Tomatoes galore!

I had a successful first summer season of tomatoes. Having grown green manure in late winter and spring and mixed it with horse poo, the patch was ready to jump! I'll try mustard in the green manure next time as it specifically kills organisms that bother tomatoes.

Of course the piccies look nice but there were a few tomatoes lost to fruit fly, giant slugs and even the local female Bower bird! Even so, we did not have to buy tomatoes all through summer and even the first month of autumn.

I grew three types: L-R: Black Russian, Amish Paste and Beefsteak.

The Black Russian tomatoes grew really well - not super-high yields but consistent yields for many months - maybe because the seeds were saved from a friend's patch from last year who lives in the next suburb and so has a similar climate.

One of the early beefsteak tomatoes just grew and grew - I'm not actually sure it wasn't some kind of wierd 'throwback', but I saved its seeds and I'll see what grows next summer.

Giant mutant beefsteak tomato... the one on the right! :-)

Seed Saving

As well as finding much enthusiasm for fruit and vegetable gardening, I have begun seed-saving. Don't know where that came from except maybe a deep desire to recycle!

So far I have saved dill seeds, mustard leaf seeds, sage seeds, Russian Black tomato seeds (and some "Granny's Bonnet" (aquilegia) seeds - not a veggie, but very pretty with easy-to-spot seed pods). I dunno if its a response to the 'GFC' (Global Financial Crisis) but there are a lotta people going back to growing their own food. I now have very healthy Russian Black tomato plants from a neighbour's tomatoes from last year - my first seed-saved babies!

I never took much notice of seed pods of plants before. Now they look like gold to me. Next to water and healthy soil, they are the most precious 'commodity' we have.

Above: Russian Black tomatoes (green :))

Below: Mustard seed pods & Dill seed 'umbrels'

Some advantages of saving seeds are that you know the life of the seed's parent and what has been put on the soil (or not - eg. no yukky chemicals or sprays) and by growing well, it may have adapted to its local microclimate and have offspring happy to grow in the same area. And of course it gives you propagation power!

I have been using a book called "The Seedsavers' Handbook", but I have also joined a local seedsaving group to swap seeds and tips.

You can't let everything go to seed at once. For example nearly all brassicas (mustard, bok choi, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, etc) will cross with each other, so the offspring may not be what you expect!

All-in-all very satisfying and an exercise in patience as seed pods may take months to grow and dry on the plant.