Short-ish 2019 Report

Mojo · May 30, 2019

*resurfaces*

I rebuilt my beds last year, going from four 4'x32'x10" beds to eight 4'x12'x12" beds so I could jump back and forth more easily between them. But literally nothing grew; I blame insufficiently-decomposed planters mix producing nitrogen lock-up. Mind you, the Big Beefs donated to me that survived the summer all came on like gangbusters in the fall, but their presence invoked the dreaded Fall Tomato Curse ("No matter when Mojo actually plants fall plants, he will end up in a hard north wind and rain picking semi-ripe fruits to keep them from freezing two weeks ahead of harvest" --yes, Houston, I am to blame for November.)

So this year I added chicken leavings (heh) and Azomite and got after it. I started Black Krim and Orange Jazz in pots (many, many pots) and then went and got a variety of God-knows-what from a local nursery. And I say that because I put off actually writing down what I planted until far too late, and by then the writing had washed off the markers. Oh well. I know one was Bloody Butcher, another was Oxheart, and one was a semi-dwarf.

I am distressed to report that some wilt, most likely fusarium, struck hard this year, and wiped out many of the store-bought plants before full production was achieved. (And we won't even discuss the squash...) Even so, I do haz notes...

Bloody Butcher: is now my go-to for an early tomato, it does about the same for me as Early Girl but is far tastier.
Oxheart: I don't know, the taste was decent and the production was okay before it got wilted, but they seemed small, especially compared to something like Kosovo.
Orange Jazz this one took a bit of time to get moving, but I was shocked at how nicely it turned out. Nice sweet flavor (TT is right, it is vaguely peachy), okay production, but the fruits were significantly larger than expected, averaging around beefsteak-sized. This one gets planted again next year.
Black Krim putatively broke my heart last year, but I think that because the packet was mislabeled and what few I harvested were most definitely NOT this. This year is a complete 180. I'm actually rather curious what's going on at TT, because this batch yielded some plants that were growing beefsteak-fruits, which has not been my BK experience. However, the tell-tale circular shoulder cracking was present on a few, so I am reasonably sure this is the right one. All other dark tomatoes should bow to BK, even Cherokee Purple --the very mature ones don't even need salt, they already HAVE a salty undertone.

My counters are currently overrun, so life is good.

May 30, 2019	#1
Mojo Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 317	Short-ish 2019 Report resurfaces I rebuilt my beds last year, going from four 4'x32'x10" beds to eight 4'x12'x12" beds so I could jump back and forth more easily between them. But literally nothing grew; I blame insufficiently-decomposed planters mix producing nitrogen lock-up. Mind you, the Big Beefs donated to me that survived the summer all came on like gangbusters in the fall, but their presence invoked the dreaded Fall Tomato Curse ("No matter when Mojo actually plants fall plants, he will end up in a hard north wind and rain picking semi-ripe fruits to keep them from freezing two weeks ahead of harvest" --yes, Houston, I am to blame for November.) So this year I added chicken leavings (heh) and Azomite and got after it. I started Black Krim and Orange Jazz in pots (many, many pots) and then went and got a variety of God-knows-what from a local nursery. And I say that because I put off actually writing down what I planted until far too late, and by then the writing had washed off the markers. Oh well. I know one was Bloody Butcher, another was Oxheart, and one was a semi-dwarf. I am distressed to report that some wilt, most likely fusarium, struck hard this year, and wiped out many of the store-bought plants before full production was achieved. (And we won't even discuss the squash...) Even so, I do haz notes... Bloody Butcher: is now my go-to for an early tomato, it does about the same for me as Early Girl but is far tastier. Oxheart: I don't know, the taste was decent and the production was okay before it got wilted, but they seemed small, especially compared to something like Kosovo. Orange Jazz this one took a bit of time to get moving, but I was shocked at how nicely it turned out. Nice sweet flavor (TT is right, it is vaguely peachy), okay production, but the fruits were significantly larger than expected, averaging around beefsteak-sized. This one gets planted again next year. Black Krim putatively broke my heart last year, but I think that because the packet was mislabeled and what few I harvested were most definitely NOT this. This year is a complete 180. I'm actually rather curious what's going on at TT, because this batch yielded some plants that were growing beefsteak-fruits, which has not been my BK experience. However, the tell-tale circular shoulder cracking was present on a few, so I am reasonably sure this is the right one. All other dark tomatoes should bow to BK, even Cherokee Purple --the very mature ones don't even need salt, they already HAVE a salty undertone. My counters are currently overrun, so life is good. __________________ There is no logical response to the question, "Why won't you let me plant more tomatoes?"