The Dwarf Garden Can You Help Put This Together? - Page 2

Worth1 · April 20, 2012

That pie sounds good I love cheese and onions.

Worth

Wi-sunflower · April 20, 2012

As far as the "baby" Summer squash and Zucchini -- ain't no such thing as a variety. You just PICK the fruit young. All summer squash will eventually get to baseball bat sized.

I laugh at those giant zucchini I see at contests. I call them "lazy farmer" zucchini because all you have to do is ignore them for a week to 10 days and they get huge. For the nice tender baby squash you have to pick at least 3 times / week if not more often in hot weather.

There ARE a few varieties that are bush or semi-bush plants tho and are rather slow to vine out. For Zucchini "Spineless Beauty" is a good semi-bush variety. I'm not sure about the yellow summer squash as I grow for the fruit not the plant. We usually pick several hundred pounds of baby squash every week.

Carol

roper2008 · April 20, 2012

I grew Mexican Sour Gherkin in 2007 or 2008. I didn't like it, but it still pops up
in my garden trying to take over. If you do grow it, be sure to pick up all the ones
that fall on the ground.

livinonfaith · April 20, 2012

We grew the Mexican Sour Gherkin last year. I didn't like it ripe either, but we really liked the taste when they were a little under ripe. That's when they have the best cucumber flavor. They are really tiny though and it takes six to eight for an individual salad. We usually just ended up snacking right off the vines. The vines and tiny yellow flowers are adorable.

My son wanted to grow it again, but I have used up my small sample pack. I'm kind of hoping that a few do reseed here!

We also grew three of the mini bells last year, red, yellow and chocolate. I prefer full size peppers as they are more practical, but the little mini bells were definitely prolific! My favorite were the chocolate, as they were slightly larger and just kept going. Next were the yellow. The red were the least prolific for me.

As for tomatoes, I'm trying the White Rabbit, which is supposed to be a very small pale yellow cherry tomato. So far, the plants are really pretty and look a touch more petite than most of my others.

Another small thing that you might try are the small strawberries. They are extremely tasty for their size. I believe there are both alpine and wild strawberries that are tiny.

FarmerShawn · April 20, 2012

I have some dwarf basil started for this year. I wonder if some of the other herbs have dwarf forms.
Shawn

bughunter99 · April 20, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by John3

ok bughunter99 I'm guessing Baby Boo has a bland taste

Rich sweetness 132 melon - is that a hybird?
pink popcorn how was the taste?
That reminds me I grew Baby Chires corn (you get about 30 to 40 ears per stalk) but I either picked to early or to late as they where very hard even after steaming and boiling

I didn't taste Baby Boo, too little didn't seem worth the effor.
Rich Sweetness 132 is an heirloom from the USSR
Pink popcorn was fun, taste was fine. Nothing OMG but it was grown for the fun factor so it didn't matter.

Stacy

Tracydr · April 20, 2012

So is the goal small plants or small fruits? I'm confused.

John3 · April 21, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by FarmerShawn

I have some dwarf basil started for this year. I wonder if some of the other herbs have dwarf forms.
Shawn

Not really dwarf but maybe chives - onion - garlic

John3 · April 21, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracydr

So is the goal small plants or small fruits? I'm confused.

Tracydr - Small fruits but if on small plants would be better.

John3 · April 21, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by roper2008

I grew Mexican Sour Gherkin in 2007 or 2008. I didn't like it, but it still pops up
in my garden trying to take over. If you do grow it, be sure to pick up all the ones
that fall on the ground.

Thanks for the tip roper2008

John3 · April 21, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by livinonfaith

As for tomatoes, I'm trying the White Rabbit, which is supposed to be a very small pale yellow cherry tomato. So far, the plants are really pretty and look a touch more petite than most of my others.

Alice in Wonderland

liyinonfaith thanks for the tips.

Tracydr · April 21, 2012

On Tatiana's website, she has several dwarf tomatoes from Eastern Europe or Japan that are very dwarf which also have dwarf fruit. These are older varieties. She has them listed in the dwarf and container gardening categories. The tomatoes get from 18"-2' high and have cherry sized fruit.

Tracydr · April 24, 2012

How about some of the little French gherkin type cucumbers? I've seen several varieties on Baker Creek. Fingerling potatoes are always cute.
Shallots, some of the tinier, round eggplants. I love the tiny bell peppers. Baby carrot varieties.

John3 · April 24, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracydr

On Tatiana's website, she has several dwarf tomatoes from Eastern Europe or Japan that are very dwarf which also have dwarf fruit. These are older varieties. She has them listed in the dwarf and container gardening categories. The tomatoes get from 18"-2' high and have cherry sized fruit.

Do you have a link for her website?

John3 · April 24, 2012

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wi-sunflower

I'm not sure about the yellow summer squash as I grow for the fruit not the plant. We usually pick several hundred pounds of baby squash every week.

Carol

Is this crookneck yellow or straight yellow or some other?

April 20, 2012	#20
FarmerShawn Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Vermont Posts: 1,001	I have some dwarf basil started for this year. I wonder if some of the other herbs have dwarf forms. Shawn __________________ "Red meat is NOT bad for you. Now blue-green meat, THAT'S bad for you!" -- Tommy Smothers

April 20, 2012	#16
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	That pie sounds good I love cheese and onions. Worth

April 20, 2012	#17
Wi-sunflower Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Wisconsin Posts: 2,591	As far as the "baby" Summer squash and Zucchini -- ain't no such thing as a variety. You just PICK the fruit young. All summer squash will eventually get to baseball bat sized. I laugh at those giant zucchini I see at contests. I call them "lazy farmer" zucchini because all you have to do is ignore them for a week to 10 days and they get huge. For the nice tender baby squash you have to pick at least 3 times / week if not more often in hot weather. There ARE a few varieties that are bush or semi-bush plants tho and are rather slow to vine out. For Zucchini "Spineless Beauty" is a good semi-bush variety. I'm not sure about the yellow summer squash as I grow for the fruit not the plant. We usually pick several hundred pounds of baby squash every week. Carol

April 20, 2012	#18
roper2008 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Virginia Bch, VA (7b) Posts: 1,337	I grew Mexican Sour Gherkin in 2007 or 2008. I didn't like it, but it still pops up in my garden trying to take over. If you do grow it, be sure to pick up all the ones that fall on the ground.

April 20, 2012	#19
livinonfaith Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Fuquay-Varina, North Carolina Posts: 1,332	We grew the Mexican Sour Gherkin last year. I didn't like it ripe either, but we really liked the taste when they were a little under ripe. That's when they have the best cucumber flavor. They are really tiny though and it takes six to eight for an individual salad. We usually just ended up snacking right off the vines. The vines and tiny yellow flowers are adorable. My son wanted to grow it again, but I have used up my small sample pack. I'm kind of hoping that a few do reseed here! We also grew three of the mini bells last year, red, yellow and chocolate. I prefer full size peppers as they are more practical, but the little mini bells were definitely prolific! My favorite were the chocolate, as they were slightly larger and just kept going. Next were the yellow. The red were the least prolific for me. As for tomatoes, I'm trying the White Rabbit, which is supposed to be a very small pale yellow cherry tomato. So far, the plants are really pretty and look a touch more petite than most of my others. Another small thing that you might try are the small strawberries. They are extremely tasty for their size. I believe there are both alpine and wild strawberries that are tiny.

April 20, 2012	#22
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	So is the goal small plants or small fruits? I'm confused.

April 21, 2012	#27
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	On Tatiana's website, she has several dwarf tomatoes from Eastern Europe or Japan that are very dwarf which also have dwarf fruit. These are older varieties. She has them listed in the dwarf and container gardening categories. The tomatoes get from 18"-2' high and have cherry sized fruit.

April 24, 2012	#28
Tracydr Tomatovillian™ Join Date: May 2011 Location: Laurinburg, North Carolina, zone 7 Posts: 3,207	How about some of the little French gherkin type cucumbers? I've seen several varieties on Baker Creek. Fingerling potatoes are always cute. Shallots, some of the tinier, round eggplants. I love the tiny bell peppers. Baby carrot varieties.