March 1 -- vegetable gardening begins in earnest with the start of various seeds.  I have 2 different tomatoes and 3 different peppers I am starting.  Bent has 1 tomato and 3 additional chilis, including a Hatch chili from New Mexico, that he is starting.  We will see where we are the end of the month.  Hope is to transplant about mid-May.

Also starting the clean up of beds (got the weeds out of the asparagus bed) and will be rototilling some beds and planting some snow peas this week.

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You can see what my early concentration is going to be.  BLT's & Clubs, Hatch Chili Cheeseburgers, Chorizo and and Adobo sauces!  Heating blanket is on, grow light is ready in about 2 weeks!

Looks like you're getting a good head start.

Mine hasn't changed, just sand.

I need some of the Super Sioux plants.  Hot and dry is what it will be here soon.  The deer would eat them though.

Faster then I thought!  Already have the grow lights on!

Status report at one week -- all my tomatoes and Bell Peppers have sprouted.

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I had to do a bit of planning with my garden this year due to knee replacement surgery on February 22.  My garden was weeded and amended two weeks before my surgery and tomato seeds started a week before.  Last weekend, I transferred my seed starts to 5" pots with a special soil mix.  I discovered the soil mix last year and it is like rocket fuel for tomato plants.  The soil is from EB Stone and is called "Recipe 420".  It was developed with another crop in mind  .

My plan is to put do the final planting right after tax day after the last frost has passed.  If I'm lucky some fruit will set by mid May and a first harvest by mid June.  Tomatoes in my area come in waves.  The temperature here in the summer can be 90-100 F in the daytime and in the 50s at night.  Tomatoes need several night above 55F for fruit to set so.  This happens about every 2-3 weeks in my area.

I have not had a garden for about 40 years.  My wife wants some tomato and pepper plants so this year we will go the wine barrel route.  My soil is very rocky, so I have to buy bags of soil or buy a truck load which would be more than I need. 

I had to do a bit of planning with my garden this year due to knee replacement surgery on February 22.  My garden was weeded and amended two weeks before my surgery and tomato seeds started a week before.  Last weekend, I transferred my seed starts to 5" pots with a special soil mix.  I discovered the soil mix last year and it is like rocket fuel for tomato plants.  The soil is from EB Stone and is called "Recipe 420".  It was developed with another crop in mind  .

My plan is to put do the final planting right after tax day after the last frost has passed.  If I'm lucky some fruit will set by mid May and a first harvest by mid June.  Tomatoes in my area come in waves.  The temperature here in the summer can be 90-100 F in the daytime and in the 50s at night.  Tomatoes need several night above 55F for fruit to set so.  This happens about every 2-3 weeks in my area.

A quick update on my tomato seedlings.  My plants came along a little better than expect.  Most were 18-24" tall on April 2.  That's just under 3 weeks from when I put them in the 5" pots. My plan was to put them out in the garden around tax day but they have gotten a little too large to handle.  I planted them over the weekend.  The weather here has been unseasonably warm (over 90F today) so I'm getting a good head start on my growing season.  It is usually low to mid 60's this time of year.       

I think I am seeing at least 15-20 tomato plants?  To me that would be hundreds of fruits over the course of a growing season.  Do you eat that many a week?  We have like 8 and I know my AA friends are gonna get a lot!

I think I am seeing at least 15-20 tomato plants?  To me that would be hundreds of fruits over the course of a growing season.  Do you eat that many a week?  We have like 8 and I know my AA friends are gonna get a lot!

Actually, there are 40 plants there.  I only plant the 36 best ones.  We give 3/4 of the tomatoes away.  They come in waves here like I said before because of our sub 55deg F evenings so our yields aren't great.  I count on heat waves happening every two to three weeks that result in stagnant evening air needed to set fruit.

Most folks that live around me look forward to our tomatoes.  My neighbor next door tells me my home grown fruit is far better than what is sold in the local farmers market.  It is sad that most commercially grown tomatoes that you find in the grocery stores are not vine ripened.  My son refused to eat tomato slices on his food because he was used to the commercially grown ones.  He now eats my homegrown ones.

Speaking of tomato yields, I am amazed at what Charles H Wilber was able to do with his plants.  I saw pictures of 30ft tall Better Boy plants that yielded hundreds of pounds of tomatoes.  All of my plants are of the Better Boy variety.  We are frequently hitting days during the summer with temperatures above 105deg F.  Last year was the first year I grew Better Boys and they seem to withstand hot days better.

April 11 2022, 4 inches of snow this morning.   Wet heavy snow in the PNW wrecked havoc on trees.  And I tried to get pumpkins and tomatoes started yesterday.  Pictures to follow. 

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I am planting half my crop on May 1.  Back ups if we get a frost!

I am planting half my crop on May 1.  Back ups if we get a frost!

I am curious if you are experiencing a longer growing season in Virginia.  My target date for planting used to be April 15 and now it is close to April 1.  Our frost is pretty much over in March.