Seed Germination - Germinating Beans - Tomato Clones & Grafting

Im getting some plants ready for late summer & fall. I wanted to start more, but I will continue this weekend.
I started some seeds last week, mostly new tomatoes I ordered from Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. They have many varieties fit to grow here in the south. So far, Im very pleased with this seed company. Fast shipping, I added seeds to my order after checkout through email with no problems & a pretty quick response, affordable prices and great 100% germination rates. I have only bought store seeds in the past, but you can really tell higher quality with smaller companies like this.

Matt's Wild Cherry Tomato

60 days (Indeterminate) [From seed collected in the wild near Hidalgo in eastern Mexico.] Plants bear loads of intensely sweet and flavorful small, deep red cherry tomatoes. Plants are vigorous, disease-resistant, and sprawling. 5/8" to 3/4" fruits borne in clusters of 7-13. Favorite at our 2007 festival! Pkt (0.08g)

Sprawling vines. Our 2007 seed crop reached 10' long; a greenhouse grower told us that hers reached 17' long! Seed takes a few days longer to germinate than other tomato varieties.

Note: as with Matt's Wild Cherry, seeds for this variety may take a few days longer to germinate relative to other tomatoes.

Suyo Long Asian Cucumber 

60 days. {pm} Widely adapted and tolerant of hot weather, this is a sweet-flavored, "burpless" cucumber from China. Use for pickling or slicing. Repeated trials of this variety have shown it to be exceptionally hardy, productive and fine-flavored even under adverse conditions. Recommended as an early, main season and late season variety for the southeast. Widely adapted and very dependable in hot, humid climates. Pkt.

"Hands down the best slicing or eat straight out of hand cuke I've ever had. If this variety is properly trellised, it will yield gorgeous long straight beautiful cucumbers. Do not grow this variety if you do not intend to trellis it as you will likely not get many usable fruits." -Cricket Rakita

Mini Orange Tomato

66 days. (Indeterminate) Medium length vines produce an abundance of miniature orange tomatoes, 1-1/2" in diameter. A distinctive feature of 'Mini Orange' is its bright orange color. Mix this variety with red, yellow and green cherry tomatoes to make attractive salads. Flavor is mild and slightly tangy. Firm fruits offer good resistance to fruit worm. Ripens from green to yellow to orange. Recommended especially for the hot southern areas where night temperatures above 70oF shut down fruit set in large fruited varieties.

Neptune Tomato

(vw1, fw1, fw2, bw, gls) 67 days. (Determinate) [Developed and released to SESE in 1999 by Dr. J. W. Scott at the Gulf Coast Research and Education Center at the U. of Florida.] An early to mid-season fresh market tomato specially bred for heat tolerance and resistance to bacteria wilt which is prevalent in the Southeast and Florida. Recommended for gardeners and market growers in hot, humid, rainy growing regions where it is difficult to grow tomatoes. 4-oz red fruits in clusters of 2-4 on short vines.

Mortgage Lifter VFN Tomato

83 days. (ab, asc, vw, fw1, rkn) (Indeterminate) An improved version of 'Radiator Charlie's Mortgage LifterTM' which has added disease resistance, more uniform fruit, ripening to red rather than pink-red. Fruit is large, 10-14 oz, not as large as the original 'Mortgage Lifter', but much more productive. It still deserves the 'Mortgage Lifter' reputation and is one of our most productive and reliable tomatoes. Continues to bear until frost. Pkt.

"This is an excellent variety for home or market use." -Cricket Rakita


Orange Bell Pepper 

Cal Wonder Orange Bell Pepper - Pack
Capsicum annuum
Tender Annual

Beautiful, glossy orange bell peppers with thick, sweet walls and 3-4 lobes. Productive plants provide good canopy cover, reducing pressure for sunscald.

DISEASE RESISTANCE ABBREVIATIONS:
ab = Alternaria (early blight)	fw2 = Fusarium wilt, race 2
asc = Alternaria stem canker	gw = Gray wall
an = Anthracnose	gls = Gray leaf spot
ber = Blossom end rot	lb = Late blight
bw = Bacteria wilt	nhr = Nail head rust
cf = Cat facing	rkn = Root knot nematode
clm = Cladosporium leaf mold	st = Stemphylium spot
cr = Crack resistance	sun = Sun scald
cs = Crease stem	tmv = Tobacco mosaic virus
fw1 = Fusarium wilt, race 1	vw = Verticillium wilt

DETERMINATE AND INDETERMINATE VARIETIES: Determinate varieties are short-vined plants that seldom need staking. Blossoms and fruit develop about the same time. Indeterminate varieties are long-vined plants that bear fruit continuously. These varieties should be caged or staked. Some varieties are semi- determinate.

I also decided to give the Dragon Tongue Pole Beans from Burpee another shot. Last time I tried and germinate the beans, they turned to mush. It is NOT recommended to germinate Beans in a Ready Rooter Starter...lol.

How to Germinate Beans 

1. Add the Beans to a damp, wet paper towel. Wrap them, pressing firmly.
2. Place them in a zip lock bag to hold in moisture.
3. Place in a warmer area for a few days and they should be ready.

I was thinking about trying these Beans hydroponically, but I will hold back. Beans will take over my greenhouse and I dont want that. I will try these outside in a well-aerated organic soil, mixed with worm castings. I plan on something like 1/3 perlite, 1/3 vermiculite, 1/3 soil for the medium. I will provide the nutrients in the medium, so I will only have to make sure its watered daily.

I know, I know... I'm growing Burpee Seeds.... a Monsanto  owned company. I bought these before the fact. I will ONLY invest in new seeds through smaller, environmental friendly owned companies. You should consider to do the same. Really..... think about it....

The sad part is that Monsanto bought Semini. So them "organic" seeds you just thought you bought from "xx" company.... yeah.... it's Monsanto at their same old games. But dont listen to me, its a known fact: http://us.seminis.com/products/hg_dealer.asp

They are out to own (patient) the most valuable thing in our lives, FOOD. Im really not even going to get into how bad Monsanto is for the environment and LIFE itself, but that is another book in itself. Just leave a comment if you dont know whats up and need some helpful, informative & credible sources.



Brandywine Tomato Clones - Grafting

I couldnt take it anymore. My Branywine wasnt producing for one reason or another and was getting too big, so I cut her down. I cut her at the base and took a couple clones and grafted it back. I know the grafting most likely will not work, but it's worth a shot.

The grafted tomatoes are already written off as goners - she looks so sad. I took some clones and used technflora's rooting gel. These should root within1-2 weeks. I will post when they do.

***Update***
The grafted plant didnt do so well in the summer heat. Also, the clones dried up a little and I threw them away. I need to build an area inside to place clones for a better environment.