Tomato tryout from forum discussions

[DahlisMarie]

Having found the earlier discussion on the forum from my posting re. tomatoes being diluted from overwatering so illuminating re. deep root watering I am trying it out as in the photo below.
I have a new tomato raised bed in the side paddock and I have inserted a watering spike with each tomato seedling. I am short a few bottles yet, can't drink enough water quickly enough (now if wine came in plastic bottles, well..........).
The mulch is sugar cane

The seedlings I have hatched are:
Elfie
Peach
Silvery Fir
Tommy Toe Red
Rouge de Marmande
First to Fruit

They have withstood temperature extremes in the last two weeks. We had late frosts last week and this week temperatures in the high 30's celsius (high 90's f).
you can see from the other photos of my vegetable garden (totally ashamed of the state of it)that I do need some more room. Another reason is the snakes keep coming into the vegie garden after frogs, snails etc. and it is getting very hair raising. Started laying carpet in it today to try and clear some areas. I think I need to move more and more beds out into the side paddock.[img][img]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/DahlisMarie/P1010084a.jpg[/img][img][IMG]
[img][img]http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e68/DahlisMarie/P1010089.jpg[/img]

[Primrose]

Enjoyed your post. It's fascinating to see the hazards which gardeners have to cope with in other environments. (I don't mind the frogs but wouldn't fancy the snake!) and the different varieties you are growing. Please keep us updated as the season progresses.

[oldherbaceous]

Dear DahlisMarie, i thought you must have emergrated, as i haven't seen your name lately.
What some wonderful pictures of your garden, they really are brilliant.
Iv'e never heard of all those varieties of tom's before.
We are just starting to get the colder weather setting in now, so i'm sure it would cheer us all up if you can let us know how your produce is coming along over the next few months.
My Brother-in-law, and his wife are travelling around some of Australia for five weeks at the moment, no doubt they will have some good tales for me on thier return.
Will you say hello to them for me, if you see them.
Keep up the good work, and mind those snakes.

[DahlisMarie]

The Tomato Elfie is "A gigantic pale apicot tomato the best tasting of the beefsteaks" at least that is their claim, so it will be interesting to find out.

To prove what a dimwit I am, what I called "First to Fruit" is actually the description of 3 varieties of seeds that came in that envelope. They were Silver Fir (which I already had), Ida Gold and Golden Nugget. The 3 of them are early fruiting dwarfs.

The Tommy Toe Red is a medium size and I have lost the description of the "Tomato Peach".

HB If your brother-in-law and wife are travelling around the Southern Highlands, let me know and I will send you my phone number if they would like to call in for a cuppa at the farm.

[DahlisMarie]

I know, I know, who the hell is HB??
Have already admitted to dimwittedness.
Meant of course O.H
My apologies sir

[Mike Vogel]

It looks like the Garden of Eden,Dahlis. No wonder you get snakes! Do you think the amount of vegetation around is actually creating its own warmth, something like a storage-heater? This might keep the worst effects of frost off the toms. All the same, on our Bedford allotment we sometimes get late frosts even after the Italians have planted their toms out, and all it does is to make their leaves look a little pinched for a day or two.

I've not seen your varieties catalogued here, but then, I haven't looked at large numbers of catalogues, so I can't really say. Red Brandywine is said to be one of the best-tasting beef toms, though. Perhaps we should go in for some cross-hemisphere seed-swapping.

mike

[DahlisMarie]

It looks like the Garden of Eden,Dahlis. No wonder you get snakes!
I've not seen your varieties catalogued here, but then, I haven't looked at large numbers of catalogues, so I can't really say. Red Brandywine is said to be one of the best-tasting beef toms, though. Perhaps we should go in for some cross-hemisphere seed-swapping.
mike

Hi Mike
Yes, my Garden of Eden comes complete with serpents!! Bad time at present, nearly trod on one the other day (an annual event) . It was all the vet could do to save one of the dogs earlier in the year after being bitten. Our residents are the rather colourful but deadly Highland Copperhead and the one I nearly trod on was very fat - suspect of babies - so being very cautious.
My tomatoes are now out in the paddock away from the jungle and I think they are withstanding the terrible heat at the moment because of the water spikes which take the water straight down to the deep roots. Will have a bottle on each spike shortly, glug..glug..
Seed swap sounds interesting!

[oldherbaceous]

Dear DahlisMarie, how did you know i had got a title.
I am thinking it might be safer if my Brother-in-law and his wife give you a wide birth, so to speak, for fear of snake bites, i would never hear the last of it, if one of them succumbed to the Highland Copperhead, as they must be pretty angry after being trodden on.
But i must take this opportunity to thank you for the very kind offer for them to take tea with you.

[jane E]

I think you're very brave to garden with snakes - and deadly snakes in the vicinity. I found it hair raising to be bitten by a small grass snake earlier this year. I dived my hand into the border's undergrowth and came out with 2 small puncture marks. Would have been a different story had it been in your garden! Do you carry antidote?

[Johnboy]

Hi Jane,
I accidentally knelt on a Grass Snake that was about 2' long and received one hell of a bite on the inside of my forearm even 20 years on the puncture marks are still there so I know what you mean.
It hurt more than a bit! I am only thankful that it was a Grass Snake because up until about 5 years ago we were plagued with Adders. The local Trust for Nature helped me to have the adders cleared and taken to a new location and since then I have not seen any. The grass snakes are still here and to me they pose no threat whatsoever.
JB.

[DahlisMarie]

Hi Jane and Johnboy
Crikey, your grass snakes sound rather worrisome. Even though not venomous, I wouldn't fancy one of those bites!!! I assume your adders would be venomous?

Nowadays the snake bite procedure is to apply a pressure bandage and get to hospital. A ranger told me that one has a 4 hour period in which to get medical attention, with the Highland Copperhead. I keep pressure bandages handy.

Up until they revised the treatment, it was the old whack on a tourniquet and cut and suck the poison out and apply condy's cyrstals. Certainly weeded out who your friends were - depending on where the bite was!!. I still have my dad's old snake bite kit. Know better these days than to use it of course.

I am at present laying old carpet all around the sides of the vegie garden to keep the area clear.