Sam's Garden

Occasionally, as I take a walk around the neighborhood I notice things that pique my gardening interests. One was a beautiful raised garden area that a neighbor had been cultivating for a while. A couple days ago I went to find out more about his garden and learn more about what he is growing and how he does it.

Sam is a retired marine with some time on his hands. So, he decided to do some gardening. Good thing too. He first took me out back to his greenhouse, where he keeps his peppers. His 2-year-old pepper plants were looking pretty good. Though I am a definite wimp in terms of spicy food, I can admire those who grow hot peppers. I believe he said that he has to wear gloves for some of them, including the ghost peppers.

Sam notes that he tries all sort of methods for growing in pots, just to see what works well. He says that he learns a lot online - then goes and tries something to see if it works. A lot of what he had consisted of drip systems, soaker hoses, and pot reservoirs. Many of his pepper plants look better than what is pictured here, so I may have to come back for another snapshot session.

In the front yard he keeps two finger lime trees. They are very productive and he swears by them, because of the amount of vitamin C. They are quite good and do taste a lot like limes, but - in my opinion - better.

The remainder of the garden is pretty standard fare. The zucchini is at the end of its life and is being finished off by powdery mildew. His wife is the big bush bean fan. It seems that the beans are thriving in the morning sun, as are the tomatoes.

I am still amazed at how productive Sam’s tomatoes are, even when only receiving morning sun and having plenty of shade throughout the day. He definitely keeps everything well-watered, as his plants look fantastic.

Although Sam was unsure about the tomato variety in the pot, he was pretty sure that the tomatoes next to the fence were Heritage tomatoes. From looking online, I'm not sure if that refers to a variety with the name Heritage in it or if he was simply referring to some heirloom tomato variety.

 

All I can think of when looking at these tomatoes is "Tomato Sandwiches!"

 

Medium Long of Massafrese

For the most part, my ideal situation for offering seed to others is to ensure that I know exactly what the variety will look like. Experience has taught me that what is pictured on the packet is often different from what actually grows. Case in point is my experience last summer with the Medium Long of Massafrese. I offered these seed for a while, which seem to be the same thing as my friend Giuseppe's Carosello Leccese (Spuredda or Meloncella) Fasciata.

Overall, the fruit looks much like a Tondo Carosello Massafra. In fact, it is just as oval as the splotched Massafrese that I grow. I am still on the lookout for the half-long cylindrical Carosello (C. melo) that exhibits dark skin with light stripes. All the moving that I have done has decreased my germination of this variety to a point at which I no longer offer it. The similarity between it and the Carosello Massafra is so great that it seems like more like a Tondo Massafra than anything else.

 

Despite some good looking cucumbers, the growth of the plants was incredibly slow. The majority of seed did not sprout and the majority of the plants that sprouted did not make it to maturity. I wanted so much to save the seeds and pass them on to others. However, the plants were so weak that any hope I had to have the fruit grow to maturity was lost when the plant with the most promising fruit suddenly stopped growing and started dying. It didn't help that the germination was poor from this seed company, which told me that their germination was 100%! Sometimes, the only thing a seed-saver can do is eat their carosello.

The Taxi Tomato

Being that I am a mostly red tomato fan, I was thinking that I would not really care for yellow tomatoes. But I was wrong. Last summer (2017) I planted Taxi tomatoes in a partially shady spot, hoping to get possibly a few tomatoes.

 
The plants ended up being one of my all-time tomato producers. In fact, they produce a lot more than some other hybrids. The size can be variable (with most being medium slicing size), but the general speed of production and the hardiness of the plants is incredible. No wonder so many seed companies put this variety on the top of their list of preferred yellow tomatoes.

One of the main concerns about this variety is that it is a determinate. However, it does seem to produce more than once and commonly produces off shoots that develop into healthy plants that produce even more tomatoes. That being said, I probably would not put this in to the same category as Celebrity, the ultimate “vigorous” determinate – which can last most of the summer without showing signs of stopping.

Another potential issue is that, much like some other determinates like Neptune, the fruit requires a bit more support when being trellised. As you can probably tell from the flimsy tomato cages I acquired from a neighbor who was giving them away, Taxi does well with a strong tomato cage and possibly some additional support, due to the amount of fruit it produces.

As for taste, the taxi has a very smooth, but well-rounded taste. It is not as sharp as some cherry varieties and exhibits a moderate amount of umami. The tangy acidic taste is very mild unlike some types of Beefsteak varieties.

Production starts early and lasts for about 3-4 weeks, possibly longer if it is cut back early to allow side-shoots to spread. The fruit is eatable when light yellow, but much exhibit a much heartier flavor when left on the vine until they are dark yellow.

Overall, I have been incredibly impressed by this yellow tomato variety. If I could find a red determinate open-pollinated variety that produced this well, it would surely win a regular spot in my backyard.