The first tomatoes and peppers of the season have ripened today.
Tomato varieties include: Big Cherry, Sweet 100 Cherry, Pear and Grape Tomatoes, Porters, Sun Gold and Early Girl (not pictured).
I prefer to plant smaller tomato varieties that mature quickly to beat the Texas heat. I have continued to have the most success with these varieties in North Texas. One medium size variety that do I grow are Early Girl tomatoes (hybrid). Early Girl makes a large crop that matures quickly to before the Texas summer gets too hot. My tip is not to buy tomato varieties that are shipped in from the chain stores that might grow better in say Michigan. Buy your tomato plants from a locally owned nursery. They know what varieties grow best here in Texas.
Pepper varieties from left to right include: Giant Sweet Marconi, Sweet Banana and California Wonder Bell Pepper. Peppers grow well in Texas. I always get large, continuous pepper crops in the spring, early summer and fall. During the heat wave of July and August, production slows down. During this time keep watering the plants to keep them alive and you will be rewarded with a huge crop of peppers when the weather begins to turn cooler in the fall.
2 Comments
I grew poblanos this year. Lots of fruit but they did not get large. Thoughts?
Hello Jim,
Since your poblanos produced a lot of peppers, I think the phosphorus level must be adequate. Perhaps they need more water to further produce their larger bodied fruits? They also need adequate space (at least 15″ to 18″ between other tall nearby plants).
If you are interested in trying some other soil additions, you might add some aged compost (will help with water retention too). Dyno Dirt and Dyno Soil (sold in Denton, TX) are really high in Phosphorus content and my peppers love it: https://www.cityofdenton.com/en-us/all-departments/quality-of-life/dyno-dirt. Bone meal is also high in phosphorus and calcium.
Good luck to you. Happy gardening :), Rebecca