Future Ratatouille.

I started some more tomatoes sets last night, hopefully to be ready to go into the beds outside sometime in early march.  I'm planting some new-to-me varieties from several commercial sites, as well as some seeds I saved from last year.  One of the saved varieties I have some hopes for, it came from a tomato that came up in my compost and then was given to a friend of mine.  It actually produced fruit in the heat of summer, which is almost unheard of for anything besides a cherry tomato around here (they usually burn out from heat and disease in late June or so).  

Purple Tomatillo, Black Icicle, Carbon, Black Sea Man, Silver Fir Tree, and Moonglow.  I like the flavor of the "black" tomatoes, so I tent to gravitate towards experimenting with them. 

I just have a small garden patch behind the house, and it doesn't really get as much light as it should (about 5 hours direct instead of 8).  My tomatoes tend to get a little bit leggy but they do produce, and quite well at times.  In the winter months, greens like collards and mustard do really well, if they get enough water.  Beans and southern peas tend to do well also (I'm breeding my own strain of crowder pea, pretty cool the variation I'm seeing after a few years).  Squash do OK, but they have a lot of issues with vine and fruit borers, the exception being Seminole pumpkin, which is adapted to FL and does a great job.  Corn, unfortunately, is right out, I've tried but it just won't go.  This year I'm remaking the garden into raised beds, hopefully it will be quite spiffy when completed.  There is also a greenhouse in the works, but right now its just a giant erector set layed out in the converted carport. 

One day in May, I hope to do a nice venison shank braise with a side of ratatouille.  Stay tuned.