Vegetable Grow List Continued- Nightshades and Legumes and Squash, Oh My!

I started tomato and eggplant seeds Jan. 31 and Feb. 7 in ziplocks, planted them after a week or so when they sprouted into rose pots, and here they are after 4 weeks.  ( I wrote about these in more detail in earlier posts).  You can see the growth is rather variable.   From the left, Napoli (supposed to be, doesn't look like the photos, saved seed, very nice unusual foliage), New Big Dwarf (dwarf as seedlings too, love that stocky rugose foliage), Jetsetter (really stretching out fast)-

NBD on left, Jetsetter again, and Juliet (saved over several years from hybrid seed so rather variable), and my bigger Alpine strawberries-

From the left,  slower growing Legend (tall round blemish-free tomato, supposed to be resistant to late blight), Verna's Orange Oxheart (luscious yellowish heart, fruity taste, good production), Lucky Cross (last time didn't come true from seed, here's hoping as they are very large, wonderful tasting bicolor tomatoes), "Curvy" (mystery paste variety), .Kamo eggplant (new, round flat bottom, gourmet taste), Ping Tung Long (long Oriental type eggplant, also new to me)-

I've also started some Hungarian Hot Wax and Sweet Banana Peppers in ziplocks, and a few tomatoes that didn't sprout well- Bloody Butcher, Moscovsky, and Diamond eggplant, probably too old.

In April I will start squash in ziplocks as well, probably my favorite summer squash, Golden Crookneck (Lily Miller), and perhaps a patty pan called Vert et Jaune.   Cucumbers will probably be a repeat of some of my favorites from last year, some are parthenocarpic, meaning they can develop without fertilization, which makes it possible to grow them indoors (tried in my indoor hydroponics system), and gives a higher percentage of blossoms resulting in fruit outdoors as they are not dependent on the bees- Eureka, .Diva, Amour, Gemini, Lemon, and Tanja.

Beans are one of my favorite crops, and I grew more different ones last year, both pole and bush.  Some bush Romano types I will grow again- Capitano, yellow; Marconi nano- green w/ black seeds; Yer Fasulyasi- heirloom, green with brown seeds; Bush wax bean, does well in early cool weather- Pisarecka Zlutoluske; early green round bush bean, tender- Speedy; and some pole beans- Anellino Giallo- yellow "shrimp" bean, curved;  Garrafal oro- green "shrimp" bean: a mystery pole bean I grew last year with green round pods, tender with a slight purple blush, and beautiful black seeds with white streaks.  I will also trial a new pole bean that is supposed to be a vigorous producer of shelly or dried beans- Dolloff, and a tall half-runner bean called Tuscarora Bread bean, an Amer. Indian heirloom they used to make bread.  I want to try making some bamboo trellises for them with my very productive bamboo, Phyllostachys nuda.

I already covered my new seeds in the radish, cabbage, brussels sprouts, etc categories in this post.

Finally, some photos to show why I am excited to grow a tomato again that didn't look like its description, Napoli.  It is a determinate, and makes a nice stocky short plant with unusual foliage, thick rounded leaves, and with a clustering habit in fruit production, lots of clusters all over the whole plant.  I am growing it again this year but it may have been an accidental hybrid so may be variable.  So far the seedlings are among the most vigorous and doing well.  Last year's plants-

And here is one of the clusters-

Only 3 weeks left until Spring!  Can't wait.

Hannah

Garden Blogger's Bloom Day February 2012

Welcome to my blooms of the day, linked to the GBBD page at May Dreams Gardens, thanks to Carol.  On my deck, a wild geranium that self-sowed into a pot has leaves almost resembling flowers-

I was surprised to find some Hellebores that were open, always hard to photograph because of their tendency to weep-

A riot of lichens and moss on some apple trees in need of pruning-

Catkins in full bloom on some hazelnut trees-

The reliable winter bloom of heather Erica carnea-

The refreshing lemon burst of variegated  Elaeagnus x ebbingei 'Gilt Edge', which is not phased at all by cold or snow-

And finally a tiny 1" indoor bloom on my Maxillaria tenuifolia-

Well, only a little more than a month left until spring, yippee!

Hannah