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Re: Doreen's Virtual Garden Party

Thanks a million for this fabulous recap.  I held my breath last Wednesday,
waiting for the American Airlines Netsaver fares to be posted, hoping that
they'd have a cheapie from D.C. to Houston so I could just drop in on the
party unannounced.  Wouldn't that have been fun?  Unfortunately, no soap.

Doreen, I so much want to be there in '98.  Please notify us a little
further in advance so we can purchase Saturday-night-stayover plane tix.

Doreen continued,
>...The mycorrhizal fungi I used caused every blossom to set fruit on
>7-foot high plants.

Would this be a reference to Don Chapman's soil-enhancement mycorrhizae?
I'm sure they're doing great things in the dirt, but I wonder how they could
affect blossom set.  Do tell us more if his instructions or accompanying
materials explained how this might work.

Doreen's tomato selections:
> Purple Smudge-Orange Flesh, Schimmerg Stoo & Green, Texas Wild, >Gurnsey
Island, Garden Peach, Carnival, White Bush, Silvery Fir Tree, >Wonder Lite,
Green Zebra, Black Plum, Odoriko, Striped German and >Southern Nights
are truly inspirational.  I've never heard of several of these and think
Purple Smudge-Orange Flesh would be great fun to try.

I've stopped growing all the easy hybrids with blah flavor but high disease
resistance in favor of toms that taste like TOMS.  My crowd, just outplanted
2 weeks ago, includes heirlooms Silvery Fir Tree, Brandywine, Pink
Brandywine, St. Pierre, and Howard's German, plus hybrids Park's OG Whopper
(experimental for me), Heatwave (to see if it really does perform better
than others in our muggy summers), Dona (hybridly prolific and disease
resistant but open-pollinated in stoutness of flavor), and Mama Mia (paste
extraordinaire).  My Pruden's Purple seedlings got about 3 inches high and
gave up the ghost.  I grew this one fine in '96, though, and don't know how
to account for my current failure.

Doreen said,
>Along the side there is also a small bed of Moon & Stars watermelons (Amish
>heirloom) that is trellised up a chainlink fence.

Terrific!  This watermelon looks gorgeous in the photo in my copy of a book
on old-fashioned plants.  But it also looks like the fruits are really big.
Doreen, do you let them sit on the ground or can the pantyhose trick work
for them?

Doreen said,
>After a trip to New Orleans last December, I knew I had to have a French
>Quarter-type courtyard!!  Out came the deck, and we laid a flagstone patio
>and steps leading from the house.  We left 30-inch wide flower beds on all
>perimeters.  We put a 3-tiered fountain in the center and planted creeping
fig to >climb the north-facing wall of brick.

I want something like this, too.  We have a pie-shaped lot to deal with
because we're on a cul-de-sac, and our lot line is only about 20 feet behind
the house running roughly parallel to the back wall.  Behind us is a daycare
center.  The builder installed the usual privacy fence, but it's certainly
not aesthetic.  I'm dying for a walled garden with a water feature.  You
have inspired me, Doreen!

> The courtyard area, due to its exposure and brick walls, adds
>10 degrees to the ambient temperature.

Let's not tell my husband about this little flaw, shall we?

>Sorry this was so long, but some of you asked for a virtual tour.  For those
>of you who were here in spirit--we tossed tomatoes skyward about 8 p.m.
>CDT for Janet in D.C., Dave in Tehachapi, Noel in Kiwiland and Melissa on
>the mighty Missisip.

Thanks for including me in the TOMTOSS.  I really did think of you several
times during the weekend and hoped you didn't get rain like we had here to
spoil the festivities.

--Janet
------------------------------------------------------------------
Janet Wintermute             jwintermute@ids2.idsonline.com

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