72 Seedlings?!

Insanity struck me yesterday.  I started 72 seedlings of mostly heirloom tomatoes and peppers.  All the seeds are mail ordered through Baker Creek except for the Serranos I picked up at Floyd’s (Where else?).  I’ve grown tomatoes from seed before with great heartbreak.  I’ve plucked up enough courage to give it another go.  Here’s the list:

Tomatoes (all heirloom):

 Carbon (purple)– Winner of the 2005 “Heirloom Garden Show” best-tasting tomato award. Henderson’s Pink Ponderosa – Huge size, some over 2 lbs.; a meaty pin-red beefsteak introduced by Peter Henderson & Co. in 1891.  Mule Team (red) – Medium sized plants produce perfect 8 0z. red globes that have very little cracking, making this a good choice for market growers.  The fruit have a sweet but acid flavor; a good all-around standard red variety.  Good resistance to heat and disease. Arkansas Traveler (pink) - A medium sized pink tomato that is smooth and a beautiful rose color.  Tolerant to heat and humidity, crack and disease resistant.  Good flavor, an excellent hillbilly favorite.Al Kuffa (red) – Early tomato produces 3-4 oz fruit on compact, dwarf vines that yield till frost.  Mild tasting from Iraq.

Peppers:

Black Hungarian – Heirloom, unique, black colored fruit that are the shape of jalapeños.  Mildly hot with delicious flavor.  Tall plants with purple flowers.  Rare & colorful.

Serrano – Hot peppers grown successfully in 2009.  Lake Valley seed purchased at Floyd’s.

I don’t have room for all of the plants IF the seeds successfully sprout.  I’ll be giving away healthy seedlings to relatives and neighbors.  Chives seeds will be sewn among the tomatoes when they are planted out in the garden to prevent pests and harvest as needed.  Nasturtiums will be planted at the base of the fruit trees to repel borers. These are some ides I want to try from a book I purchased at Baker Creek along with my seeds – Carrots Love Tomatoes.

In case anyone reading  this doesn’t know, Floyd’s is a local hardware store.  It’s great.  You can buy gardening stuff (seeds and seed starting kits), plumbing junk, canning supplies, crickets, and ammunition.  They have everything.  I wish they would consider bridal registries.  Very practical.

Note:  Pictures of the vegetables were lifted from the Baker Creek website.  Their service was great and quick; so go there and order something OR move next door and reap the benefits.