ItÂs time to announce the second annual South East Texas Tomato Fest (SETTFest) 2008. What is it? A gathering of tomato growers and their friends who want to share and taste different varieties of homegrown tomatoes. When is it? June 21, 2008 Setup is at 11am Tasting begins at Noon Where is it? Washington on the Brazos park 20 minutes from Brenham, TX Who will be there? Tomato gardeners, farmers, and their friends from Texas and surrounding areas. We are currently working on updating the SETTFest website to include maps and information about this year's event. If you are planning to attend, it would be helpful to us if you could fill out the Survey, including listing any food items you plan to bring. Iced Tea, Diet Sodas, and Water will be provided, as well as Greek Pasta Salad (we'll pick the best tomatoes and cucumbers and make it right there!). The survey helped us with planning last year. Last year we had 25 attendees and nearly 90 tomato varieties available to taste. You can view photos of last year's event in our Photo Album. What better place to hold this event than historic Washington on the Brazos -- the Birthplace of Texas, and home to the Barrington Living History Farm, a working farm that we might all want to visit once we're all tomatoed out. We hope to see plenty of fellow tomato lovers at the 2008 South East Texas Tomato Fest!

Rather cliche for the South, but there are many crapemyrtles, especially the largest ones such as Lagerstroemia faureri (really pretty orange bark iwth white flowers, 20-30' when mature and rounded canopy) or the 'Natchez' cultivar of Lagerstroemia indica (or a hybrid of) that is also white flowering and gets about 25-30 tall and 25' wide with a oval and spreading canopy when mature, also with pretty bark that is cinnamon in color. Crapes are usually always disease free and NEVER hatrack a crapemyrtle tree--there are clueless landscapers all over the South that still do this.

Santa, choices in the Squash Casserole family include the yellow SC herself. It can take nearly full sun with adequate water. Other sports include Yesterday's Memories (I got mine from Hallson), Wave Runner (new this year), Key Lime Pie. I do not have Jujen, another sport Tickle Me Pink is a hybrid with One Man's Treasure the podparent, SC the pollen parent. I have it, but cannot find it right now to take a picture. WHERE did I put it! :/ Squash Casserole the older one on 7/7/14 Squash Casserole the younger one, to show the first year plant ordered from Hallson . This shot of it in bloom is 6/25/14 Yesterday's Memories' 6/29/14 and it came from Hallson too, in 2012. It LEAPED this year, and is broader than 36 inches Wave Runner is new this year, came from LOTG/Land of the Giants. I like the variegation with a narrow pale yellow margin and a deep gold leaf center, gold if it gets the sun, probably would green up in the midleaf if kept in mostly shade. Key Lime Pie is no slouch, I got it in 2013 from Green Mt. Here it is 5/31/14 with its medium green leaf and lighter gold margin with a slight ripple so far. It's probably the darkest one of the bunch. Tony Avent created Squash Casserole for southern gardens, the story goes. He says it can take the climate as long as it gets adequate moisture regularly. I am a believer! It is my experience after growing SC for the third growing season and watching it and Yesterday's Memories LEAP this year. And I began putting the golds like SC in a LOT more sun, which scared me at first, but other than some golds bleaching out in the afternoon sun (I moved them to morning sun), the whole group look better than my results in previous years, when I was timid about giving them the sun. Now I see the light! And it is glorious. Good luck making your selections. If you wish to get some suggestions from southern gardeners, meaning EXTREME HOSTA GROWING, start a new thread about it and folks will see it and make suggestions.

I think the best place for a tomato festival announcement would be right here in the tomato section. I went to the first one last year and it was great. Looking forward to this year.