Thus begins the season.

[Harry Cabluck]

Seed start.jpg

Here's what was sown this day, Jan. 11, 2023 for the small garden in south Austin, Texas. Three seeds in each pot. Heirlooms and a few hybrids. Started now because about 18 of them will be grafted to Maxifort rootstock. The grafting sets the plants back by about two weeks. Any leftover plants from this sowing will be gifted to friends and neighbors. Wishing everyone a productive 2023 season.

[bower]

Wishing you a great season too, Harry.
I have some pepper seedlings already wanting to be potted up, so I'm off to an early start!

[Spike]

SO jealous! Hope you have the best growing season ever!

[karstopography]

Good luck. Why are you doing the grafting? Is it for Disease and or nematode prevention or just for the fun of it?

[Harry Cabluck]

Rototilled center plot.jpg

Karstop!! Thanks for asking. The hardy rootstock is used as an attempt to thwart rootknot nematodes and soil-borne diseases. This garden in south Austin, Texas, holds three plots, each about 100-sq-ft. Crop-rotation is seldom done because of limited area and desire for tasty tomatoes. Only four or five plants per plot are put out, usually about 36-inches apart. Sowing different varieties and grafting proves to be a heckuva lot of work just to put out a dozen plants, but it keeps the gardener off the streets.

[Harry Cabluck]

Spike!! Don't be jealous. The garden is finished by July 4. The heat is a killer. We had much better tomato success when we gardened in Columbus, Ohio.

[rxkeith]

very modest start here.

i have one baby micro tomato just hanging on from last year.
i picked tomatoes off of it to ferment seeds. some of them had been on the plant
a long time. a few seeds were sprouting so i put some of them in the pot with the old
plant. one seedling is up. some of the seeds that were in the ferment started to sprout,
so they plus a few others are planted.
also have five rosemary cuttings going. four are rooted so far.


keith

[Harry Cabluck]

Did not lose power in this Austin neighborhood during the recent Texas ice storm. Tomato seedlings are doing well, so far. Hybrids and heirlooms, sown Jan. 11 are in the background. Maxifort rootstock, sown two weeks later are in the foreground.

Tomato seedlings.jpg

[Harry Cabluck]

Seedlings progressing! Here's a Feb. 16 look at heirloom and hybrids sown Jan. 11. Disappointing that only eight rootstock, out of the 18 sown two weeks later, were deemed good enough to accept grafting. Those grafted are under cover and not shown here. This was the first time that Maxifort rootstock, displayed galling...similar experience with Estamino rootstock a few years ago. Here's hoping that grafts take place. Heirlooms are: Mr. Blackstone's Cherokee, Limbaugh, Sioux, Super Sioux, Charley's June Bug, J.D.'s Super C-Tex, Black Krim and Porter. Hybrids are Heatmaster, Black Cherry and Celebrity. Only 12 will go into the garden here. Most plants are gifted to friends and neighbors.

Tomato plantlets.jpg

[AKgardener]

C7897094-6E5A-4E29-B49F-E6B1150EE224.jpeg

I was woundering if anyone else started maters these are my siletz I was going to do siberian but none of them came up so I found a new one off of burpee called atlas that I couldn’t resist it’s go big or go home this year best of luck, still waiting for the seeds to show up so I can plant them