Wonky Tomatoes

Are you finding some wild and wonky looking tomatoes in your garden this year?

Lumpy, bumpy ones? Tomatoes with zippering or cat-facing? Two or three tomatoes fused together? Or perhaps some with sticky out-y appendages?

You are not alone.

What is the cause of these odd looking tomatoes? Mother Nature, actually. 

It was not anything that you did, it just happens sometimes.

Cool and wet conditions, rainfall, or high humidity while plants are very young, or when they are putting on blossoms, tends to make for weird looking tomatoes a month or two later.

Beefsteak tomatoes, the really big guys, and heirlooms seem to be the most prone to this funky business. I, of course, happen to love to growing heirloom beefsteaks ... double whammy  ; )    

The good news is, they are still absolutely edible and totally yummy!  

  

Sow Your Flower Seeds In Autumn

Get a jump start on spring and sow next year's flowers this fall...

Some flowers will not make blossoms the same year that you sow them, while others simply grow better and bloom sooner if planted in fall rather than in spring.

Here on wet, west coast (Zone 7) we sow seeds in October or November, after the beds have been cleaned, prepped for winter, and the fall rains have begun.

If you are in a zone 5 area, sow your seeds in late September or October, before it snows.

* Please read seed packages and select plants suitable for your area and gardening zone.    

Feed your soil with manure, compost, amendments (if needed) and organic matter before you sow.

Ammi Majus                                                       Lavender

Bee Balm                                                           Lobelia

Black Eyed Susans                                            Love In a Mist

Calendula                                                         Nasturtiums

Columbine                                                        Pansies

Coneflowers                                                     Poppies

Cosmos                                                            Snapdragons

Dianthus                                                          Sweet Alyssum 

Delphinium                                                     Sweet William 

Foxgloves                                                        Sweet Peas

Larkspur                                                          Violas