the season downunder

[Raymondo]

My last visit to Perth was January some years back. I decided to go on a guided walk through Kings Park. I lasted all of ten minutes because of the heat - intense, burning. I made my way back to where I was staying and didn't leave the house for the rest of the day.
Hope things cool off a bit for you Tessa.

[Medbury Gardens]

Dead as in heat or are things drying out a bit ?

[tessa]

both....but mostly dead from heat.
this is the coolest spring i've experienced here yet tho. so this means that i have more tomatoes on the vine then i've ever had before. i'm going to be very very sad when it really stokes up and i don't have enough time to keep the water to everything. thankfully, i've got a bore, so i'm allowed to water 3 times a week.

[tessa]

so...things are really starting to happen over here.

the kimberley...tho half dead already...continues to pump them out. such a nice tomato.



seeds that grub sent me for 'earl's faux'...turned out crossed, or else something entirely different. the plant is RL, and the fruit is red, not pink, and they're small.
but whoa...
these are my newest favourite...miles above the others.
renaming these 'tessie's treats' until i figure out what's happening here. sugary-sweet little balls of flavour explosion. thanks grub!


next is appropriately named 'honey'. also very sweet and tangy. yum.



coastal pride orange, a beautiful plant with beautiful fruit...is not producing great flavour for me. could be my conditions. this one, however, will set in any weather...stinking hot, freezy cold, wet and wild, you name it.



cross section of above tomatoes:



clockwise from top left: tessie's treat, coastal pride orange, honey, kimberley.

cherries are coming in now too.
guernsey island pink:


yummo.

and...because a gal cannot live by tomatoes alone...a few other things to grace the plate tonight:



tis the season to be jolly!

[Medbury Gardens]

Rose of Berne
First time i`ve grown this tomato,taste i thought was ok,some family members liked it more than i.The plant its self sets fruit well in high temperatures and with fruit of shapes and sizes.
i give a 7/10

[LenaBeanNZ]

Great looking produce! My first sunflower opened today, a strange small one. The others are still growing though, they usually get taller than the house.
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The first white zuchini ready to pick
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The first Cocozelle zuchinis
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Bunch of San Marzano
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[Medbury Gardens]

LenaB Ya garden coming on nicely,

Whats the full name of that white zuchini?

[LenaBeanNZ]

Custard White it said on the seed packet, thats all I know about it. Got the seeds in Germany from the same shop as the Purple Haze carrots plus a bunch of other seeds. Here the DG plantfiles link

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/go/92361/

[Medbury Gardens]

Another new variety for me,Marizol breed by Joe Bratka.Going by its colour it would be the Marizol pink,in the 2008 SSE Yearbook its noted as a RL, but this tomato came off a PL plant?????

[orflo]

Didn't I send you marizol bratka???That's the name of the PL marizol...

[tessa]

looks great, richard.
how was the taste?

[LenaBeanNZ]

What did it taste like? I have some young Marizol Bratka plants in my garden, Rosco sent me some seeds in October.

[tessa]

hey lena...do you know if we are able to send tomato seeds across the tasman?

[tessa]

okay folks...here they come.
just in time for christmas dinner!!!




the two biggies in the middle are stump of the world. these are my very first...and i will be taste testing these later tonight. i'm a bit surprised by the mottly colour...but they are soft as anything...so i assume are fully ripe.

the big lemon yellow ones in the middle are called 'big white'...which are supposed to be the sweetest tomato known to man. i'll let you know if i concur...but gauging by that last little, battle scarred tidbit of a taster the other day...i think i'm going to agree.

now...clockwise from the six o'clock position:
prairie fire (tasted, and not greatly admired, tho we think it will make a fine cooking tomato), tessie's treat (still my fave), big streaked, coastal pride orange, honey, and a kimberley.

that big stump is the biggest tomato i've grown so far...but there are bigger on the vine.



the big white's are a nice size



tessie's treat are gaining in size as the season wears on:



and sliced for my BLT this arvo...




now...dumb question...but what is the average life span of a tomato plant? about half of mine are starting to give up the ghost already. i started them in july...so they are 5 months old already.

[Medbury Gardens]

Frank, i goolged Marizol-Bratka just to see how the size compared to mine and thats where i find that there were a Marizol black,a pink and a few other varieties all breed by a Joe Marizol but couldn`t see "Mariol-Bratka"..so this variety is a PL... OK

I found that M B set fruit well early on in the season but as the heat came on in my tunnel house that has all but stopped.

tessa taste was good,The family had what we call T T T(tomato taste test)and put it up against Jade Beauty,the ol girl and me liked the sharper tangy teste of Jade B where the kids liked the milder M B i give it 7/10.Good to see how you rate it later on lenaB.
Theres no way we can send seed through to oz, shes all one way traffic only tessa.Dont know how much longer i can keep bringing seed in myself,one day i may get a knock on the door,never mind i will just have to set Bob on them