The Sect of Rama

I've been growing my own tomatoes for as long as I can remember- maybe since I was 10 years old. Its the only plant I've found rewarding enough to return to year after year. Early on, it was limited to varieties you can find in seed packets at the local hardware store. More recently, I've been tempted by the dozens of heirlooms that are making a strong comeback. Although they're rarely as productive, they're always interesting. Last year I was burned by my selections, however- either they woefully under produced, or were so low to the ground, I lost 50% to rot. This year, its all new selections.

So this weekend, I made a trip to Roger Reynolds Nursery in Menlo Park to select a few plants for the 2007 season. (I should have taken some pics for those of you unfamiliar with this nursery. They must have over 20 varieties of tomato alone! Its good to live in the bay area.) For 2007, I thought I'd try growing a tomatillo for salsa verde, a replacement for my 2005 serrano pepper bush-- I always seem to get 2 years out of pepper plants, and the 4 tomatoes pictured above. From left to right: San Marzano roma, Omar's Lebanese beefsteak, Paul Robeson black, and Carmello F1.

Let's see, April 7 + 70 days = mid June for the first round of tomatoes. Man, thats a long wait...

In addition to these, my herb selections have slowly been growing. These are the perennials I have growing all the time: sage, flat leaf parsley, thyme, lemon thyme, rosemary, mint, chocolate mint, and catnip-- in which I've found many a neighborhood cat passed out in face down. I've also got some cilantro/coriander I start from seed, since I find it best to grow and harvest it like a grass, with dozens of individual plants. Oh, and one last consumable plant: a Mt Hood hops vine for the homebrewing. Its not my favorite varietal, but its the only rhizome the neighborhood squirrels weren't interested in, so it survives year after year.

What are you guys growing this year?