There are still pics from Tuesday at fmg but they will have to wait. Instead, the focus of this post will be tomatoes, prickly pear propagation, more fermentation, and status of the witch hazel bushes.
Tomatoes
It’s been an ongoing experiment with the purple reign tomatoes. The reviews that said they produced dwarf tomatoes is wrong wrong wrong. They produce big tomatoes that take a long time to ripen. So long, in fact, several have ripened to a point where the fruit flies have ruined them and they had to be tossed. Other than fruit flies, no other insects have messed with the plants or their fruit. The flesh of the tomatoes is robust and the flavor (cooked) is good. The vines are vigorous and have to have strong staking or they topple over. The next picture shows how one branch that snapped off of a plant when I put the cage around it (remember to put the cage around them BEFORE they grow giant-sized!) turned into its own plant that has several tomatoes growing on it.
Will I grow Purple Reign tomatoes again? No. They have many good qualities that others might/will like, but they aren’t what I’m looking for in important ways. Am I saving the seeds to donate to the seed bank at the library? Yes. Easy to save the seeds and the second batch is fermenting in water now. A few days in water begins a fermentation process that “eats” the protective gel around the seeds. Once they drop to the bottom of the jar the pulpy stuff is screened and the seeds are washed until they are clean. Then they are laid out on coffee filters or paper towels to dry.
Prickly Pear Propagation
With that heavy heavy rain we had, the prickly pear needed to be moved into the carport. Not easy to do with how big it has gotten. Moving it back into the sun, one of the lobes accidentally got knocked off. After reading how to propagate them awhile back, I googled it again to refresh. It’s so easy that I pulled a couple more lobes off to propagate more of them. Once the lobe is separated from the main plant (they separate easily) you can see at the break what looks like a little spongy opening. You have to let that spot callous over before putting in soil/sand/vermiculite/perlite mixture to sprout. Will do updates on this first time attempt as it unfolds.
Sourdough Fermentation
I tried to get a batch of sourdough started in early summer but it was a total failure. Do you want to know why? To get it started, you’re supposed to use the water of some boiled vegetables as food for the water-flour mixture that will hopefully draw in wild yeast. I did a boo-boo (didn’t know it at the time) of using water that corn had been boiled in. Never again.
Another method is to find fruits that wild yeast gathers on and use it to inoculate the mixture. Wild grapes have flourished out on the old fence in front this year. A light bulb went off and yep, I picked some and tried again. Voila! It’s on the way to being fully up and bubbling.
Witch Hazel Update
The ten witch hazel shrubs are doing great. Having them caged and the grass and other greenery trimmed around them has helped. Michigan native species, they don’t mind drought or drench. They are outgrowing the cages and I see deer have already nibbled one again. I need to get them secured before winter!
Tao Talk 
You are so ambitious, Lisa!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like to keep “grounded.” I didn’t even mention cleaning the mini-greenhouse and fish tank maintenance ;)
LikeLike
glad your plants and other things that your growing are coming along nicely! <3 wonderful news!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, me too :)
LikeLike
You’re a serious gardener Li. The purple tomatoes look great
LikeLiked by 1 person
It keeps me busy. Considering that was a broken off stem and what it grew into, I agree!
LikeLiked by 1 person
A great hobby Li
LikeLiked by 1 person
All looks good. I like that you are connected to the place where you live through your plants. (K)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, K. You might say I’m rooted here.
LikeLiked by 1 person
An interesting post, Lisa. I am painting a watercolour picture of various succulents.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Nice!
LikeLike
Prickly pear really earned my attention! It’s looking awesome. You are a happy gardener!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Balroop, it’s a beautiful plant and amazing it grows in Michigan and lives through winter. Supposedly it has some kind of anti-freeze in it. Yes, I am a happy gardener, thanks for noticing <3
LikeLiked by 1 person
I propogated violets, much the same way as the cactus, Lisa. You have to use a rooting hormone, but it’s a joy to see the violet grow!
Some tomatoes have to reach crazy heights before they put out fruit. I love those yellow pear shaped tomatoes, but they have to grow really tall before you get anything.
I love cherry tomatoes. I’ll try those in a pot next summer.
Your witch hazel is amazing. What can you do with the plant?
LikeLike
Colleen, does that include African violets?? I have rooting hormone and an African violet. I’ve grown mortgage lifter, red zebra, and brandywine. I will grow mortgage lifter next year. I need to buy a section of fencing and grow them along it, like Dwight does, and attach the plants to it.
Thank you on the witch hazel. I planted it as a colorful hedge along one fence between the yard and the field. Hoping it can keep some of the invasive shrubs and trees out as well as act as a windscreen. It will turn bright yellow with red blossoms in fall/winter. Not sure if it produces berries or not. Witch hazel bark (?) can be prepared as an astringent, which is what I plan on doing with them when they get bigger. I buy it now but would love to make my own. Thanks for asking :)
LikeLike
This is fascinating stuff, Lisa!
Tomato plants did poorly here this year, most people reported. While grape and cherry plants produced a decent amount, the larger varieties yielded few, and squirrels ruined some of them. So the few we had were savoured! Too much wet early in the season and too dry later.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Sorry your growing season has been a mixed bag, Steve. I grow tomatoes and peppers in raised beds. The tomatoes are shaded probably half the day which I think helped them. The grapes have never grown so well and these are wild grapes that just live here on their own. The perennials along the driveway in the ground got scorched badly as I didn’t water them. The groundcovers are fine.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting… up here the recommendation is full sun. But we’re a shorter growing season, I believe. Anything more than that, all our garden-smarts are with Sweety.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Steve, ordinarily it is full sun, but it’s been SO hot and dry and the shade acts as a protector.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ahhh, that makes sense.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interesting — especially about those purple tomatoes !!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
The different colored tomatoes (and there are a lot of them to choose from) are a pleasant novelty but the subconscious sees them as “wrong” when it comes to handling them. I’m going back to “regular” red next year. Do you do any gardening?
LikeLike
I try to grow tomatoes, but last years and this years were disappointing at best. I think maybe I’ll stick to petunias. :-D
LikeLiked by 1 person
:) Good choice. I just remembered where you live. Hoping the storm stayed far from your area.
LikeLike
We were without power for a day or so, but blessed when compared to folks 30 miles west of us. What a disaster !
But, yes, petunias always grow for me. :-D
LikeLiked by 1 person