Re-Purposing Life as a Tomato & Pepper Farmer...
Full Name:
Sycamore Slough
Forums:
I'm a little late, but that's typical.
Got a bunch of seed packets, standard commercial varieties and a few Heirlooms.
Habañeros, Jalapeños, Italian Cherry (hot) Peppers, a few others.
Tomatoes are Roma, Roma VF, San Marzano, "Brandy Boy", Super Beefsteak, Black Krim, Boxcar Willie.
The usual Italian joints I frequent will take cases of the Roma & San Marzano, so they say.
Then there's the Basil.
And some Lavender varieties, but that's a long-term project. Nice thing about Lavender is the Deer aren't interested, yet.
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Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Lucky Day
You should get a dog. It
You should get a dog. It might keep the deer away.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: I rang a silent bell
...
Are you going to have a vegetable stand in front of you house?
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Sycamore Slough
I'll eventually have a
I'll eventually have a produce trailer by the road. With free Habañero samples on little frilly toothpicks, and sell Lemonade for $4.50.
Seriously, whoever's got some spare Guatemalan Insanity pepper seeds, send me a batch.
Or any of those crazy hot varieties.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Sycamore Slough
Making some progress. Many
Making some progress. Many Tomato varieties are planted in flats and residing in an 80-degree greenhouse.
Working on Peppers today-- have Jalapeño, Habañeros, Serrano, Poblano, Hot Cherry, Marconi Red, a few others.
A Nice Zoner sent me a few Heirloom Tomato packets... Cherokee Purple, MoonGlow, some crazy Beefsteak variety.
I'll probably re-pot a bunch of the seedlings in larger containers, and sell them at the local flea market ... at least recoup my investment in containers and starter soil. ProMix BX bales are available locally, so that's what I chose. Peat, Perlite, Vermiculite and Dolomite with some beneficial mycorrhizae (sp. ?) It's a decent-enough starter mix with a fine texture. 3.8 cubic-foot bales fill many flats.
Focusing on Plum & San Marzano varieties for mass production, as all the Italian restaurants will take a case or two on a weekly basis. At this point I'm trying different sources for those Plum versions to see which have the best germination rate. June-July will tell me which plants set the most fruit and have good flavor.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: An organ grinder’s tune
i worked for 2 years on an
i worked for 2 years on an organic dry-farmed tomato farm.
also grew: squash, peppers, onions, garlic, greens and flowers.
cooked lunch in a solar cooker (rice or quinoa) made by a man from ecuador.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Ken D.
Good luck with that. I had a
Good luck with that. I had a hobby farm last summer that included 36 different types of hot peppers, including the Ghost Pepper, Carolina Reaper, and Trinidad Scorpion. I had a bumper crop of many of the peppers and ended up drying hundreds of pods. I will be stocked in heat for a long time, but still plan on having about 10 or so pepper plants this year. Also had way more tomatoes than I could possibly use or give away, so I learned to can for the first time.
If you can make it pencil out, more power to you.
Speaking of chile peppers, I will be in Las Cruces, NM in May for my son's graduation from New Mexico State. The school has the world famous Chile Institute that provides the official Scoville Scale for heat and develops all sorts of varieties. Looking forward to checking out their farm.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: An organ grinder’s tune
read Elliot Coleman.
read Elliot Coleman.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Sycamore Slough
PDX Ken,
PDX Ken,
If you saved seeds or have dried Pods from your Whacky hot - pepper varieties, I would like to try those out.
My ground has done well with various Habañero plants in the past.
So if you mail me some, let me know the cost of seeds and I'll cover the postage.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Ken D.
I attempted to save some
I attempted to save some seeds but it was a bust when I tried to get them to sprout. I think the dehydrator I used baked them too much.
If you are interested in some of the more exotic strains, you might want to order a seed catalog from NMSU's Chile Institute:
https://cpi.nmsu.edu/
I do plan on picking up some packs from their store when I am down there in May.
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: 19.5 Degrees
Count me as one who's not a
Count me as one who's not a fan of the "gardening episodes", but looks like a recent one dealt with tomatoes ... you can listen at:
https://jeffersonhour.com/blog/1280
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: jazfish
Stu,,Dude you really must
Stu,,Dude you really must have a strong back. H.I.M and your self gonna plow the back forty?
Top of Page Bottom of Page PermalinkFull Name: Sycamore Slough
Mr. JazFish --
Mr. JazFish --
My spinal health is in Good shape.
Dealing Firewood over the years keeps my back strong and agile. It's all about keeping focused, and not overextending my physical limitations.
Really, it is a Free workout regimen, with no gymnasium fees, and I get paid to deliver Firewood.
There are benefits and drawbacks involved with Firewood, like anything. It definitely covers the basic Utility bills + Food, so that's OK.
I feel the same way regarding Tomato and Pepper farming. It might work out Great, or not.
My thought toward the Farming process is that I'm not going into a whole bunch of debt, to grow some Tomato and Pepper crops which are desirable and might earn a few Bucks. If I get Lucky, maybe I'll earn enough and learn enough to do it better next year.
Any $$ I make will go right back in the fields to improve the soil and add Organic content.