So far the hardest part of grafting tomatoes is getting germination predictably on time and estimating growth patterns so the stems of the scion and rootstock are roughly the same size. The actual graft and post-graft care are straightforward as long as you follow steps to ensure a gradual exposure to normal conditions. The two…
DIY Collapsible Tomato Cages for Containers
Last season I used a green rod for supporting the tomatoes in the indoor self-watering pots. They worked alright, until the tomatoes got large enough to pull the rod over, so I drilled holes through the top of the rod and anchored it to the pot on each side, and that worked okay…for a while, until…
Cucumbers
My first trial with growing cucumbers in San Francisco was with Straight Eight. It grew to several inches tall and withered to nothing. The next year I tried the same variety with the self watering RGGS and it grew, very slowly. Over 6 months a total of 7 cucumbers were picked totaling 1.4 kilos. Not very…
Urban Garden 2014
The 2014 balcony and indoor garden has been coming together well so far. Instead of a ton of varieties of tomatoes, we’re adding some variety to see how other stuff grows that we would like to eat. The increase in the quantities of seeds we now posess have necessitated a trip to Daiso to spend…
Potting Soil Recycling
Since I live in an urban area, managing potting soil used for growing vegetables means recycling it in the most efficient way for re-use. My garden consists of eight 3 gallon pots and eight 5 gallon buckets for a total of 64 gallons of volume, which is about 8.5 cubic feet. After a year of…
San Francisco Fog Tomato
Talk about a cold weather tomato. It totally lives up to its namesake. They taste like typical hot-house tomatoes from the grocery store. Medium gel, with a mealy texture. That said, I only rate it 5/10…however, I would consider growing it again. Why? This plant produces loads of tomatoes that after 5-10 seconds in boiling water, the…
Black Prince Tomato
This was one of my all time favorite tomatoes (rating 9/10). The flesh is dark and multi-colored, flavors are complex, yet sweet, medium gel and tender flesh. Nearly no blossom scar, the stem anchor is shallow, almost non-existent, the skin is blemish free on most, and no cracking…except when there was some inconsistent watering. The…
Ispolin Malinovyi Tomato
Rating 4/10. 160 days from seed to first pick. Total lifespan 178 days. Average weight 252 gr ams. Total harvest weight 6.3 kilos. I’m not that thrilled with this tomato. It’s going to go towards many bottles of sauce however. Freshly sliced, this tomato was crunchy, and the skin super thick. Flavor was really mild….
Gigantesque Tomato
I rated this 6/10. It has pinkish/red half pound fruits with very little gel, kind of mushy with a bland flavor in some tomatoes and a delicious flavor with notes of strawberry in others. Most of these tomatoes are destined for sauces, rather than slicing and eating raw. Total lifespan from seed to compost, was…
Azoychka Tomato
This is by far one of my favorites (9/10). For a colder weather variety, this produces some amazing flavor. It has medium gel, great wrinkled flesh, and a citrusy flavor that makes it unique. It is a Russian heirloom that is rated as one of the best yellow tomatoes you can grow. From seed planting…