obsessive compulsive tomato disorder- OCTD

[drew51]

Originally Posted by brokenbar

1500 pepper plants (126 varieties)...no tomatoes this year because I have plenty dried and made into sauce and salsa. If there is "no rest for the wicked" I am a very, very, very bad girl...

You have to give us a report on the peppers at the end of the year. I know you secured many new rare ones. I only have a backyard, but have about 20 varieties going. I would grow more, but need to save room for some sauce tomatoes! I'm very interested in paprika peppers. Only growing one this year, certainly need to try others. I just don't have any!

I think it's a problem if you don't use them, if you sell, give away, use in some way, it's not a problem!
And it can get worse, I have 21 raspberry cultivars, and I would love about 25 different peach trees, I have 3 of them. I have 12 different blackberry cultivars. So you guys with just tomatoes, hey a whole world of plants to try. I'll be growing 5 melons, and 5 beans too, so much out there....
I also have honeyberries (3 cultivars), blueberries (6 cultivars) Currants (8 cultivars) Elderberries (6 cultivars, 3 species) Cherry trees (3 cultivars), nectarines (2 cultivars) Cornelian dogwoods with edible fruit (2 cultivars),
and Strawberries (12 cultivars including red, yellow, and white).


I would love to add mulberries (I do forage wild ones), hazel nuts, and almonds. And a multitude of other berry types. Oh I also have a service berry and one highbush cranberry.

I am out of everything right now, so obviuosly I don't have enough!

[namwah]

DREW,
same problem here. The tomatoes are only the tip of the iceberg- 5 avocados, 2 mangos, many mangos, blackberry, papaya, assorted other vegetables including peppers, figs, etc.
Last season we managed to freeze alot, give away to our friends and sell a few to a local vegetable stand.

[Tom A To]

In my early twenties, I started with the vegetable gardens that grew everything. The base of a pyramid, so to speak. I had a lot more energy and muscle power then. Over 40 years later and I'm at the top of the pyramid now, only tomatoes left with the occasional cucumber thrown in. Speaking of the vegetable kingdom only here. I am caretaker of the wife's many many many flowers and bushes.

[ReginaAnn]

They tried to make me go to rehab but I said, NO. NO, NO!

[habitat_gardener]

Isn't it nice to be able to have discussions about which 50 varieties to plant, without people getting stuck on the number of plants? Whenever I mention IRL how many tomato plants I plan to grow, people look at me kind of funny and start backing away. If they don't change the subject, they mention their 2 or even 4 tomato plants last summer and say they had plenty and gave away tons as well. (I'm assuming they don't eat tomatoes all day long like some of us, though.)

[casino]

obsessive compulsive tomato disorder- OCTD .... I got it bad, but I'm OK now,I go to my Monday night meetings once a week and my friends all agree that we don't talk about my OCTD disorder, they just think I'm crazy, And at my summer taste testing party we all.
*** Go Crazy *** and after a few bloody mary's who cares.

[brokenbar]

I plan on a comparison and will post here. Thank goodness in Mexico I do not have the unlimited land I had in Wyoming! Still have a lot but not nearly the acreage. I also have much help in Mexico. Our Handyman's kids love to come and work with me whether it be gardening or canning or drying. We always go to town for lunch and for them, that is a huge treat. I also pay them very well so they are much envied by their friends! Their Father tends our gardens when we are away. We give away a lot of produce to the Catholic church who distributes it to the needy and we keep or neighbors and their families well supplied.

[peppero]

I believe it would be safe to say TOCD is a HEALTHY SICNESS.

jon

[crmauch]

Well there' only about 3000 varieties of apple

Unfortunately, I have found that much of my production does go to waste. I can't always get out to pick it, and no one else in the family wants to help.

I have found there's danger in overplanting stuff, if you can't find the time to maintain it. I wouldn't plant the 25+ apples I have now, though I might still plant the 7 different types of Asian Pears and 3 regular. Also have hardy Kiwi, 8 varieties of Pawpaw, Medlar, Nanking cherry, Chinese Che, Jujubes.

Have lost or am losing the plums, peaches, and brambles (red raspberries and blackberries) to disease.

However, have gotten fascinated with breeding tomatoes, so some of of my count will be larger growouts of F2s (8 or so) to look for variation. Haven't done a count as I don't think I want to know.

Originally Posted by drew51

You have to give us a report on the peppers at the end of the year. I know you secured many new rare ones. I only have a backyard, but have about 20 varieties going. I would grow more, but need to save room for some sauce tomatoes! I'm very interested in paprika peppers. Only growing one this year, certainly need to try others. I just don't have any!

I think it's a problem if you don't use them, if you sell, give away, use in some way, it's not a problem!
And it can get worse, I have 21 raspberry cultivars, and I would love about 25 different peach trees, I have 3 of them. I have 12 different blackberry cultivars. So you guys with just tomatoes, hey a whole world of plants to try. I'll be growing 5 melons, and 5 beans too, so much out there....
I also have honeyberries (3 cultivars), blueberries (6 cultivars) Currants (8 cultivars) Elderberries (6 cultivars, 3 species) Cherry trees (3 cultivars), nectarines (2 cultivars) Cornelian dogwoods with edible fruit (2 cultivars),
and Strawberries (12 cultivars including red, yellow, and white).


I would love to add mulberries (I do forage wild ones), hazel nuts, and almonds. And a multitude of other berry types. Oh I also have a service berry and one highbush cranberry.

I am out of everything right now, so obviuosly I don't have enough!

[namwah]

you know you have OCTD when you have finished planting your garden and you are now trying to find a good home for all of the leftover seedlings. You have babied those things for a few months and no way they can go in the compost!

[drew51]

Well nice to know I'm not alone!! I also have the flower bug, in the sense I like ornamental plants. I grow cacti, and not just for form but for flowers too. I tried to combine ornamental and edible when possible. I have variegated elderberries, Weeping Santa Rosa Plum. I would like to get some of the contorted trees, many exist. Many edible plants can be made into hedges. I have 14 Dogwoods known as the Cornelian cherry (Cornus Mas) and am trying to form a hedge with them.
I too though am gaining in age. I'm not that old yet, but in 10 years I will be, so I can see how stuff can become neglected. And at that time, breeding is a good option. I'm looking into breeding raspberries, but it is a very difficult plant to breed. On has to stratify with sulfuric acid, and that's the easy part of it all.

Also today with trees, we have Backyard Orchard Culture. None of my fruit trees will ever be over 8 feet tall. Why? An 8 foot tree can produce 200 fruit, that's plenty! So pruning methods have been developed to keep trees small, not by rootstock, but by pruning.
I tried to pick trees that ripen at different times, so throughout the growing season one has fresh fruit. Peaches can start here in late June ripening till late October ripening, and everything in-between. This can be done with many fruits. So in a typical summer I pick fresh fruit everyday from July 1st till November 1st.

[Gardadore]

It is wonderful to have a forum where one can share an addiction and everyone understands!! My problem is I want to try all the new varieties people rave about plus keep some of the old favorites and then the numbers swell. I only plant one of each variety and give away all the duplicates. That is getting to be almost more work than I can manage as well as increasingly expensive, but if the recipients enjoy the tomatoes and become excited about new varieties then it is all worth it. When friends come back and say how much they enjoyed a new variety and are hooked on the browns or green when ripe, then I feel I have accomplished my mission (introducing people to great heirlooms and open pollinated varieties). Just crossed into a new decade but keep telling myself age is a mind set! I'm just more careful now when climbing over two foot critter fences. Now I cut gates out of the fence so I don't have to step over and I carry smaller loads! This year I am up to 50 varieties again after I swore I would limit myself to 35! I was at 49 when I saw a seed offer with a new variety I just have to try! There's no hope for me! But it's so much fun! Never mind all the other vegetable and fruits I grow!!

[Sharpcheddar]

Guilty!

[jamserg]

if I don't have at least 3 times more seedlings than I can actually plant I get hit hard with anxiety attacks

[sergeant69]

Originally Posted by drew51

Well nice to know I'm not alone!! I also have the flower bug, in the sense I like ornamental plants. I grow cacti, and not just for form but for flowers too. I tried to combine ornamental and edible when possible. I have variegated elderberries, Weeping Santa Rosa Plum. I would like to get some of the contorted trees, many exist. Many edible plants can be made into hedges. I have 14 Dogwoods known as the Cornelian cherry (Cornus Mas) and am trying to form a hedge with them.
I too though am gaining in age. I'm not that old yet, but in 10 years I will be, so I can see how stuff can become neglected. And at that time, breeding is a good option. I'm looking into breeding raspberries, but it is a very difficult plant to breed. On has to stratify with sulfuric acid, and that's the easy part of it all.

Also today with trees, we have Backyard Orchard Culture. None of my fruit trees will ever be over 8 feet tall. Why? An 8 foot tree can produce 200 fruit, that's plenty! So pruning methods have been developed to keep trees small, not by rootstock, but by pruning.
I tried to pick trees that ripen at different times, so throughout the growing season one has fresh fruit. Peaches can start here in late June ripening till late October ripening, and everything in-between. This can be done with many fruits. So in a typical summer I pick fresh fruit everyday from July 1st till November 1st.

personally, I think its a waste of good space/soil to grow anything but tomatos and other veggies. so when we can't think of anything else to fight about around here I bring that up. so a few years ago she said that if i'd build her big permenant containers for her flowers she would quit stealing my garden space. so lugged home about 50 landscape timbers and spent days building her the containers complete w/watering systems, mushroom dirt etc etc. you would THINK after 40 odd years i'd learn. she just informed me if I didn't build her more containers she will have to encroach on my tomato rows. I have had back surgery and am facing knee surgery soon so I THINK I am safe for awhile. I really envy you guys w/built in good soil and lots of room. we have 3 acres and have to fight year round to turn the clay into soil. i'd love to be able to plant 50 tomato plants like in the olden days of yore back ta home. LESS FLOWERS-MORE TOMATOS!!