The reds are small and have almost no membranes or seeds, several totally clean inside. I am only saving the seeds from the red ones. I have had no luck getting younger seeds to germinate, even with a heating pad and 3 weeks. 
Posted on 08/05/2023 6:43:11 AM PDT by Diana in Wisconsin
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VERY healthy looking tomato plants!
The reds are small and have almost no membranes or seeds, several totally clean inside. I am only saving the seeds from the red ones. I have had no luck getting younger seeds to germinate, even with a heating pad and 3 weeks.
BTW prepackaged Shishito’s in the grocery store again. 8 oz bag 3.99. Last year was the first year I saw them, many bad, should have been tossed.
Nice tomatoes! It has been a fantastic tomato year for me. Two other relatives have not had good tomatoes - lots of blossom end rot. I may make them some jars of powdered egg shells for a Christmas gift :-)
Peppers were terrific (Bell & Giant Marconi) & I usually don’t have great peppers, so trying to figure out what I did ‘right’ this year.
Cukes were a disaster. For various reasons, I don’t think I will grow any next year.
Spaghetti squash was another great success! First time I have grown any. My SIL has gotten one from me which baked up beautifully & she says she is growing them next year. The fire department has gotten 6, so that makes about 10 harvested/eaten so far. I have a couple more in the house & a half dozen still ripening on the vine.
I grew scallions & regular onions this year with good success - I love onions.
Planning a fall garden - should be planting now so I need to get busy!
BTW, I am seeing that little baby bunny in the garden all the time. A red-shouldered hawk was visiting this morning, sitting on the board fence, not far from the garden. It looked like a young hawk, so I hope it will hang around & help with the squirrel problem. Baby bun-bun should be OK, hiding in the squash plant.
Take some of those blackberries & make a batch of this - a favorite among my family & friends. I use the cheap Oak Leaf Merlot from Walmart - the merlot flavor really comes through in a nice way:
Blackberry Merlot Jelly
https://highlandsranchfoodie.com/blackberry-merlot-jelly-recipe-holiday-gifts-from-the-kitchen/
I use the 2nd method in the post:
Sure-jell low sugar pectin and followed their directions on the insert for the process.
The 2nd batch jelled within a couple hours. Sure-jell has you mix 1/4 cup sugar with a packet of their powdered pectin. You bring that mixture and the wine and berries to a boil and then add the rest of the sugar. Bring to a boil for one full minute then pour into jars and water bath.
My note: when you dump the rest of the sugar in, don’t panic!! Just keep breaking up the clumps - you have enough time to get them out before the mixture boils.
Has anyone discovered the the jalapeno has suffered a change causing a milder pepper? Mile jalapenos are a result of introducing Texas A&M introducing a type of jalapeño called the TAMII that has really taken over. To get a hot jalapeño, grow from seeds of the “early” ( Scoville Rating:5,000) or the Mitla variety . You can get Mitla F1 Hybrid (Scoville Rating:5,000) Hot Pepper Seeds at Amazon
Thanks for the recipe. We are a no alcohol house and when I make preserves I use no pectin, just cook down slow and add some sugar to taste (not much) and lemon juice. Just did that with a bunch of red raspberries. Strong berry flavor but we love it. I always use a non stick big skillet.
Are the black goats with the fancy ears Nubian? Thanks for rescuing the kittens!
I have a headless squirrel in my trash this week. It’s outside but it still needs to go very, VERY far away! Disposing of the bodies is hard around here between the puppies and cats Whenever I bury something it gets ‘resurrected’ within minutes. ;)
Thanks, Pete!
They’re so pretty when they go to red! :)
Hadn’t noticed. I only grow everyday Jalapenos and usually just need one plant for Poppers and a few to add to Salsa. I like FLAVOR, versus HEAT, so mild is fine with me. ;)
But that’s for the tip for the Pepper Heads around here, LOL!
Right now I have four ghost pepper plants growing with blossoms. They have a Scoville rating of 855,000. A pinch will do for a bottle of Pace Chunky Salsa (hot). After the pinch, a thorough wash of hands is necessary. LOL!
4"x4" pots is not a bad way to start your tomatoes. I use a biofungicide when I start seedlings to reduce the chance for damping off. (Gardens Alive "Root Guardian" biofungicide for soilborne diseases) Probably how a big greenhouse would do to start their tomatoes. (I used peat pellets and biofungicide and up potted to 4"x 4" pots.) Should be easier once you have your greenhouse. In addition to the the tomatoes you should be able to grow cucumbers on twine!
Anyway, enjoy your tomatos and canning season!
I made a special trip to get Mucho Nacho jalapeños this spring. I don’t think that is what was actually in the pot. The plant has never gotten over 18” or so & the peppers are small.
I also bought a ‘Mammoth’ which has gotten fairly large with some nice peppers.
The ‘winner’ this year was a pepper just tagged as ‘hot pepper’. The plant is so large & heavy with peppers, it has half way knocked over a tomato cage I had set up around it! The peppers are huge with thick walls. It’s not particularly hot in general, although when I made poppers out of some if them, there were a couple of hot peppers in the batch.
Go figure on which plants turned out & which did not. At least I have peppers for jelly this year.
I had the “pleasure” of watching a chipmunk being constricted to death, and then eaten whole by a black rat snake in my yard 2 weeks ago when my toddler grandson was visiting. I didn’t show him any of that, but my son witnessed most of it.
Thanks be to God, and the abnormal frequent July rains helped a lot. But the septoria (my diagnosis) is still in the soil and many plants are showing infection. The worst year was 2020, without pruning, and in 2022 (which turned out to be a summer of drought) I gave the garden a sabbatical, though volunteer plant provided enough for us, and I tried to bake the main section by using a roll of trashed tar paper.
Images from 2020 showing what it can do:
My Jalapeno plant was a ‘Bonnie’ brand from Walmart. REALLY pleased with her productivity! First blush was 12 peppers, yesterday I picked 18 and there are still a good dozen on the plant and lots of blooms on.
I’m growing her in a 5-gallon pot with a square cage around her. Just been using Miracle Grow as fertilizer every week or so. Very happy with the results. :)
I’ll make another batch of Poppers for the freezer and then the others will be frozen for later use in Salsa. Since I have so many, I think I’ll make some Pepper Jelly, too. I like the ‘Mrs. Wages’ mix for that. Spread over a block of softened Cream Cheese, it makes the perfect appetizer/snack.
Looks like the promised soaking rain is going to go south of us today, so I’m out to water in a few. :)
The ‘Mammoth’ was a Bonnie plant from Lowe’s. I think I got the other one described as ‘hot pepper’ jalapeno at Lowe’s too, which would make it a Bonnie as well, since that is all they sell. I wish I knew what it was since it’s doing so exceptionally well.
We got almost a half inch of rain around dawn - a surprise. We have company coming tomorrow so I need to mow around the house. With all so wet, I will have to wait until late afternoon which runs the risk of a T-storm blowing up due to the heat of the day.
I have grown Mammoth before with great results. Still have some chopped in olive oil in the freezer from last year. Did not grow any jalapenos this year.
I was at a Wal-Mart last month and they had plants much reduced to clear them out.
I found a pathetic looking rhododendron for $4 and took it home.
That thing has thrived like no other nursery plant I have bought yet. Within a couple of weeks, it more than doubled in size. My little $4 Wal-Mart plant.
You just never know.
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