Strawberry Seedling

This was the first seedling to show a runner from the batch of 'Red Wonder' (alpine) X "White Clubhouse" (our own everbearing, runner-forming vesca hybrid). Now at about two months old (from a seed), it's initiating a third runner already. No blooms so far though, but both parents were everbearing so this should be too. So far there are four seedlings showing runners like this. The second seedling has two runners. The third and fourth each have one so far.

Snack Jack pumpkins and deer

We noticed one of the three 'Snack Jack' pumpkins we'd bought back in October was rotting, so we cut the other two. The fleshy part was pretty thin but after baking for about and hour and a half (covered with foil) they scooped out easily and the old food processor turned that into a nice puree. I planned on taking pictures all the way through but...
The pumpkin cake they made only lasted about a day and a half, so I guess I'd call them good for eating! We'd be eating the seeds, but I think we want to try a big pumpkin patch again.

Last night I had to spook about two dozen deer out of the wheat patch AGAIN. Guess I need to get that fishing line fence out there or else dust with bloodmeal to discourage them. But as destructive as they can be, I still love watching them. Here are a few of them out there this morning.

Strawberry Seedlings and First Runner!

Another picture of the 'Red Wonder' X "White Clubhouse" vesca strawberry seedlings and... Thursday I found the first runner forming on one of them, so last night I dug that seedling out of the clump and replanted it in its own cup. It wilted a little at first but was looking perky again this morning. Note the runner beginning on the left side at the base of the plant. This should be our first "Red Clubhouse".

Snow, strawberry seedlings and watercress

Well it's still relatively cold outside - its' even snowing as type this.
First are two pictures from Sunday morning [Feb 5].
So... I've been focusing more on indoor stuff. The third picture shows those [hopefully] "Red Clubhouse" strawberry seedlings. They're growing like crazy and getting kind of crowded. I guess maybe I should separate them.
The last picture is a sprig of watercress we brought home from a nearby creek yesterday. The surface of the water is frozen. We're going to see if it'll grow alright in a pot sitting in water.

Irises - purple foliage traits

Here are current pictures of three interesting bearded iris seedlings that show interesting purple foliage traits. The first two are diploids, both from Iris purpureobractea X "PBF/RM". "PBF/RM" is a seedling derived from Iris pallida 'Kupari', 'Rosemary's Dream'(MTB), and Iris suaveolens var. rubromarginata that has good PBF (purple based foliage) and also has nicely pigmented leaf margins. The first seedling pictured shows great PBF extending up onto the leaves. The second shows less PBF but has decent margin color. Note the penciled looking edges of the leaves.
The last picture is a tetraploid seedling from 'Honky Tonk Blues' (TB) X Iris junonia. The color isn't very intense and it fades as the season warms up, but I like that it covers a good percentage of the foliage at this time of year. Maybe crosses with a more intensely pigmented PBF iris would give a seedling with the intensity and coverage combined.

Tomatoes again

I finally got around to cutting the tomatoes to save the seeds, and took some up close pictures (and tasted them too). I had been worried that the flavor might not be too good, but they were surprisingly tasty for having been ripened off the plant for at least four months.

For new tomato seed savers, here's how to do it easily:
1) Squeeze the seeds from the tomatoes into a plastic cup (juice, pulp and all)
2) Leave it to ferment a couple of days to break down the pulp and jelly around the seeds
3) Dump into a wire-mesh kitchen strainer and rinse well (a kitchen sprayer works well to blast all the fermented pulp through the mesh)
4) Blot underneath with a paper-towel to wick away excess water
5) Dump seeds onto wax paper to dry. Once dried you can break the clumps apart easily with your fingers.

I re-use the plastic cups and wax paper over and over again for all of the distinct lines I've been saving.

Here are the three best fruits of the red long-keepers. Only around golf-ball sized but very juicy and great, tangy, fresh tomato flavor (and remember this is after more than four months garage storage). I'm guessing these were most likely green when they were picked.

 And here's that line descended from 'Brandywine' and Lycopersicon hirsutum. No shriveling at all. I remember these were all completely green when I picked them over 4 months ago, because I wondered if they'd ever ripen. They're only about the size of a hard-boiled egg yolk and have a distinctive, non-acid, sweet, grassy-cantaloupe-melon flavor.

"Garden fresh" tomatoes LOL

Well, they're from the garden but fresh might be a stretch.
I've been meaning to get started on this for years, but finally did it this year. I've wanted to start selecting some lines for keeping ability.
So back at the end of the summer (after a touch of frost) we'd picked every tomato off the vines. They've been in cardboard boxes in the garage ever since. A lot of the nicer ones have already been eaten by now but plenty have gone rotten along the way too. It's down to the end and I think it's time to save these last hold-outs for seed.
First picture shows the rejects. Second picture the last decent fruits. The reds are from some "wooly" lines that I've been intercrossing with larger-fruited varieties (like 'Beefsteak', 'Coustralee' and 'Mortgage Lifter'). That's why aside from being a little shriveled they might look a little "peach-fuzzy". The smaller yellows are from lines heavy in 'Yellow Pear' ancestry. And the cluster is from a line derived from 'Brandwine' and Lycopersicon hirsutum. Other than larger fruits, it's very similar to that species.

 Eeeewww!!!
And not so bad for January 25th!!!