Our maintenance guy had these great tomatoes from italy. He gave me a few a few years ago and told me at the end of the season o take the seeds, dry them on paper towels and put the paper towel i. a plastic bag in the fridge til the following season. planted them and they grew!! With these grape tomatoes I was not at all that careful- just cut them in half, left them on a paper town for a few days b/c I had to wait for the deck to be pressure washed, and stuck the halves in the soil yesterday. Pretty careless. And a few started to look a little wonky. But if any grow, I will let you know.
@Nhatrang the seeds came in a packet, just like you would buy here. Sgaravatti is the brand name on the packet. Pomodoro Rio Grande is the variety - if you google that variety, you will see that they are very hardy and disease resistant. They are egg shaped, similar in size to a Roma tomato. The tomatoes grew in clusters and produced a lot of tomatoes. It did not take long for them to grow from seed into a mature plant. They were so delicious! We used them make a fresh sauce as well as sliced for sandwiches and insalata caprese.
He planted some yesterday to make seedlings that he will then transplant. So we will have a reference for next year how long it takes. I double checked and he said it was more like mid-June that he started from seed but, yes, they grew quickly and were producing tomatoes by the end of the summer. We had also purchased tomato plants in the spring but they were different varieties. While they also produced a lot of tomatoes, the ones we started from seed were definitely better quality.
Eh, my arborviate arrived. Disappointingly small – the drawback of online shopping, you don’t really get to see the thing you’re buying – so I may have to rethink where to plant it. Originally it was going to replace a large potted thing but now the scale is off, so hmmm…
Arborvitae are very fast growers.
https://www.thespruce.com/drought-tolerant-fast-growing-arborvitae-4041131
Yes, I got the fast-growing green giant. Up to 3 feet per year! Can’t wait to get it into the ground… Temps here will dip to 19 degrees (!!) on Sunday, so it won’t be anytime
soon, lol.
Planted peas and onions today. Tomorrow I’ll plant carrots.
Have tomatoes (3 varieties), eggplants (Italian and Asian), and mini bell peppers started on my kitchen counter. Also herbs–chives, basil, thyme and oregano. All those will get planted outdoors near the end of the month.
I’ll plant leaf lettuce in an indoor window sill planter as soon as I can get my hands on some lettuce seeds. (I have them ordered, but all the seed companies are reporting delayed processing times.)
I was peeved when I was cleaning out the raised garden beds yesterday that the deer have grazed my parsley down to soil level and have denuded all my carrots of their tops. Somehow they managed to tear a 3 foot high rip in the deer fencing over the winter–clever pests!
Ugh… we’re expecting a 50-degree temp DROP tomorrow! And snow. I cut all the tulips and daffodils and brought them inside. Looks great!!! But sad for the new buds and roses that won’t make it through this hard freeze.
The poets are right. April is the cruelest month.
We’re expect snow above 6500 ft Monday night. Since I live above the 6500 ft, I’m glad I have planted anything tender outside yet. (Though I have used Wall o’ Water in the past and they work great with plants that are susceptible to frost damage.)
I was tilling the raised beds earlier today and accidentally cut one of my 1/2 inch feeder lines for my drip irrigation system. I really don’t want to head out to Lowes/Home Depot, but I’m guessing I don’t have much of choice unless I want a geyser erupting in the garden.
@WayOutWestMom I too have Wall o Water… and once this cold spell is behind me, I’m planting tomatoes in their watery huts!
@katliamom I only wish I had tomatoes to plant. Mine have just barely sprouted.
But those Walls o Water have saved my tomatoes too many time to count!
If anyone is concerned about being able to get your hands on vegetable plants for your garden check out your local non-profit gardening programs. Many here have plant sales - and they have the greenhouse space to be able to grow them well. I ordered mine online mid-March - just as we were going into WFH - and I’m glad I did.
I know some stores will still be open that have plants (depending how long this quarantine lasts) but also like so many other things, I’ll be the plants will be in demand.
I’m not patient to grow from seed except for a few things so I prefer to buy starter plants.
It’s funny. I always buy starter plants , but some reason back in December decided I was going start my own plants this year and ordered seeds.
The local greenhouses/nurseries are open as essential businesses. Lowes, Home Depot and even grocery stores have racks of starter plants out in from the stores.
@jym626 - how are your tomatoes doing?
Only heirloom tomatoes will grow true from seed. Hybrids will revert to their archetypal tomato form, a small tomato. So, pretty much a grape tomato!
I’ve saved seeds a few times and I remember soaking them in water for a few days first. That removes some membrane around the seed. Then I dried them on paper towels to use the next year.
I’m not good at saving seeds or growing from seed but tomatoes are really, really, good at that all by themselves. Every year I spread my half baked compost from the compost barrel and tomatoes always sprout from it. Some have gotten big enough to give me lovely and tasty small tomatoes. I hope I’m lucky this year too.
Funny you should ask— I was thinking if updating— though there is not yet anything to update, I grow my tomatoes in big deck pots, and sadly the only thing I’ve seen are the holes the squirrels or chipmunks have dug in them 
Plus, we have had a slight cold spell ( it was 39 degrees when my DH went running this morning) and it rained hard after I’d already soaked the pots. And, to top it off, we are expecting really severe, dangerous weather tomorrow.
I have more tomatoes (grape and full-size) in the house, so can do a better job of preparing seeds for planting if I need to try again. Whats the best approach?
We went to Flower World today. Lots of starter plants and also tons of seed packets. We are going to convert our useless garage deck into a container garden! I ordered a raised bed from Costco. Mr. assembled it today. Wow, it looks awesome. Hope it performs as well as it looks. My herbs and lettuces will go there. 
I’m no expert, but here are hints from the NC cooperative extension:
@BunsenBurner link to the raised bed you purchased??
Here it is:
It is very expensive but looks like it will last for a long time and will work well on our deck! We could have made one ourselves, but looking at how well this one was made, Mr. decided that we should stick with the commercial version. 
Plus, rabbits and slugs will not be able to get to the plants! I am also putting a bunch of pots with stuff in them to expand the “garden.”
Our raised beds were put in years ago. Gosh, maybe 20 years ago?
The cedar planks are finally giving way, and the corners have come undone. I think I’ll drive in metal garden stakes for the time being.
I’m looking forward to that first batch of raspberries!
Had to go to Lowes today to pick up my order-- a coupling to repair the irrigation line I accidentally cut Friday while tilling. Place was pretty deserted since it’s snowing here (and has been since last night… BRRR!)
There were huge racks of starter plants outside so I bought 2 6-packs of leaf lettuce and 2 Anheim chili peppers. I was sorely tempted to buy tomato plants but I have tomato seedlings at home.