Gardening: My Tomatoe and Pepper Progress

[Homebrew Harry]

These babies are ready

 

[Homebrew Harry]

I could have taken more bell peppers, but I'll pace myself

 

[Homebrew Harry]

My jalapenos are bushing out. I usually put some up in jars

 

[Homebrew Harry]

Never heard of this variety before but I will be sure to look for it next year. Sounds perfect!

The plants are hardy, but so far the tomatoes are kind of small. Next year I am going all heirloom. My first year I will be growing Brandywine. I can hardly wait for next year to see how heirlooms go !

 

[Dog House Brew]

The plants are hardy, but so far the tomatoes are kind of small. Next year I am going all heirloom. My first year I will be growing Brandywine. I can hardly wait for next year to see how heirlooms go !

I’ve only grown heirlooms for years. I make a lot of sauce and salsa. My favorite sauce tomato is Opalka. My next two are Polish Linguisa and Italian. I grow 25 sauce tomatoes and 25 others. All are indeterminate and caged. Still trying to find the right chocolate and bicolor. This year I’m trying Carbon and Flame. I do always grow a couple chocolate cherries that are fantastic. I couldn’t get Brandywine to produce very well. I love that tomato, just hasn’t worked for me. Good luck finding what you like.

 

[Deadalus]

I’ve only grown heirlooms for years. I make a lot of sauce and salsa. My favorite sauce tomato is Opalka. My next two are Polish Linguisa and Italian. I grow 25 sauce tomatoes and 25 others. All are indeterminate and caged. Still trying to find the right chocolate and bicolor. This year I’m trying Carbon and Flame. I do always grow a couple chocolate cherries that are fantastic. I couldn’t get Brandywine to produce very well. I love that tomato, just hasn’t worked for me. Good luck finding what you like.

Me either on brandywines. They grow nice and tall but not much output (compared to other varieties same year) and I found it to be very susceptible to leaf spot septoria.

 

[Hanglow]

Small morning harvest of courgette, locoto chillis and a few toms. Also picking loads of soft fruit like raspberries, tayberries and veggies like potatoes, salad leaves, spring onions, chard and leaf beet etc.

First beefsteak tomatoe is ripening now too

 

[passedpawn]

In years past, I grew a lot of cayennes. I love the simple hot sauce I make from them, which I drench on everything.

My recent plants I have grown produce a smaller pepper than I've grown in the past. I'll remedy that next year. However, they product the same heat (actually 50% more). Same flavor. Previously, I grew from seed, but this year I bought germinated plants. Probably go back to seed.

No complaints though, they are heavy producers.

 

[Dog House Brew]

I’m adding them next year. I’ve had good luck getting seed fro NMState University.

 

[Oldskewl]

Tried a new recipe for crispy canned pickles this year. You basically pasturerize them, 180F for 30 minutes. I used my Sous Vide to control temps. I will report back in a few weeks and let you know how it worked out. I usually do refrigerator pickles or fermented pickles, but the fridge gets full fast. It is nice to can some for the winter months and I hate a mushy pickle. We will see.



https://homesteadingfamily.com/how-to-make-pickles/

 

[Henbrew]

Tried a new recipe for crispy canned pickles this year. You basically pasturerize them, 180F for 30 minutes. I used my Sous Vide to control temps. I will report back in a few weeks and let you know how it worked out. I usually do refrigerator pickles or fermented pickles, but the fridge gets full fast. It is nice to can some for the winter months and I hate a mushy pickle. We will see.



https://homesteadingfamily.com/how-to-make-pickles/

Calcium chloride (which many of us homebrewers already have) can help keep pickled food crispy. Seemed to work well on my banana peppers last year.

 

[Oldskewl]

Calcium chloride (which many of us homebrewers already have) can help keep pickled food crispy. Seemed to work well on my banana peppers last year.

I tried Pickle Crisp(which I think is CaCl) in my early years of canning. For some reason I detected a subtle, strange taste when I used it. So I stopped using it. I even used half the recommended amount the second time. Maybe I am just sensitive to it. But I do use it im my beer brewing. Hmmmm! I might have to try it again.

 

[Deadalus]

My pickles last year were the mushiest things ever! I did cut off the blossom ends. I have been looking into corrective actions and two not mentioned are grape leaves and soaking in pickling lime (which needs to be rinsed off). I was thinking of trying the 170-180 bath as well as the CaCL myself this year.

My fermented fridge pickles though were deee-licious! Planted my pickling cukes as a fall crop though so I have to wait.

 

[Oldskewl]

Yeah I always cut off the blossom ends and use horseradish leaves. I have never used pickling lime though.

 

[bleme]

I let my yard beans go too long and ended up with a bunch of dry ones. I cooked them in a Chile verde sauce with sausage and they were awesome! Also let my jalapeños go so picked a whole bucket of red ones. Best poppers ever. I love the fruitiness of red jalapeños.

 

[Deadalus]

Still waiting but at least I know I'll get some for once. I have jalapenos, anaheims, bells, and not showing peppers yet are my habaneros.

 

[Hanglow]

Its been to cool a summer here for anything other than my locotos. Even the greenhouse ones haven't done much, nightime temps too low.



I do have one of each inside my house though that are doing well at least.

Also lost my outside tomatoes to Late blight, apart from the blight resistant crimson crush

 

[Hanglow]

No idea why it did that to the photos

 

[Oldskewl]

I picked a nice harvest variety last night. I grew everything from seed except for the green peppers my wife picked up at the local greenhouse. That Heirloom tomato is HUGE! The picture doesn’t do it justice. I struggle with sweet peppers. Yellows and reds never get big and usually rot before they turn. Those sweet chocolate peppers from Baker creek always do well. The long cucumbers are a Japanese variety.

 

[bleme]

 

[Deadalus]

Some tomatoes and picked a few beets for dinner. Convinced my youngest to make some beet tacos (soft shell).

 

[Deadalus]

Some tomatoes and picked a few beets for dinner. Convinced my youngest to make some beet tacos (soft shell).

Jumbo! Pretty tasty too!

 

[passedpawn]

Picked some jalepenos and red hots Sunday. Pickled the japs and made hot sauce out of the cayennes.

 

[Homebrew Harry]

I picked a nice harvest variety last night. I grew everything from seed except for the green peppers my wife picked up at the local greenhouse. That Heirloom tomato is HUGE! The picture doesn’t do it justice. I struggle with sweet peppers. Yellows and reds never get big and usually rot before they turn. Those sweet chocolate peppers from Baker creek always do well. The long cucumbers are a Japanese variety.View attachment 776622View attachment 776623View attachment 776620View attachment 776621

What kind of heirloom tomatoes are you growing ?

 

[Oldskewl]

These were started them from seed. Hungarian Heart. They are very good and large is size. I have 2 plants.

https://www.rareseeds.com/hungarian-heart-tomato

 

[Hanglow]

Selection, I smoked the locotos and garlic

 

[Oldskewl]

I had quite a harvest this past Sunday. Ended up canning 7 quarts of tomatoes and a couple quarts of hot cherry peppers. I love stuffing them with prosciutto and string cheese. Yum! And there are still some tomatoes and peppers left for slicing and salads.

 

[bleme]

The mystery pepper plant with the hairy stems has finally put off some fruit. It has white flowers so that rules out a few options. Fruit is very similar to the tepin but hangs down instead of up.

Also, my 3 year old rosemary plant died suddenly. Then this fungus pops up so I figure it is probably the cause. Weird!

 

[Oldskewl]

A huge harvest of tomatoes last night. Need to figure out what I am going to do with em by the weekend. I already made a couple batches of salsa and canned some

 

[bleme]

The mystery pepper plant with the hairy stems has finally put off some fruit. It has white flowers so that rules out a few options. Fruit is very similar to the tepin but hangs down instead of up.

Also, my 3 year old rosemary plant died suddenly. Then this fungus pops up so I figure it is probably the cause. Weird!

So I have tried the mystery pepper a couple of times now. It has a nice fruitiness and I would guess it's about 100,000 Scoville - definitely enough for a good endorphin rush!

Also, the pepper I was sold as 'tepin chili', is clearly not. It has very slim, 1.5" long upward growing pods. I would guess they are around 50,000 scoville. Looking at pictures, they look a lot like Thai Birds Eye or maybe Rooster Spur. I didn't get much flavor out of it but will be trying more soon. Maybe that one was just a dud...

I also heard from a mycologist that those 'mushrooms' are typical after root rot. They move in to eat the rot, so were not the actual COD.