Branching Out's Seeds and Sprouts

[heirloomgal]

That kale! The tomatoes! So huge!

 

[Branching Out]

That kale! The tomatoes! So huge!

They're getting there! The photo may distort the size a bit, as the green part is about 5-6" on each of them. The kale go to go on a field trip outdoors today, but the tomatoes will have to stay in until it is warmer. Both are new varieties for me, Ruthie's Ukrainian Kale and Doukhobor dwarf tomato. I have never grown a dwarf tomato before; they indicate that it will only reach 24" or so. It is so fun to try new plants!

Meanwhile, I was both pleased and relieved to finally get my collection of lettuce seeds into the freezer yesterday. It took some time to sort the packets, and to identify which ones will need to be grown out in the next year or two to ensure that the seeds remain fresh. Some of my other vegetable seeds will still need to find their way to the freezer, but having the lettuce squared away feels really good.

 

[Branching Out]

It has been about 10 days since I cross-pollinated the Pink Rival amaryllis. No seed pods formed on the small stalk, despite three blossoms being pollinated. The taller of the two stalks looks good though, with two seed pods forming.

 

[Branching Out]

The letter carrier just dropped off a parcel with seeds! I will have so many new tomatoes to try this year.

Have any of you ever been successful at selling tomato seedlings? I am thinking about giving it a try, on a small scale.

 

[heirloomgal]

Neves Azorean

eta: I really like Casey's tomatoes. I've collected quite a few from him over the years and many were top quality. I tried his Dr. Carolyn's cherry and it was WAY above average for a yellowy cherry. Utyonok was a pretty neat one too, tons of tomatoes on a such an incredibly tidy little plant. Krokha was a shockingly good red cherry, though I don't think he's got that one on his list this year.

 

[digitS']

Selling tomato starts?

Sure. The darn farmers' market's opening day was too late for most of the early-season plant starts. Howsomeever ... customers seem to think that they should be able to show up in May and buy ripe tomatoes and corn on the cob, etc. etc! So, markets for food producers should be opening only when there are some folks with food to sell and not just garden plants.

Tomato plants - try for a selection that fits with different tastes and growing conditions (open ground/potted). Heirlooms are great for some folks but obscure choices may just result in puzzled expressions.

Steve

 

[heirloomgal]

Have any of you ever been successful at selling tomato seedlings?

Do you have much foot traffic on your street? If so, I think you would do well to sell extra starts. I had a whole bunch at the end of my driveway last summer and they were all gone in a few hours. There are lots of walkers on my street, and many people walked across from the sidewalk on the others side to come and take a look. I was actually pretty surprised how much traction they got. But digits is right about oddities i.e. anything not red. While I was explaining to one lady about the type of tomato she was looking at, she froze, looked at me, and said "there is such a thing as not red tomatoes???"

 

[Branching Out]

Thank you Steve and Heirloomgal, for your tips for selling tomato seedlings. You have good suggestions about keeping the varieties simple yet interesting, and trying to draw in pedestrians as they pass by. If I do this I will try to keep track of which cultivars are popular, to gage just how adventursome the locals are. Lol. Having a table at the end of the driveway would be pretty easy; I can try it as a test, and see how it goes. And should no one be interested in buying them there will be many opportunities to give them away at the local elementary school or community centre. If I can get extra seedlings to the point that they look good in a 4" pot it would be easy for folks to carry them home from my place.

When I went to my first Seedy Saturday at a local community garden I suggested that they do a 'Seedling Saturday' in April, for sharing extra starts. They thought that was worth consideration; if they bring the event to fruition I may be able to offer seedlings there too.

 

[Branching Out]

Yesterday the first starts hit the dirt, with a dozen fava plants going in. Last year I was on a special seed saving mission with fava, so I did my best to grow them with care and attention. This year there is no pressure to save seeds, so I get to experiment a bit. I planted them under the grapevines, where nothing usually grows as it is very hot and dry there during the summer. The fava will be finished by July, so I figured it was worth a try to place them there.

 

[Branching Out]

Last year I grew larkspur for the first time, and it went to seed. Now I have the beginnings of two larkspur forests. Something tells me that this is not going to end well.