocolate Habanero plant in one of the back beds. 7-11 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The cucumbers are doing very well - would have picked more today, but got halted by lightning! Unfortunately, they are a main attractant to those invasive spotted lantern flies in my area. Fortunately, they do not seem to like tomatoes at all. However, cukes, bitter melons, eggplants, and okra get a lot of them. I spray some neem oil and pyrethrin on them late in the day (after bees have gone to bed), and the plants stay clear for a couple of days, but that's it. And the Surround does nothing to bother them. I dusted with DE, but it is only temporary. Hopefully, none of you are having to deal with this, but if you are in E Pa, or the western part of NJ, you've probably seen them. And they are spreading. :o
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#83

Post: # 50472Unread post pepperhead212
Wed Jul 14, 2021 1:30 pm

Late yesterday I picked a few cukes, and early today, I picked some bitter melons and a couple more eggplants. It is so disgusting out there that I really don't spend much time out there at a time, but yesterday I 'tilled the garlic row, plus several other rows of weeds, which have been running rampant, with the rain and humidity. When we were in a drought, the weeds didn't like it!
ImageOne County Fair, and four Wisconsin 58 cukes, 7-13 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageBitter melons, 7-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#84

Post: # 50497Unread post pepperhead212
Thu Jul 15, 2021 12:10 am

I ended up with my first batch of veggies in the dehydrator today - the eggplants, though there will be tomatoes, soon.
ImageFirst eggplant in the dehydrator this year. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Most of the tomatoes are ripening now, even the large varieties. Most of the cherries are producing large numbers.

The earliest and largest tomatoes, so far, are June Pink and Marizol. Already a couple of each over 14 oz, and the others 8-10 oz. Here is today's harvest:
Image4 June Pink, and 2 Marizol, on R. 7-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Those Golden Buddhas started ripening today, with a few starting to blush. Those 42 day cherries are starting to fade out. Not any new flowers yet, but maybe there will be. At any rate, the flavor is better than store bought, but not as good as most of the others, and since it didn't ripen much faster than some of the others, I won't be growing it again.
ImageTwo Golden Buddha, just starting to ripen, and a few 42 Day, slowing down production, 7-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Those gold cherry/grapes are starting to produce big time! The Sunsugars were the first to produce in large numbers, the Kustengold was earlier, but only a few at a time. Now, it's producing a lot at a time. The Weetang Shebang took longer, but had a large amount suddenly start ripening! These are slightly smaller than the largest sunsugars and kustengolds, but more uniform.
ImageKustengold, 7-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageWeetang Shebang cherry, 7-14 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The Wow! Sungold and Burpee Honeycomb are smaller, and more grape shape. And the Wow! Plants are both strangely lanky, with elongated vines, like they are reaching for light! No others are doing this. The two black ones - Cherry Brownie and Chocolate Cherry are larger, and the Chocolate Cherry has great flavor, like most placks, but develops bad spots quickly, like most blacks I've tried - must be used quickly. I'll have photos of these later.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#85

Post: # 50569Unread post pepperhead212
Thu Jul 15, 2021 8:26 pm

I got another generous 4 quarts of tomatoes today, including some of the Chocolate Cherries and the Cherry Brownies - the two "black" varieties I have this season. Both are very good, but the brownies are lighter in color, and not as strong tasting, IMO. The brownies are also slightly larger.
ImageChocolate Cherries (L) and Cherry Brownies by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#86

Post: # 50601Unread post pepperhead212
Fri Jul 16, 2021 1:38 pm

The Gold Habaneros are starting to ripen! Only 2 superchilis are starting to ripen (usually my first to ripen, followed quickly by Thai peppers), while there are 6 totally ripened Gold Bullets, which is surprising. I pulled those, and there are many more blushing - once they start, they go fast, like cherry tomatoes!
ImageGold Bullet Habaneros, beginning to ripen. 7-16 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#87

Post: # 50618Unread post pepperhead212
Fri Jul 16, 2021 8:40 pm

I halved tomatoes for two trays in my dehydrator, for the first time this year. There were more of each, but not enough of the larger ones.
ImageFirst two trays of halved tomatoes for the dehydrator, this top one all gold cherries. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#88

Post: # 50645Unread post Gardadore
Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:01 am

How are the Golden Buddha’s compared to other yellow/orange tomatoes? I received seeds in an exchange and am considering them for next summer.

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#89

Post: # 50666Unread post pepperhead212
Sat Jul 17, 2021 4:38 pm

I didn't spend much time out there today, given that heat! I got a couple more bitter melons and bottle gourds, and picked 2 Hong Gochu - a Korean Chili pepper, that is loaded with peppers, and one is just starting to ripen. The green one is good, and not bitter at all, not too hot, sort of like a serrano pepper - maybe 20k. Next, I'll see how well they dry. One I planted in a covered Earthbox, the other uncovered, and the uncovered one has no pepper maggot eggs, which is good. Looks like a keeper.
ImageHong Gochu, one just starting to ripen. 7-17 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#90

Post: # 50699Unread post pepperhead212
Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:08 pm

Gardadore wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:01 am How are the Golden Buddha’s compared to other yellow/orange tomatoes? I received seeds in an exchange and am considering them for next summer.
I tried one today, but it wasn't overly flavorful, but I think it may have been stressed, ripened too early, as both were only a little over 2" - smaller than the 3-4" they are supposed to grow to. No BER, or anything visible, but only those two ripening. :?:

I harvested another one today, Esmerelda Goshina - a green one, ripening gold, but green inside, which I was looking for. It was good, but not as flavorful as some other green ones I've grown. I'll see if it improves.
ImageEsmerelda Goshina, less than 2 inches in diameter, 7-17 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#91

Post: # 50738Unread post Gardadore
Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:41 pm

Thanks for the input. Hopefully the Buddha’s will improve with time. I have grown the Esmeralda and love them oven dried but no space this summer. My husband loved them dried too. That is what I do with the smaller tomatoes. Don’t have a dehydrator so put them on Silpat on a tray in a low oven for a few hours. Your gold cherries look yummy!

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#92

Post: # 50766Unread post pepperhead212
Sun Jul 18, 2021 9:59 pm

That's good to know about the Esmerelda, [mention]Gardadore[/mention] - thanks!

Today I harvested a bunch more tomatoes, plus 10 cucumbers. I have to figure out something to do with all those, as there's a lot more out there! I also found an overgrown bottle gourd - like what happens with zucchini, getting lost under the vines.
Image10 cucumbers and one oversized bottle gourd, 7-18 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#93

Post: # 50823Unread post pepperhead212
Mon Jul 19, 2021 10:27 pm

Today I did a taste test of those 5 gold cherry tomatoes I'm growing this year. I'll start with the two I wasn't crazy about, and won't be growing again. The Burbees Honeycomb, which is a small grape tomato, and is the least sweet of all, and I didn't like eating it on its own. The Wow! Sungold was not like the original Sungold - sweet, but not a well balanced flavor. And this one has strangely lanky plants, like it's growing in a low light setting - something I have not seen on other plants!

Sunsugar is the one of the five I have grown many times, and was the sweetest, which did not surprise me. I harvested a generous amount of those, many of which were dead ripe for the tasting. The other two - Weetang Shebang, and Kustengold I harvested a lot of 5 days ago, so they are totally ripe, for the tasting. These are mostly 3/4-1", the few smaller ones around 1/2".
ImageAll Sunsugars, 7-19 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageWeetang Shebang, L, and Kustengold, R, picked 5 days ago. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I tried the Sunsugar first, and as I figured, it was sweeter and more flavorful that the first two non-keepers. Then I tried the Weetang, which is slightly less sweet, but much more flavorful. The Kustengold was a little less sweet, too, and also more flavorful, but of these two, the Weetang was the more flavorful and balanced. The Sunsugar tasted sort of bland, when eaten after these. When tasted back and forth after each other, I picked the Weetang over the other, but it's close. The Kustengold was the first of all of my tomatoes to blossom this year, but was only slowly producing, until recently, and the Weetang began, once it started ripening, caught up quickly. Both are growing better looking vines than Sunsugar, but they always look rather sickly, yet they still produce like crazy! I'll take some photos of the plants, later, for comparison.

The red cherries I'm growing are behind these, and the few I've had had not been anything special.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#94

Post: # 50845Unread post Seven Bends
Tue Jul 20, 2021 10:32 am

Thanks for posting this. Can you elaborate at all about what you didn't like about the flavor of Burpee Honeycomb? I realize sometimes there's really nothing more to say than "I didn't like it," and that's good enough of course. But I'm wondering if the flavor was unpleasant to you, or bland, or just not as sweet as the others, or something else. Asking because I have this one on my list of varieties to try. I'm adding Wee Tang Shebang and Kustengold to my list, thanks!

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#95

Post: # 50846Unread post pepperhead212
Tue Jul 20, 2021 11:43 am

[mention]Seven Bends[/mention] That honeycomb was actually somewhat sour - not what I would call a spitter, but not really a great tomato flavor to go with that tart flavor. I'm not sure what use I can get out of them - maybe dry them, and make a paste (I've done this with other so-so tomatoes). Another thing I noticed, that I have not noticed on another large or small variety this year, is a large number of them split. I've gotten a few heavy rains, but only 2-3", not those 5-7" like last year.
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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#96

Post: # 50866Unread post Seven Bends
Tue Jul 20, 2021 6:27 pm

Thanks for the additional details. Maybe they'll improve a little later in the summer for you. If not, at least you have the other ones to enjoy!

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#97

Post: # 50867Unread post pepperhead212
Tue Jul 20, 2021 7:05 pm

I harvested couple more cukes and bitter melons today, a few pole beans started producing, and I started getting some more chiles. It seemed like most of my Numex peppers had stopped growing any more, so I uncovered them, and harvested the full sized ones. The Big Chili plants seem determinate, and the all of the peppers were pretty much the same size. And there were no flowers on the plants. The Giuzeppi plants had a bunch of pretty much the same size fruits, plus a few new ones, with a few new flowers, but it doesn't seem as indeterminate as some.
Image16 Chiles from 4 Giuzeppi Numex - 44 oz. on 7-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Image10 chiles from two Big Chili plants, 23 oz. on 7-20 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

After this, before re-covering the tubs, I added some "maxi bloom" fertilizer to each Earthbox - something that I rarely use, but with these things, or tomatoes or eggplants, that have stopped flowering, due to heat, I put a small amount in the reservoir. I only use inorganic fertilizers occasionally in the Earthboxes and other SIPs - the 24 oz of that bloom fertilizer I've had for close to 10 years, and haven't used even half of it.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#98

Post: # 50992Unread post pepperhead212
Thu Jul 22, 2021 9:31 pm

I harvested a bunch of tomatoes today. Some of my larger varieties are ripening up now, but, as usual this high rain and humidity increases disease, in the larger and smaller varieties. Our rain in July was said to be close to 4" above average on 7-21. Earlier in the season, we in a semi-drought - in the past, I almost never had to water the plants in spring, but not this season!

A number of the tomatoes are not doing well, due to the diseases, from the rain and humidity. Venus, Marizol, Ruth's Perfect (one of the two much worse; one not as bad), one of the Kustengolds is really bad (but the other is hardly affected at all - more on this later).

However, some of them are surprisingly resistant, despite being OP. The June Pink and Esmerelda Goshina Green don't have nearly as much problems as others, and the Weetang Shebang seems fairly resistant. Here are the photos I took of the one non-resistant Kustengold, and one that hardly got any diseases. And the two Weetang Shebang plants, showing that is growing more compacted, yet both times I got more tomatoes from those!

The Kozachka plant is growing fine in the same EB as the diseased Kustengold, so it's not the soil.
ImageThe diseased Kustengold, 7-22. Still got a lot of ripe tomatoes from it. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageMuch better Kustengold - hardly any disease, compared to the other plant. 7-22 by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageWeetang Shebang, 7-22. Smaller, more disease resistant than others, and more tomatoes! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

What I'll do is bag some blossoms on the good plant of the Kustengold, and if any of the others I have more than one of seem better than the second one, I'll bag the blossoms on those, to save some.

Here's the rest of the things I harvested today:
Image7-22 harvest...forgot the eggplants, but Ill probably go out again. lol by pepperhead212, on Flickr

ImageSome of the tomatoes harvested on 7-22, showing the relative sizes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#99

Post: # 50997Unread post pepperhead212
Thu Jul 22, 2021 10:29 pm

pepperhead212 wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:08 pm
Gardadore wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 9:01 am How are the Golden Buddha’s compared to other yellow/orange tomatoes? I received seeds in an exchange and am considering them for next summer.
I tried one today, but it wasn't overly flavorful, but I think it may have been stressed, ripened too early, as both were only a little over 2" - smaller than the 3-4" they are supposed to grow to. No BER, or anything visible, but only those two ripening. :?:

I harvested another one today, Esmerelda Goshina - a green one, ripening gold, but green inside, which I was looking for. It was good, but not as flavorful as some other green ones I've grown. I'll see if it improves.
ImageEsmerelda Goshina, less than 2 inches in diameter, 7-17 by pepperhead212, on Flickr
I mis-read this somewhere - the size is not supposed to get to 3-4" :roll: More are ripening now, about 2", and they are tasting much better, so that's good! The plants are fairly disease resistant, which is good, considering the wet weather I've been having.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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Re: pepperhead212's 2021 garden

#100

Post: # 51123Unread post pepperhead212
Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:51 pm

Seven Bends wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 6:27 pm Thanks for the additional details. Maybe they'll improve a little later in the summer for you. If not, at least you have the other ones to enjoy!
Today I cleaned up that one Honeydew plant - something I had neglected, since I wasn't crazy about the flavor. While I was cutting all of those clusters of fruits out of it, I was surprised how many were split, as only one, out all of those others I've harvested, was split! I did sample some, and they had lost much of the sour flavor, but still were less flavorful than any of the others. I left the clusters of green tomatoes on it, hoping they will be more useful later on, with more flavor and less splitting.

My tomatillos started getting full sized today. A lot more tomatoes, too, and a couple more cukes and bitter melons.
ImageMost of the harvest for 7-24. Tomatillos just starting to get full sized! by pepperhead212, on Flickr

I cleaned up a lot of my dead tomato leaves and branches, and pulled out my totally browned dill plants - I only save a small portion of the seeds, as there's only a few I have to grow, and the seeds I grow aren't as good as the seeds I buy - probably different varieties better for the seed spice.
Woodbury, NJ zone 7a/7b

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