Welcome To The (Tomato) Jungle
— NukularBiskits (Bo Alawine) (@nukularbiskits.bsky.social) May 3, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Still can’t access my BJ email account, but I can embed pics, and Nuklar Biscuit’s tomato plants have me dreaming of summer culinary delights…
(If you would like to share photos, let me know in the comments.)
Meanwhile — What’s going on in your gardens, this week?
I had to go look at the tags as I didn't remember what varieties I bought:
Supersweet 100
Sweet Million F1
Cherokee Purple— NukularBiskits (Bo Alawine) (@nukularbiskits.bsky.social) May 4, 2025 at 11:01 AM
War for Ukraine Day 1,171: A Brief Saturday Night Update
Reboot
Re: tomatoes, highly recommend Purple Zebra. Tastes better than Brandywine to me. Prolific and profuse.
Betty Cracker
Haven’t heard that song in ages — thanks! I agree with the sentiment it expresses. There’s nothing like the highly anticipated first homegrown tomato crop each year.
When the first tomatoes are close to ripe, I bake a loaf of plain white bread so there’s no distraction from the main ingredient and make a sandwich with just tomatoes, mayo, salt and pepper.
Cherokee Purples are terrific, as are Ukrainian Purples. The latter have a similar sweetness but are oblong and meatier, sort of like San Marzanos in shape and heft.
Bill is the gardener, so he decides what to grow. I’m not sure which varieties he chose this year, but we should have some ripe tomatoes pretty soon. Last I looked, they were coming along nicely.
satby
Nice garden set up NB!
I have to try to plant all my pots and bare root annuals today because I head out on a 10 day trip tomorrow. Some may be heeled into pots temporarily until I get back. I had a whole color scheme in mind for my hanging pots and the plants IRL aren’t quite as complimentary as in the (gorgeous) online pictures 😂. Of course. So now I’m not sure how I’ll group them. TBC…
Baud
You are set once the tomato tariffs begin.
satby
@Reboot: @Betty Cracker: I’m also a huge fan of tomatoes that come in colors other than red. I like the purples, the oranges in all versions, and the zebras. I’ll grow reds, but only heirlooms because I’m a glutton for punishment.
satby
Ok, not on topic for the garden thread, but I came across this and it is BRILLIANT!
Click it Baud, you won’t be sorry!
Lose yourself
Baud
@satby:
I knew he plagiarized that song.
satby
@Baud: 😂😂😂
rikyrah
Good Morning Everyone 😊 😊 😊
Reboot
@Betty Cracker:
@satby: Here’s one from Ukraine that sounds great: https://www.plant-world-seeds.com/store/view_seed_item/1598/tomato-russian-black-seeds?srsltid=AfmBOorNWpveGp8hOJcl9I2n-wgx37O9KcQ1FfQVC8rw1LghaJHig-NS
Even though it’s called Black Russian. 🤔
(Sorry about the link. I attempted to embed–any chance of a sidebar primer for this?)
Baud
@rikyrah:
Good morning.
CarolM
I have been so excited for my spinach, kale and Brussels sprouts this spring, they are growing nicely in a fenced-in raised bed. Just yesterday the woodchuck that destroyed my entire garden last year made his appearance and now my entire time outdoors will be spent trying to keep them safe.
BretH
No wonder you haven’t responded to my email about a garden post! I have a set of photos and text all ready to go. Bharris183 at the Gmail.
Jeffg166
The Heliopsis are full of aphids. No idea why.
Looks like the battle against wild asters might be working. I have been pulling them out for year. I don’t mind a few but they were taking over everywhere.
Bishops weed is the next battle on the list. That is really out of control.
There are five volunteer butternut squash plants coming up in the compost. They will get moved to the vegetable garden.
satby
@Reboot: Thanks, those do look good! I see a few types I may get for next year. Bookmarked.
Rose Judson
The awkwardly-sited wisteria continues to dazzle. Should have the first peonies, bearded iris, and poppies this week. Hostas have emerged. Hopefully my anti-slug measures will protect them long enough to let them leaf out.
satby
@Rose Judson: that wisteria is amazing! I love wisteria but had limited success growing it until I moved to Michigan. It never got that big or fully flowered though.
frosty
@Betty Cracker: Ripe already! Today is the day I buy seeds and plants and start the vegetable garden. I’m a month (or more) late for lettuce seeds but close to on time for tomatoes and peppers – plants, not seeds.
sab
@satby: I love wisteria, but it can be invasive in the wrong setting. Don’t plant where it can spread uncontrolled.
eclare
@Rose Judson:
That is gorgeous! I’m jealous, I don’t see any in Memphis, although according to the zones, they can grow here.
Lyrebird
Hungry for tomatoes now!
@Reboot: Front-pagers can embed pics, not possible otherwise
They Call Me Noni
Bought all my herbs and got them planted. I put them in pots out on the back deck right off the kitchen so they’re conveniently placed. Two pots of basil this year as I need to make lots of pesto to freeze so I ordered more pine nuts. The peonies have tons of buds and I am anxiously awaiting the precise moment they can be cut and brought inside. Two of them are Itoh’s and I just don’t get their allure. They were expensive and have always underperformed. I get maybe three flowers from them and they are taking up precious real estate in that bed. Bought geraniums and such for the various pots in the beds and got those planted. The phlox are all up and doing well which makes the hummingbirds, bees and butterflies happy. The sedums are already knee high and I bought some various flower seeds for the newest cutting garden but the soil isn’t warm enough yet to plant those.
JAM
This year I’m growing Burgundy Traveler, sungold and San Marzano plum tomatoes. Today I am going to plant a very small pollinator garden for my Mom. I can’t dig a lot right now or in one day, so I’m just going to make a narrow bed against the house now, and then enlarge it in fall to a more normal size.
OlFroth
My tomato, pepper and eggplant plants are about a foot and a half tall. Peas are climbing the trellis, and the cucumbers aren’t far behind. I have pumpkin on the front slope, and the onions and garlic are doing well. My broccoli loving 15-year old is excited about the size of the plants, and my cabbage is looking great! I have a few herbs in the AeroGarden that are ready to go outside.
KayInMD (formerly Kay (not the front-pager))
@Rose Judson: Your wisteria is glorious! Mine succumbed to a late frost a week or so before the buds were about to bloom. :-( They wouldn’t have been that fabulous anyway.
My kitchen counters are covered with vases of peonies, about 2 weeks early. In fact, everything is about 2 weeks early this year. My husband cut them for me this morning because painters are going to be trampling the garden come morning so he thought he’d rescue them for my indoor enjoyment. Sweet!
dnfree
I’m glad to see someone else besides me is not just a fan, but a pusher, of the Guy Clark song!
No One of Consequence
@satby:
Ok that was dope.
-NOoC
RaflW
We’re at the lake, which is 15 mins from BF’s sister’s year-round house. She has a fabulously productive rhubarb patch.
Last night I made this year’s first batch of strawberry rhubarb crumble. We were quality assurance testing for today’s multi-gen Mother’s day gathering — sorry about the dent in the big casserole of yum, moms. There’s still plenty for everyone!
And, yes, it was yum. One of my favorite flavors of spring.
No One of Consequence
Man, reading these posts, I get the feeling I am waaaaay behind, starting from seeds.
Oh well. Onions appearing, carrots up, should have spinach to finally eat as first produce to the table this year. Basil has come up, and saw my first Okra pop out of the dirt. Peas need something to climb, and beans are loud and proud (pre-digestion, this is an impressive feat, Benji Franklin would be proud). TatSoi and BokChoi continue to develop. Lettuce has also sprouted an is trying to do its thing.
-NOoC
No One of Consequence
Oh, and would you fuggin’ look at that?! Actual, honest-to-goodness sweet tater starts are forming. This has taken weeks of time, but looks to be that it will actually pan out. So, I forget who was asking about this last week, check that video, as it DOES work, with a LOT of patience and misting, and babying to get the soil warm enough.
-NOoC
RaflW
@Lyrebird: While we all wait for home gardens to produce, I’ve been amazed lately by the “Campari” tomatoes at Costco. Deep red color, sold on the vine, and for mass-produced, they’re really very good.
They’re from Canada, so I expect the $5.49 for a largish box to be going up soon, or the wonderful orbs to just become unavailable (not wanting to politics post – but they’re so good, I’ll genuinely miss them if they go).
MazeDancer
My neighbors, who have a giant farmette, with a huge greenhouse and six 24 x 6 ft raised beds, went a bit overboard, even for them, and had too many seedlings.
So they sold them for 3 bucks each.
Got a Blue, a White, and a San Marzano. No clue what the Blue or White will do. They were new to my neighbors as well.
They Call Me Noni
@Rose Judson: Absolutely beautiful!
satby
@No One of Consequence: yay!
@No One of Consequence: double yay!
satby
@No One of Consequence: 😉
TerryC
Sadly, my medical issues cropped up at the same time as my machines broke down. I am going to have to mourn a couple hundred seedlings I can’t get into the ground in time this year.
OTOH, I have lots of trees whose fruit has survived frosts this year: paw paws, apricots, peaches, plums, pears, cherries, and more!