Hello, October

An eclectic mix basking on the front steps. Under Bananarama, which has grown by leaps and bounds all summer, Sun Gold tomatoes have woven themselves through the avocado, the begonia and the pelargonium. Strawberries drip down the steps, and a jade plant shares a pot with an amaryllis.

Tomatoes Gone Wild

Birdie

Alien Alien II This one we just call "Pedro"

How tall IS that?!

What is this, a rogue sunflower on steroids?

"Autumn Glory" in August

Sungolds growing up the brick pillar by the front steps.

Little Green Tomatoes

The first tomatoes have appeared. This is "Beaverlodge Slicer," a new determinate variety from Territorial Seeds that I am trying for the first time. Territorial gives them a big sendup "Truly a great combination of earliness, size, productivity and quality." We shall see.

Late afternoon sun hightlights the "potager" . . . leeks, bok choi, spinach, a tomato, and snow peas in the background.

Tomato babies movin' on up!

These babies were started from seed on February 28, and some of them need to go into bigger pots.
The plastic cups are an inexpensive way to provide plenty of depth for increased root production and to prevent legginess. This year I am trying Beaverlodge Slicer, Siletz, Windowbox Roma, Sun Gold, and Oregon Star.

The tomatoes are all set, but there's no room for anything else! I need one of those big fancy light carts.

Sun Gold

While the rest of the tomato plants dissolve into blackened mush and mildew, Sun Gold soldiers on, still ripening its shiny little sweet/tart orbs. It clamored over the rest of the tomatoes, flung itself into the sunflowers and eensie weensie spidered up the water spout.

It was a beautiful summer for humans but a bad bad summer for tomatoes, and right now Sun Gold is the only one out of 6-8 varieties that will be invited back next year. "Ultra Super Extra Early?" Here that means last week of October. The word "Oregon" is included in the variety name? Best we can do . . . they don't breed a "Washington Spring." Buy plants from Territorial Seeds? Yeah yeah, they're the Big Dog in the Pacific Northwest, but that was just me being lazy. Next year I will start my own and use row covers. And sadly give up my love for the rowdy and extravagently foliaged but refuse-to-ripen indeterminates and go for the more plebian determinates.