Tomatoes - 2019

My Selection this year:

• Cherry tomatoes:
• Sun Gold 
  
• F1
• Exceptionally sweet, bright tangerine-orange cherry tomatoes. Vigorous plants start yielding early and bear right through the season. High resistance to fusarium wilt and tobacco mosaic virus. Indeterminate
• Sweet Gold
  
• Has both full, sweet tomato flavor and jewel toned golden yellow fruits. These glossy 1 inch cherries are delicious eaten right from the vine, enjoyed for snacks, or for adorning summer salads and stir fries. The vigorous indeterminate vines grow effortlessly, start bearing early and reliably produce heavy clusters of these brightly colored, tasty little fruits throughout the summer. Indeterminate

• Juliet 
  
• Looks like a miniature Italian plum tomato, but it's really a cherry—juicy and sweet. ull DescriptionThis All-America Selections winner plum of a cherry is juicy and sweet and packed with flavor. Big vines produce grape-like clusters of petite sweeties. Best of all, it's the most crack resistant cherry tomato ever. Indeterminate
• Others:
• Honey Delight 
  
• Hybrid
• taste test winner in Fordhook trials, the uniform 4-ounce fruit grow prolifically on the vine. These 2" yellow cocktail tomatoes have sparkling flavor that gives your tongue something to talk about. Indeterminate
• Homestead 
  
• Heirloom. An old favorite dating from 1954. Developed by the University of Florida especially for hot climates and known for its reliability to set fruit at high temperatures. Produces firm, meaty tomatoes. Resistant to fusarium wilt (F). Determinate
• Celebrity 
  
• The Celebrity tomato cultivar is a hybrid that produces long fruit-bearing stems holding 20 or more very plump, robust tomatoes. Fruits weigh approximately 8 oz., and are 4 inches across. Plants need caging or staking, and produce fruit throughout the growing season. Determinate
• Early Treat 
  
• Early Treat Hybrid Tomatoes are extra early plants. Indeterminate. Plant in full sun. Harvest in 49 days.
• Big Mamma 
  
• Plum tomato
• The new standard in home-grown paste tomatoes. These beauties are plum-shaped, incredibly meaty, and enormous-up to 5" long and 3" across. Indeterminate
• Mortgage Lifter 
  
• Mortgage Lifter is the name given to a cultivar of tomato developed by Willam Estler of Barboursville, West Virginia, in 1922. He registered the name in 1932, several years before "Radiator Charlie" and his "Radiator Charlie's Mortgage Lifter".
• can weigh as much as 2 lbs
• Heirloom; Indeterminate
• Big Rainbow 
  
• Stunning shades of gold to scarlet and everything in between make this heirloom variety truly stand out. Giant fruits, up to 2 pounds, have a rich balance of acids and sugars that gives it a true old-fashioned tomato taste. Resistant to foliar disease and cracks. Indeterminate.
• Jubilee 
  
• Mild flavor and low acidity make this one of the best varieties for tomato juice. Bright, golden-orange fruits, 2-1/2 to 3" in diameter average 6 to 7 oz. a piece and have meaty, thick walls. Fruits are solid, with few seeds. Indeterminate
• Better Boy 
  
• The Better Boy variety of tomato has been in existence for more than 50 years and is a Guinness record holder for amount of fruit produced from a single plant. Noted for its superior flavor, the fruit grows from an indeterminate plant and is about 12 ounces, typically ripening in 72 days.
• (VFNASt LB) A spectacular, mid-season variety with plump, juicy, deep red tomatoes.Once they arrive they just keep on coming! Fruits are extremely flavorful, with flesh that's juicy, yet firm. Heavy foliage protects fruits from sun-scald. A highly adaptable variety that thrives in nearly any climate. Demonstrates excellent disease resistance. Indeterminate
• Super Boy  
  
• The Superboy tomato produces heavy yields of medium-size red tomatoes. It is excellent for salads but versatile enough to use for making sauces and salsa. It is a good selection for canning too. This variety is determinate meaning they stop growing when fruit sets on the terminal or top bud, ripen all their crop at or near the same time and then die.
• VFFNASt
• Yellow Perfection 
  
• From the 1800s.  Indeterminate, potato leaf plant produces 1 1/2 to 2-inch, (golf ball size) round, brilliant-yellow, thin-skinned and delicious heirloom tomato fruits. 
• Brandy Boy 
  
• Brandy Boy captures all the rich flavor of the beloved Brandywine heirloom tomato-long the flavor favorite among heirloom tomatoes-with a more shapely form, tidier growth habit, improved disease-resistance and bigger, earlier yields. Our new hybrid produces loads of large pink fruits up to 5 1/2" across. The fruits ripen evenly and share Brandywine's soft heirloom texture, thin skin and exceptional tangy-sweet taste. Indeterminate.
• Beefmaster Hybrid 
  
• 80 days. A gigantic hybrid, with huge, up-to-2-lb. fruits combined with superb disease resistance. One of the most flavorful in the kitchen and one of the best performers in the garden. Solid, meaty and crack resistant. Indeterminate.

Red Heuchera

Heuchera.

These flower every year in my front yard. They look like little jewel droplets.

Just beautiful!!!

Thanks for dropping by,
Luiza

California Native, Salvia red

Another drought resistant, california native, salvia.

It is a beautiful red. Really intense and dark.

Thanks for dropping by,

Luiza

Salvia Hot Lips

Salvia Hot Lips. This is one of the new flowers planted in my front yard as part of the grass removal.

This type of plant is not new in my yard. I have one in my backyard for years, and love it!!!

Thanks for dropping by,
Luiza

California Native Iris

Last year, I removed most of the grass in my front yard, and have now California Native, drought resistant plants instead.

This one is an Iris. Light yellow. Beautiful! First time it flowers.

Thanks for dropping by,
Luiza

More African Daisies

What can I say??? Just beautiful!!!

White with some purple....

Pink with some white!

Thanks for dropping by,

Luiza

California Poppy

California Poppies. They are flowering in my yard now. 

It is a  volunteer from last years' plants.

And yes, they are not the "traditional", predominant, yellow. This is more like a light peach color. Love it.

Thanks for dropping by,

Luiza

Blueberries

Last year, in the fall, I decided to transplant some blueberries to a big pot.

I am shocked how well they are doing. They love the pot much more than the ground. For one thing, I can control the acidity much better in a pot. That might be the reason.

Thanks for dropping by,

Luiza

Flowers

I believe these are chrysanthemums, but I am not sure. They are very light yellow. 

Just beautiful! They flower during winter in my backyard. Love them!!

Thanks for dropping by,
Luiza

More fruit trees

This is my peach tree. It is doing well. It usually does very well in my yard. My only problem is the competition with the squirrels that visit my yard, and pretty much eat all the fruits!

This is one of my orange trees. This tree does not flower like this for a long time (at least 5 years now...). I was ready to take it out of my yard. However, the rain saved it.

This is mustard. I planted mustard all over my backyard. I am trying these as a green compost approach. It is said that it fixes lots of Nitrogen in the soil and also acts as a fungicide. I am letting these go to seed so I can plant them again at the end of the season later this year.

Thanks for dropping by,

Luiza

Bring on the tomatoes

I prepared the beds to receive the tomatoes. They are raised. However, I do not use any wood to contain the soil. I prefer this way.

I think it is easier to mix "good stuff" on the beds without the wood frame. I can even use a tiller.

Thanks for dropping by.

Nectarine, Cherry

These trees have suffer a lot because of the lack of water. They are planted in a hill in my backyard.

The soil is awful in my hill. I did replace the whole soil in the hole that was dug. However, they still did not make too much progress. 

The one above is a nectarine. This year, it is blooming. I think it is the first time in the last 4 years! :(

This one is a cherry tree. It has not bloom for the last 2 years.
I am happy that they are doing better.

Thanks for dropping by,
Luiza

Another Orchid

Another small orchid blooming outside. So cute!!! Thank you Virginia!!!

Thanks for dropping by,
Luiza

Tomatoes, Flowers, Seedling Galore

Lots of tomatoes... I decided to plant much less tomatoes this year though.

I transplanted some to a "bigger" container, but there are still several that are waiting to be transplanted. I am waiting for the second true-leaf to show up.

Zinnias... lots of them. Small, medium, and tall! It will be great!!!

Marigolds... a few types. This one is the Best Mix (I believe it is by Burpee).

This is a small zinnia. I will plant in front of all the others.

Still in the "start container", are the basil seedlings.

In the front, another Zinnia... I believe this one is Thumbelina.

At the back, Marigold Bolero.

At the back, Cosmos, most likely Sensation.

In the front, another Zinnia. This one is from seeds that I saved from last year Zinnia that I planted in my front yard. They are small, and fluorescent yellow. 

Behind the small Zinnias, I believe is another Zinnia, the giant Scarlet type. They are gorgeous!!!

Thanks for dropping by,

Luiza