I Planted 36 Fireworks tomatoes this afternoon. This is going to be the replacement for my usual Early Girl, I think. Should be fruiting sixty days from sprouting, but we'll just have to see. This is really a slicing tomato, but since it's about a half pound or so, no bigger, I might be able to can some of them. Unless something goes horribly wrong, this should be the first tomato that actually shows up on a plate this year. Bright red, strong determinate.

I planted 36 of the Heinz 1439 VFA in the same flat as the Fireworks -- this is another determinate tomato that I've decided to try instead of growing Roma tomatoes this year. Heavy producer, smallish fruit set over a short period -- these should be coming on about the second week of June.

The next flat has 18 of the stand in for Black Beauty eggplant, Florida High Bush. This is an open pollenated, big, glossy black eggplant. Some of them might be as long as 10". 85 days to maturity, so we should start seeing them in early July. I've noticed that eggplants get a slow start in my garden, but once they come on, they get right with it. I might attempt to fertilize these this year just to keep them thriving. I had a beetle problem a few years ago that made the plants look terrible, but they survived.

Ancho 101 is next to the eggplants; I planted 18 of these, too. I hope we have enough of these to tie ristras and make rellanos 'til we're sick of them. I'm confused whether Anchos dried become Poblano or vice versa, but that's the relationship. There should be plenty for all sorts of experiments. These are mild, I think -- about 1500 Scoville.

California Wonder bell peppers are next to the Ancho 101 peppers. This is an open-pollinated pepper that is best in the green stage (75 days or so) -- Crisp and sweet, they can be left to turn red, but the next variety is better for that. This pepper is resistant to tobacco mosaic virus, so I'm hedging my bets by growing 18 of them and the bacterial-spot resistant Socrates X3R next to it. I have enough seed to make a second planting of these late in the season, too.

18 Socrates X3R hybrid fill the remainder of this flat. 68 days to green and a week or two longer to red, this bell pepper should hold up better as it ripens since it's highly resistant to bacterial rot. This one can be used green, too, and it's sweet, so if something goes wrong with the California Wonders, I'll still have plenty, I hope. I don't usually get loads of bell peppers, but I'll look into creative mulches and fertilizers this year in an effort to keep them fruiting well. Shading them a little might help, too. I have extra seed for this one, too, so I may well plant another 18 of them when the garden's going well so that I can grow them into the Fall. ( I see now that they are out of stock, so I'm glad I've got a few extra seeds...)