I think this is the first recap on the junction. On a couple of other sites I bore everyone with my numbers, so read it or skip. I keep track of the whole garden except it will be mostly tomatoes: peppers did great, zucchini fair, potatoes OK, melons got shut out again, wonderful crop of asparagus.

Now the main course. These were the varieties grown in '21: Anzehela Gigante, Big Cheef, KBX, Cherokee Purple, Blitznetski Serdtse Heart, Portuguese Monster, Wisconsin Gold 55, Estler's Mortgage Lifter, Clear Lake Heirloom, Winsall, Orange Russian #117, AH Scorbii, Koral London, Sheryl's Portuguese Heart, Yasha Yugoslavian, Willow's Bulgarian (aka No Name Bulgarian), Babushka Byka, Rozovyi Izmumni, Blake's Magnum (aka Unknown Magnum), Heshpole, Big Rainbow, Black Cherry.

In my garden, this was an average year for production (results later). Seeds were started on March 1 which was two weeks too early as all the seedlings were too tall and skinny by the outdoor planting date of May 12. The year began very dry and warm, then cool and wet then dry again. All this set back tomatoes by about two to three weeks compared to the average growth stages the past 15 years. Tomatoes began forming mid to late June but none ripened until late August. Reflowering was sparse which foretold of a down year.

Now the more boring number crunching: With 22 plants that survived the total production was 203 pounds at just over 9 pounds of tomatoes per plant...I do not weigh or count cherries.
The most productive varieties by weight were KBX(328 oz.), Portuguese Monster (310 oz), Big Cheef (300 oz)
Most total tomatoes: Big Cheef-42, Wisconsin 55 Gold-40, Koral London-38.
Largest single tomato: Portuguese Monster (27.2 oz), AH Scorbii (22.4 oz), Yasha Yugoslavian (19.9oz)
Largest average for the entire season: Portuguese Monster-13.5 oz, KBX-9.9 oz, Winsall-9.9 oz

Production was in the middle range for the 16 years in this location, so even with the late start we had plenty of tomatoes to eat and share with friends and family. It was not a complete bust as I anticipated but by no means a bumper crop.

Now the most important result...flavor: Usually I pick out several outstanding varieties by taste. This year it was noticeable that the sweet tasting varieties were not as sweet as usual and the most tart varieties were not as tart. Every tomato tasted a whole lot better than any hybrid or grocery store offering but in a range of 1-10, everything was in the 6-7 area. Very good but not great. People trying my tomatoes for the first time told me how wonderful they were...in my head I was saying,"just wait til next year." I imagine weather conditions had more to do with flavor output than any other factor.

No decision has been made for next year's varieties but I think I will go for what has been the best tasting in the past just get back to some 9s and 10s . Any suggestions, comments or questions are welcome. If you have slogged through all this, Thank You and sorry.

Paul

Nice report. The rain amounts make a lot of difference in flavor when growing in my clay soil. Tomatoes here like to start of with plenty of moisture and then finish dry, especially red ones. The clay will hold enough water for month or so without rain.

I didn't find this boring at all! No suggestions, but a commiseration on an odd year.i was also thinking to bring back a few successes next year just to have a reliable flavor experience... Hopefully...

Love your report I had a very odd year as well all tomatoes were in the greenhouse and got huge but we’re late as well and ended up picking them all green Wich in the end hardly got anything, my corn never grew taller than a foot my onions never got big either , the only thing Thst grew big was the beets , the leeks were in buckets they grew big .and cabbage That being said nothing until the end of August, cucumbers didn’t start forming until then lost all squash abs zucchini and pumpkin and mellons didn’t get a thing they barely grew . I have a brand new garden bed with all new top soil so I have no clue what the heck I did wrong but something happened, potatoes didn’t grow either. So ya my year sucked haha

My report only includes those plants grown in-ground. My wife has taken over growing several vegetables in a couple of 7 foot diameter cattle watering troughs turned into raised bed gardens. This year we harvested an excellent crops of radishes, cabbages, cucumbers, beets, green beans (two crops). All did exceptionally well and tasted great. We also had plenty of pears, strawberries and apples this year. Great year for some things, not so great for others.

I love your reports Paul, no boring about it! Kudos for weighing your harvest - the only time I managed to do it I was selling by weight and had to.

We had a wierd year as well! Mild and record wet spring then cold and then a long stretch of hot and humid and a bunch of tomato diseases we don't see every year. I had many plants and we got plenty harvested so no harm there, but it was something to see them ripen so fast and plants also going down hard and fast. Even the perennials and bumblebees did the same, and an eerie "season over" when there hadn't been a frost to blame it on. Then two hurricanes back to back in September made an early end to anything left standing.
We had good currants this year, strawberries too, and some apples ripened at my mom's. Wheat, emmer and oats all did great here - first time so no idea how they will do in a normal summer.

Thanks for your report. I enjoyed reading it; not boring at all.

From what I've read, no one seems to have had a tremendous tomato year.

I live in Florida so my season is opposite. My '20-21 tomato season started off great but went downhill. However, broccoli and cauliflower, lettuce were amazing.

So I am into my new growing season and so far so good. I didn't start my heirloom tomatoes until mid-October and they are just getting planted out now.

Your report is actually way too short to ever be boring. At this time of year, I'd like to hear more of them.

Why is it that my longest posts simply disappear? Perhaps after all of the typing, I forget to hit Submit. I think I'll try again in a few days.

Tormato wrote: ↑Wed Nov 10, 2021 7:54 am Your report is actually way too short to ever be boring. At this time of year, I'd like to hear more of them.

Why is it that my longest posts simply disappear? Perhaps after all of the typing, I forget to hit Submit. I think I'll try again in a few days.

TJ has an automated back up function that saves what you have typed. Quite often when I lose a message or post, I can hit the back button to recover it. Or if you look below the box that you are typing in, you can see the 'Load quick draft' and it will be there.

Great report, Paul! I'm a data junkie myself so all your numbers were not boring at all. The first-ever problem here this year was the spoiling and theft of both green and ripening tomatoes by the squirrels. We got enough to put up but just a little extra. I HAVE to figure out a solution short of building Fort Knox around them for this coming year.

I think the best tomato performers were German Johnson and the cherry Susse Friesin. Average performance of most non-tomato stuff except for some squashes. Between SVB's and nematodes they bit the dust.

Surprise successes were the two "toys", Chinese String eggplant and Stickless Wonder yardlong bean. They have earned a repeat performance in '22.

Fewer insect problems this year as there were less pickleworms and the squash bug/leaffooted bug populations seemed very diminished. Hardly any Col. potato beetles. I think good rotation is helping with that.

Powdery mildew reared its ugly head for the first time in literally ages. No idea why.

For sure, no two years are ever the same.

Thanks for your report Paul. Just wondering what the stats were for your Cherokee Purple ?

Dan

@GoDawgs How large does that Chinese String Eggplant grow? I assume that it must have heat resistance, given where you are located. I have heat problems with almost every variety, and am always looking for ones that are resistant. How large did the plants grow? Any insect problems?

@pepperhead212, I'm thinking the plant gets up to maybe 3-3.5' tall. Chinese String on the right, Millionaire on the left.



And here's the plant by itself:



Some of the eggplants picked:



The only insect problems were a slight attack of what were probably southern army worms. They can lace up leaves in a heartbeat so once I see the first few holes I'll do a thorough inspection and if I find worms I'll spray with bT. Japanese beetles sometimes visit too but that's about it. I don't think I've ever seen any Colorado Potato Beetles on them in this growing location up by the house.

These plants get sun up until about 4pm when some nearby trees start throwing some shade. They don't seem to mind the heat. If you'd like some seed just send me your addy. The seed came from Baker Creek and there was a lot in the pack.

That looks great, @GoDawgs. I grew the Millionaire EP long ago, and that was one of the many that would stop flowering, when it would get really hot. And that was before I had as many, or as long lasting heatwaves as I do now!

My main problem with eggplants is flea beetles, which is why, starting early, I spray them with Surround, making sure to get the undersides of the leaves, where those flea beetles tend to collect.