2024 garden

Here, my accountant plants several varieties. She sets steel posts in line with the rows then pulls lines of twine for the plants to grow and attach to. She likes sisal for the biodegradable part but poly would probably hold up better through the growing season. This helps keep the row clear for weeding, tieing, and harvesting. Cages and sprawling didn't work for her. My sister is a horticulturist and she pulls one wire high over the row then drops one line down to each and ties them
Good luck with your garden. We too are expanding as well

Dumb question Jay, when a tomato says 60 or 90 days, is that from germination, or from the time you transplant the plant you've bought?   I'm assuming from germination??

Our first round of tomatoes this year got burned out by the heat, 3 months of temps above 105 nearly every day, doomed them. 2nd round planted in late August are still hanging in there, but yield has been sparse. Still covering the plants at nite when temps are predicting to be below 35, but the foliage is slowly turning yellow underneath, just not enough hours of sunlight this time of year.

Lars there are two different types of tomatoes there are determinant that bloom and set fruit and their done and  indeterminant that keep right on blooming and set fruit they are better for staking the determinant work well in cages hope this helps you decide

Muy bell peppers turn out to be hot peppers and I emailed the company and they sent me 2 packs of bell peppers that I am going to plant this year. I have front frame for cabinets that I screwed together to make a V that I put over my early plant or seeds and put plaastic on them till the frost is over

Dave H wrote: BTW my neighbors chickens don't seem to have a preference on variety.

I have to space my tomatoes 8 feet apart  if I let them on the ground and even then they are running over each other. I plant a wild variety from Jackies seeds in Mn. --- Its an old open pollenated kind, medium sized fruit and a million on each plant.

Picked up the first batch of seeds at the local farm store yesterday. No time like the present! Will start the tomatoes in about five weeks, Burpee sandwich slicer's.

Plummer, I start them from seed because I can't find the plants I want come spring. Early girls are everywhere, I plant four of them every year. Used to plant 'Goliath' tomatoes. Can't find them around here anymore, hence the 'sandwich slicers'. They make nice, big fruit. One slice makes a sandwich!