I tried a new tomato this year that I liked quite a bit, "Brandy Boy" from Burpee. Fruits average between .5-1 lb and the flavor is what I've been looking for. Granted flavor is subjective, of course, but it has a good blend of sweet, tart, and tomato that I like a lot. The plants are nicely productive and seem pretty hardy. Overall, I'm quite happy with that one. I also tried two other tomatoes that are good, but not as exciting. Another thing I'm quite pleased with, although it is technically its 2nd year (I only had one plant last year, though) was my brown crowder pea. I think it is called Top Pick, but the labeling isn't clear, it might just be brown crowder. I picked it up from my local farm store on the assumption that they know what grows well here and what most people like. It is only the second type of cowpea I've grown, but it has a nice flavor without too much... Funk. Whatever you would call that special muskiness the other type (PEPH) had. Cowpeas are like beans in how easy they are to grow, so there's not much to say on that front.

Hi Kat, I missed your message above Caps. Thanks, you're no slouch either, I'm hoping to incorporate some of your ideas into the garden this year to give it some color and not look so sterile...I'm going to cover some of the tomato arbors with vining flowers, got that idea from your beautiful arbors :-) Tom

I buy a product called Sea-90 which is harvested ocean salt. A lab found it contains 92 minerals, trace elements and organic compounds plus more than 50,000 organic substances in the just the right proportions. Crop production benefits from enhanced micro flora populations include: Enhanced nutrient uptake Significantly improved flavor Greater production and yields Reduced days to harvest Reduced transplant shock Reduced drought stress Reduced heat stress I add it to the soil and also use it as a spray for leaves. Aphids hate it and it will cure many diseases as well. I swear this i something you'll want to know about. There's years of research behind it. Read amazing and detailed info on the sea-90 website. [seaagri.com] Not an ad. I don't benefit from this, I just think our soil needs the minerals.

Okay, an update (sorry for the bump): We had temps in the teens for several nights with highs in the low 30's last week. We didn't make it above freezing for a couple of days during that period. Before the arctic blast poured in, I set a shop light (clamp type) with a 40 watt standard light bulb inside the tent and let that run during the night. I kept the tent covered with blankets as well, and was able to maintain overnight temps of around 45 to 50. This was about 30 degrees warmer than the outside temps! In retrospect, I could have probably gone with a 25 watt bulb and been just fine. But 40 watts isn't all that much, less than a dime a day to run. During the day, when the sun was out, I was able to turn off the lamp and fold back the blankets so that the sunlight could get in for a while to provide solar help. During the peak "solar periods" with no supplemental heat, the temps were a balmy 75 to 80, with brief periods above that... as high as 86 F. This, with outside temps not even breaking the freezing mark! Heck, my house isn't even *that* warm, LOL... As of yesterday, the plants look basically healthy with some 2-3" long poblanos and quite a few little "buttons" that weren't there before the chill. I did have some non-fertile flowers (old maids) as well, but hey, I'm pretty tickled to have PEPPERS in January. Considering that there's not much activity under that tent other than my occasional watering and checking things out, it's a wonder that anything even got pollinated. Eh, maybe some random bugs did that job or the peppers are "parthenocarpic". We shall soon see. Happy birthday to the plants as well-- they are now one year old, planted on January 1, 2009 and broke soil as new seedlings within 10 days. I've got more orange habs, serranos, bells and pobes started which are just now breaking soil. So cute to see the little baby seedlings. The Red Savina seeds are ready to go in the starter trays, but not sure if I'm going to waste time or space with jalapenos this year after the disappointing show I had last year. Lots of peppers, but almost all were totally heatless. Mismarked "Jalapeno M", I guess; they were more like "Fooled You's" or TAMe Jalapeno hybrids... what a waste of a good pepper (but that's for another thread). So, it looks like the experiment is progressing along nicely. It will be interesting to see if they continue to produce through the 2010 growing season. -Megan