It is that time of year in New England when you can begin to feel safe about planting your tomatoes outside. No promises, but it looks as though there won’t be a frost anytime soon…
We have some of the best tomatoes in the region, grown from seed and then transplanted to six packs, all on our own premise, and almost all of it done by hand. There is no disease on our tomatoes - blight in particular - because we are careful about growing, and all of our seed is new.
Choose from lots of tomato varieties: large beef masters, several smaller hybrids, sweet cherries, grapes that produce A LOT of tomato, all kinds of heirlooms, yellow tomatoes with less acid, tasty orange, and many more. We also have single tomato plants, and porch tomatoes in larger pots. We will likely have them through June, but the busy season for tomatoes and other vegetables begins now…
If you need or want to grow in planters, we can tell you what varieties work best. A quick tip for tomatoes in pots — add a bit of lime to the soil; this will help prevent blossom end rot, those destructive black blotches that appear on the bottom of the tomato.
We also have all kinds of peppers, eggplant, squash, cucumbers, okra, tons of basil — the vegetable and herb list goes on. Stop in and let us help you plan a fall harvest.
Want to learn more about the late blight that damaged the crops last year? Read here, from UMass Amherst: Late Blight Alert
As you may or may not know, the northeast was devastated last year by Late Blight on tomatoes. Late blight is an air borne water mold. The good news is that it needs green tissue to survive. So we should not have a problem again unless plants are brought in from southern United States.
The bad news is that it also lives on potatoes. This means if someone tries to save potatoes and replant them, the infected potato tubers could cause a re-infestation. So please plant only certified seed potatoes. Potatoes that freeze or are fully composted will not carry late blight. Be careful of renegade potatoes that are left in the garden or compost pile. Your tomato cages, stakes, etc. will not carry the mold over winter.
Click either image below for helpful information from the UMass Amherst Vegetable Program.
Well its time to get out there and garden!! The world has really greened up lately and everything is blooming. To me spring is such a celebration of life. Its so nice to see the trees blooming and the bees out, and the baby ducks crossing the road! I’m so glad that spring always comes around. What a light at the end of winters tunnel.
At Griggs Farm we are really prepared for this years vegetable gardening season. We have many varieties of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. I wanted to publish the list of our most popular veggies. We do however have a lot more plants such as lettuce, broccoli and and so much more. I haven’t even started with the flowers. In any case here is a sampling of our veggie varieties!
Eggplant
Galine –New last year! Very glossy black fruit with green calyx.
Classic Italian bell shape, 6″ x 3″. Early, firm fruit on strong plants.
Beatrice –classic shape violet color-
Epic –classic purple-tapered elegant shape. Sets well and early under various conditions for reliably good yields. Strong upright plant, usually around 36″.
Ghostbuster –white-Novel, shiny white skin. Tender skin and sweeter flesh than most.
Irene –classic purple-This traditional egg-shaped, purple black eggplant sets heavily,
Producing medium-sized firm fruit.
ManganNew last year! Tender, excellent quality Japanese type.
Glossy and very dark purple fruit, avg. 4″ x 1 1/2″. High yielding and early. Great for cooking and pickling. Purple calyx
Slim Purple Productive, early and beautiful long slender Asian eggplant with a light purple (not purple black) color. The stem/ calyx is purple with green shading.
Ichiban II
Dairyu (Japanese slender) Not only is it early, but it will produce over a long season. 7″ - 10″ long fruit is nearly black with matching sepals. Fruit shape is long and thin with a slight pot-belly.
Megal -Green calyx, long slender Italian type, 7 - 9″ long, 3″ diameter fruits.
Orient ExpressAttractive, slender, 8-10″, glossy black fruits in the long Oriental style. Ready up to 2 weeks before other early varieties, it features an ability to set fruit in cool weather as well as under heat stress.
Fairytale –Mini eggplant-
HanselNew! Solid purple mini eggplant.
2008 AAS winner! Start harvesting the abundant fruits when they are only 3-4″ long. The compact, 25-36″, plants produce the tender, dark purple fruit in clusters for easy harvesting. Hansel is non-bitter and perfect for grilling or slicing thin onto pizza
GretelNew! Solid white mini eggplant.
2009 AAS winner! Loads of mini, white-skinned eggplant drip from the branches of this compact plant. The tender, bitter-free fruits should be harvested beginning when they are 3-4″ long.
Raveena- New! Light green, cylindrical fruits.
Raveena is a heavy yielder on very vigorous plants. The fruit can be harvested anywhere from 3″ to 9″ and, as an added bonus, can be harvested in clusters.
Turkish Orange -A unique, brilliant orange fruit, sweet and fragrant when freshly cut. Best eaten once fruits are tennis ball-sized or when slightly orange with green striping. Also great when stuffed. Vigorous bush bears 15-25 fruits per plant.
