Tomatoes and electric fence!

This week we planted out tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, tomatillos, marigolds and Evans' Cherry trees. We also put up the electric fence. Remember to turn it off or step well over before you work in the garden! We also had some new volunteers out to help - thank you!

Peas beans peppers

Yesterday, peas and beans were seeded and peppers were planted out. Just before an evening shower.

On Thursday, if it doesn't rain, we will set out the electric fence (the deer have been lying in the garden) and we will plant out tomatoes, tomatillos and eggplant.

Varieties

Here are some of our vegetable varieties for 2011.

Grand Rapids Lettuce

Grand Rapids Lettuce - Loose leaf. 45 days to harvest. Good tolerance to tip burn. Well adapted for outdoor use.

Buttercrunch Lettuce - Head lettuce. 60 days to harvest. One of the best tasting loose leaf types. Harvest over a 2 week period. Thick, crisp leaves are very tender.
 

Odyssey Lettuce - Head lettuce. 62 days to harvest. Dark green butterhead/boston type with excellent tip burn and bolting tolerances.  Heads are slightly larger and heavier than Baja.  Use for fresh market or processing.

Bright Lights Swiss Chard

Bright Lights Swiss Chard (hyb.) - 55 days to harvest. Unique blend of many colors. Mature plants average 50 cm with savoyed leaves.  Colors fade when cooked.

Centennial Rocket Tomato - Bush type. Only half the leaves of normal Tomatoes--so most of the energy goes into early medium-size fruit. Heirloom Seed.

Prairie Pride Tomato - Bush type. Abundant, flavorful, low acid content, medium-sized fruit on sturdy, compact plants. Heirloom Seed.

Mamma Mia Hybrid (paste tomato) - 60 days to harvest. Mamma Mia is a meatier, firmer fleshed fruit, just right for a thick and rich spaghetti sauce, or for salsa and any other recipes requiring a rich Tomato taste. Staking type.

Early Prolific Hybrid Pepper - 55 days to harvest. Produces far earlier than any other sweet Pepper on the market. The fruit is 3-lobed, with medium thick walls and a mild sweet flavor.

Black Bell II Eggplant - 58 days to harvest. Early maturing oval round fruit are dark in color, good quality. Plant is a little more compact than Black Bell, tolerant to Tomato Mosaic virus.

Annie Oakley II Hybrid Okra

Annie Oakley II Hybrid Okra - 48 days to harvest. (F1 hybrid). Pods are ridged, medium green, tapered, remain tender up to 4 1/2 in./12 cm long. Spineless, dwarf plants.

Bonanza Yellow Marigold/French - The Bonanza series is larger flowered than the Janie or Boy types. Blooms average 2 in./5 cm. Bushy 8 in./20 cm plants are early flowering and provide better hot summer garden performance than Janie types. Bonanza Bolero is an All America Winner. 

Emergence

Peas are up!

So are the beets!

Lettuce, spinach and carrots have begun to emerge. We dug down to check on the beans and they have germinated.

And the tomatoes, peppers, eggplant and marigolds are beautiful.

Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant are in the ground!

Thursday, June 3, the Tomato/Pepper Team planted out tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. They plan to plant out some marigolds tonight (Tuesday, June 8) after work for pest control.

Pepper and Aubergine (Eggplant) Varieties

Early California Wonder

This variety produces large blocky bell peppers that can be harvested when green or later when they mature to red. At both stages flavour is sweet and mild and texture crisp. Excellent source of vitamins A and C. 75 days to harvest.

Cloche Rouge

This variety produces beautiful bell shaped fruit with colouring from medium green to red depending on maturity. It matures in 95-110 days. Contains vitamins B1, B2, A and C.

Orange Sun

Peppers are green turning to orange at full maturity. Matures in 75 -80 days. To avoid injuring plants harvest all peppers by carefully cutting off fruits along with a short piece of stalk.

Black beauty

This variety is known for its large plump deep purplish black fruits, forming after a bright purple flower. Plants grow about 2 feet (61cm) tall and produce several fruits. Harvest by cutting from plant when glossy and dark purple. Skin should not spring back when pressed with thumb.

The eggplant or aubergine is our experimental crop. They are delicious fried, in casseroles and in several ethnic dishes such as the moussaka dish of Greece and the lasagna of Italy.

Tomato, pepper and eggplant seedlings

Tom K. has graciously donated tomato seedlings to the garden project. Thanks!

And yesterday, Drusilla and Parthiba planted pepper and eggplant seeds for seedling starting.

We're on our way!