2014 Muddy Bucket Farm Update

[ContainerTed]

Thought I'd do a little tour of my efforts this year. Health problems have consumed my time since last Thanksgiving. But, still, I got a few things done. Here's a little bit of "eye candy".

For my friends Alaska, here's the F3 fruit from the seeds you sent. The F3 and F4 containerized plants are clearly indeterminate and not dwarf in habit. Germination was vigorous and there are additional plants in the main garden.

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I do plant a couple hybrids early each year and this is Big Boy. This morning, I counted a total of 21 tomatoes set on this one plant, and there are many more bloom trusses that might have additional fruit set.

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My other hybrid is a Better Boy. It's great when we can get large fruit earlier in the season. Our season was late starting this year with frost in mid May. Buying a few mature plants helps stay out of the grocery stores.

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I always love doing some macro pictures. Here's some blooms.

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Some of the other things growing this year are

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And, we always have the heavenly scent of the Magnolia blooms.

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[KarenO]

pretty, pretty and those berries look amazing! Nice garden and I wish you renewed health to enjoy it!
Karen

[amideutch]

Ted, glad to see your still diggin in the dirt. Hope your health problems are being taken care of. Plants are looking good as always.

Ami

[Salsacharley]

Very nice photos. Thanks for sharing.

[Tania]

Beautiful!!!

Ted, your garden looks so vibrant and healthy!

Good growing,
Tatiana

[ContainerTed]

Thanks, folks. I had bronchial pneumonia just before and into Thanksgiving. The antibiotics I had to take seemed worse that the pneumonia. Then, my doctor says I had a mild stroke in mid December. Yeah, Tania, seems we have more in common than a love for tomatoes. What I felt was a sudden numbing. It seemed like my brain was being squeezed and my ears were ringing. It was very brief, maybe 5 seconds, and was followed by some disorientation and balance problems - intense discomfort more than any pain or paralysis. I fell once trying to get back to the house from the mailbox.

Doc has given me a clean bill for the last three visits and says she doesn't think there are any lingering effects to be concerned about. She reminds me that I'm no longer a young man. I keep telling her that "I'm a mountain man. My morning stretching exercises involve wrestling a grizzle bear". LOL

I'll be 70 this year. I reckon I've entered the zone where things like this can be expected. But I'm not the type to cry in my beer...errr....vodka. Besides, like it says in Ami's signature, it's been a wild ride so far, and I do plan to slide in sideways with a big grin.

Enough about me, Let's talk good things to eat. KarenO, those are wild blackberries and this will be a banner year. I have a small patch of them near my main garden and about five acres out at the bottom of the back pasture.

The apples are wonderful for making applesauce. I planted the grapes last year and am surprised that I'm getting so many this soon.

Thanks again for those kind words.

[BucksCountyGirl]

Gorgeous!

[Tania]

Ted,

I am thinking about you and wishing you good health! (Btw, my numerous 'strokes' since 2011 have been what they call 'mitochondrial strokes' and not the common strokes related to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. The mito strokes are related to brain cells dying because mitochondria in cells fail to produce enough energy to sustain the brain function.)

Anyway, I wish you all well for this garden season and looking forward to see more reports as the season progresses. I especially loved the apple picture!

Take care!!!
Tatiana

[clara]

Good to read that you are feeling better, Ted! And what a wonderful garden you have (as always)! Congrats to all pics, but especially to the macro ones - I love them! clara