Anyone growing heirloom vegetables here?

Cherokee Purple and Black From Tula are both great tomatos.Black Krim is also up there in my top 10(or I should say 20 now,lol)!Hope you get to enjoy some before the ants get em'.

Mine were about done in by the heat this summer also.I have toms putting on now,but the first frost more than likely will get them before they turn ripe.I can't complain,have had more than we could eat,maybe I'll fry some greenies up .

And since the heat wave finally gave up the ghost,the peppers are putting on like crazy.Freezing and stuffed green peppers on the agenda!

 

When we lived in Wissconsin, I used to pick all the green tomatoes before the frost and wrap each one in newspaper and put them in a basket in the basement. Cover the basket. The tomatoes put off a gas that makes them ripen. Check them every few days. We used to have fresh tomatoes for Christmas. I have done that here in Arizona but they don't last as long. I have a lot of peppers. One plant has six peppers on it. I'm thinking of picking the smaller ones and see if the biggest two will get bigger. I know with fruit trees if you pick about half the fruit when they are small the rest will get bigger. Dooley

 

I'll have to try that with some of the green ones.It's worth a shot.

What kind of peppers do you grow?

 

This year I have Big Jim and Chili Relleno and Long Red Cayenne for the hot ones although they say medium hot. Then I just have the sweet green peppers maybe California Wonder. I did have Tequila Sunrise but something ate it. The one that came up in the tray. It got about three inches tall and then wasn't there. I have that problem with things. This year I think it was the earwigs with the stuff I planted straight into the garden. I don't think I planted the jalepeno this year. I didn't see them anywhere. Last year I had them and habernero. I thought the habernero was too hot. My husband says I'm a wimp. Dooley

 

I guess I'm a wimp too!Habs,NEVER AGAIN!!!!You have to have a fire plug handy just to handle them .The hot ones for me are Anahiem Chilies and Jalepenios.Then after reading that roasted peppers on the grill were the way to go,I tried it.After pulling them out of the paper bag after they cooled down(like that really happened)and taking a taste,my mouth burned for a solid hour.Couldn't taste anything for a day after that lil experiment,think I'll refrain from now on

 

We like the New Mexico Hatch Chilis, roasted and peeled. I stuff them with strips of cheddar cheese and bake them in seasoned tomato sauce. They are a mild hot. They don't send you to the water cooler for an hour afterwards.You can do them like chili rellenos and dip them in egg and a flour batter and deepfry them before you bake them in the tomato sauce. But with my diet I don't need the batter so I just stuff them with the cheese. I like the sweet peppers stuffed with a mixture of hamburger and rice with tomato sauce. I use peppers in just about anything. Omelets, scrambled eggs, rice, spaghett. salad. Just about anything. Dooley

 

Hiya, i do about 40 vartieys of Tomato a year inside and have about 100 varietys of seed waiting to be grown, this year included :-
sugary
pineapple
hawii gold
russian red
pink brandy wine
white frostie
and otheres
also i have grown heritage broad beans (red flowers) dissapointed in them
Also Heritage peas and carrots.

 

Hi,Dawn.That sounds about like me.Did 37 new varietys this summer and have about 60 in the seed box that I haven't had the room to try yet(the gardener's motto"next year,for sure"lol.

I had a lot of fun this year trying:
Aunt Gerties Gold
Carbon
Depps' Pink Firefly
Cherokee Green
Evergreen
Black Cherry
Ponderosa
German Red Stawberry
....and the list goes on and on.

I also grew an heirloom bean that was very impressive.Uncle Steves Italian Pole Bean.

All in all,a very enjoyable gardening season!

 

Yep your right there is always next year LOL
the beans sound good where did you find them ????
i did bolottie and killer whale beans which where ok but nothing to write home about !
Ment to try the yard long beans but forgot to put them in

 

Uncle Steves is a family heirloom bean that was shared 2 years ago on another website by his great-nephew,Keith.It was brought with Steve when he and his family migrated to the U.S. from Sicily.A flat-podded,green with purple streaks when ripe.Delicious!

I saved a bunch of seed from it this year,and would send you some if you like.Just LMK.

 

I am switching to all open pollinated and heirloom veggies this year. I saved a few of my own seeds this year. I have only been able to grow out the lettuce seed but that looks pretty good so far.
I saved mostely tomatoes, beans and peppers.
By setting up a seed saving bed in the front of my house I can keep a few types pure with out bagging or cagging plants.
I grew Uncle Steves roma tomatoes this year and they were pretty good. I had a sample of the pole beans but didn't understand about seed saving then.
I hope to cut my seed bill by 50 percent over the next 2 years. I also buy seed in small bulk pks to save money. So much of the seed we buy over and over any way. If you understand how long seed can last then it is easy to know how much to order.

 

Hi SquashNut.

I have grown Uncle Steve's Plum for the last 2 years and it does well here too.Not great yielding,but not bad either.I like the large size of them and the flavor is good also.

I don't buy seed anymore after saving from my own crops the last 4 years.Tomato's don't cross very often,so I'm not too worried about isolation.I have had a couple that were crossed over the years,but out of over a 100 new varietys that I've tried,thats not a bad track record,lol!Peppers and beans are another matter tho.I'm glad I just grew just the one kind of pole bean this year.That should have reduced the chances of crossing for next year