Tomato Black Brandywine

16 Jun 2011 at 08:34

kplatt

United Kingdom

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As the first trusses appear on the tomato plants, I thought I would write in some more depth about a favourite heirloom tomato, an Amish variety passed down through the years. Brandywine comes in black, red, yellow and pink and first appeared commercially in America in 1882 when offered by a seed company that is still going strong today. It was originally offered as ‘Turner’s Variety’ and was not given the name ‘Brandywine’ until seven years later.

‘Brandywine’ is a little different from other tomatoes – its leaves are more like potato leaves and not as ferny as others. It needs a long season maturity, 70-90 days so there has been some cursing of the cold nights here as that does not help. However it’s ahead of some of the others I am growing, but not first in the league table of trusses because it was not the first to germinate. No tomatoes like cool temperatures and draughts are a definite no-no. ‘Brandywine’ plants can grow to over 2m (8ft) and can get leggy. They can be pinched and pruned, and although you will get fewer tomatoes if you do this, they will be better.

‘Brandywine’ is grown first and foremost for its sweet taste. The taste is a million miles away from a supermarket hybrid. There is nothing bland about this tomato. As ‘Brandywine’ is an open-pollinated strain, the flavour can vary – if the taste is not up to your expectations, then try a different seed company next time. The fruits can be huge, a half kilo or 1lb fruit is not uncommon. Picking them with green shoulders is often best as they do have a tendency to split if left on the vine. Go easy on the nitrogen – you’ll just get lots of foliage. Plant in rich, organic soil that is slightly acidic about 1m (36″ ) apart in an open, sunny position sheltered from winds. Mulch well to conserve moisture. Be consistent with watering – even watering is the key to good tomatoes. Make sure plants are well staked. ‘Brandywine’ tomatoes are indeterminate and can be trained on trellis or caged. I am going to stake mine as I know I am not going to get many fruits this year – we’re having a typical English summer. Planted in a good -sized container,four strong bamboo supports at each corner will withstand the onslaught of heavy fruits.

The ‘Black Brandywine’ often produces smaller fruits. Once picked you can kill the taste in the fridge, so store in a cool, dark place – that’s if you can resist eating them straight off the plant. If you have a glut – make and freeze sauce. Enjoy the fruits of your labour.

If you love tomatoes as much as I do, check out my book 2,000 Tomatoes.

Black Petunia

30 May 2011 at 09:03

kplatt

United Kingdom

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I first wrote about Petunia ‘Black Velvet’ in the 4th edition of my book ‘Black Magic and Purple Passion’. No plants were forthcoming for me to test the variety from Ball Horticultural in the USA. However, I bought it from a UK nursery earlier this year and it was launched at the Chelsea Flower Show last week.

I wish I could say it was as black as the photographs sent to me by Ball Horticultural, but it is not. True it has a measure of blackness, but I do not find it to be as black as they claim. In fact in some conditions it looks very purple. It reminds me of the launch of Hyacinthus ‘Midnight Magic’ that was claimed to be as black as night, but again had a good measure of purple and I, for one preferred Hyacinthus ‘Menelick’. I could name many others that have gone down the same road.

So my question is, when are breeders and promoters of plants going to realise that it is ok not to be solid black? That it is quite alright, and even preferable to say – this is black-purple. Honesty is always the best policy. It’s also a measure of who has grown the plant and who has swallowed the publicity wholesale. To promote a plant as the blackest, is only to lead to disappointment when it does not live up to its image. Of course, black is a fleeting nuance of colour in the plant world, one minute a plant can appear black and then the light changes. Some soil conditions and light are more liable to produce the effect of black. Petunia ‘Black Velvet’ is a rather smallish flowered, black-purple flower and that’s just dandy as it is. It is the darkest petunia I have seen so far and it is sumptuously velvety.

There was coverage of black plants at the Chelsea Flower Show, although is it no longer politically correct to say ‘black plants’? I wonder as the presenter called them purple. Ball must have been disappointed as the main feature was the old standby Ipomoea – one of the blackest foliage plants. If the presenter called this purple – what would he have called the petunia? I sometimes think people are more hung up about the colour and stuck in a time-warp of ten years ago when black was IT and that they cannot see the plant for the colour.

When it finally stops raining, I shall take a pic of my Petunia ‘Black Velvet’ growing in my garden, meantime here is Ball’s photo promoting this as black, blacker than black.

Growing from seed

09 May 2011 at 16:04

kplatt

United Kingdom

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The weather is on such a yo-yo that things are growing but slowly. Super quick crops to harvest whilst longer maturing crops get going include radish and rocket. The latter can be harvested at an amazing 25 days. Many salad leaves are best when young such as spinach and this helps avoid its tendency to bolt.

The tomatoes are coming along slowly – still inside at the moment as although day time temperatures have not been too bad, the night temperatures are sometimes still dropping very low. The worst thing has been the wind. I’m pleased to say that Tomato ‘Black Cherry’ is looking strong, along with ‘Ildi’.

The runner beans are up now, so I shall be looking for crops in mid to late summer. I am not growing the purple varieties this year – although I find them pleasant and decorative, I am not fond of the fact that they lose their colour when cooking. For some reason, I have tried two batches of carrots and not had a single one germinate. I have grown carrots before without any problems. Rather disappointed because one of the crops I was trying this year was the purple carrot.

Dark succulents

06 May 2011 at 09:02

kplatt

United Kingdom

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Black plants are not as rare as you might think amongst the succulents.

Adromischus often has leaves that are edged in maroon, red or approaching black. A. caryophyllaceus is one example. The large tubular flowers are white with reddish purple markings. Looked at face on, the flowers look like dark stars on twiggy growth. These stoloniferous plants get rather leggy if not given a lean and mean routine.

Many of the Crassulas sport reddish foliage. Amongst them are C. brevifolia, C. ciliata, C. peploides and C. pyramidalis. C. swazienis has red-flushed foliage and handsome white inflorescences.

Lithops these fabulous, stone-like succulents are widespread in parts of Africa. In its natural habitat it merges in with the gritty, stony ground. This plant seems to survive any climate and therefore has to be appreciated for its accommodating nature. In colder climates it will adapt to window sill cultivation. When in flower, the flowers cover the stones. L. optica ‘Rubra’ is one of the reddest

Mesembryanthemum dinteri has reddish foliage.

The foliage of some Glottiphyllum species is flushed red as found in G. linguiforme and G. peersii, whose leaves are also white-margined and G. pachypodium.

The foliage rarely gets darker than red or reddish-brown on these dark succulents, none really have black foliage. The spines of some cacti are black and the flowers of several succulents are darkest maroon approaching black. Some of these were mentioned in the third edition of my book ‘Black Magic and Purple Passion’. In the update, that is forthcoming in 2012, I shall be expanding this section of near black flowered succulents.

Sowing and growing tomatoes

27 Apr 2011 at 19:31

kplatt

United Kingdom

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It’s not always a sure fire thing growing tomatoes outdoors in the north of England. I used to be too eager and start sowing in February, now I leave it much later and the results are the same as the plants get a better start. This year I didn’t get around to sowing the seed indoors until 22 April 2011. I’ve already got two lots of seed germinated 5 days later, which is pretty good going, no heat being used. The hardy little mites that have raised their seedheads are Tomato Sweet n’ Neat and ‘Black Cherry’.

I have always enjoyed growing coloured tomatoes and not just the ordinary red. The black ones are a must and I’ll let you know when the others germinate. I have in the past grown yellow, orange, green and striped tomatoes. The yellow tomato phase started when I was 10 years old when a gentleman whose wife my mother looked after, grew them and used to save them for me. Yellow was the only colour you could get in those days besides the normal red.

Sweet pea Hi scent,  a mixed packet of sweet pea seeds has also germinated in the garden. I look forward to cutting these for indoors colour and scent. In the vegetable patch I have also sown Kale ‘Black Tuscany’ this can be very dark and looks handsome in the flower border too. Radish Rainbow Mixed came up very quickly and are heading for a finish line they are putting on such a spurt of growth. I have sown Beta ‘Bull’s Blood’, which is every bit as decorative as the black Kale. Last but not least I’ve sown Spring Onion ‘Pompeii’.

It’s turned a little chillier but everything recovered from the hail storm and the lettuce are coming along nicely. The rocket has not germinated as well as I expected, so I am going to fill the gaps. It’s a quick crop that can be harvested in 25 days.

I am keeping a watch night and day for pests. The dry stone walls of my garden are a favourite haunt of slugs and snails. I have the pots covered with fleece at the moment until the seedlings get stronger. It helps keeps most of the pests off the seedlings.

The day that the hail came down

23 Apr 2011 at 16:02

kplatt

United Kingdom

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Imagine the scenario – for once England is enjoying pleasant weather for Easter weekend. Temperatures have been a very pleasing 24C, 75F, that’s as good as it gets at this time of year. In fact it rarely gets any better all year round. This bank holiday weekend is one where all good gardeners and ‘bank holiday only’ gardeners alike spend some time tending their patch, big or small. I had taken advantage of the good temperatures to repot, plant and sow seeds. Those who don’t garden (who are they?) were washing their cars or out in the sunshine.

It had reached 24C again and there was a forecast for thunder and heavy rain but the actuality was a little excessive to say the least. The thunder came first, the skies darkened, temperatures plummeted. The hail came from hell, I have never seen so much hail, the road and garden were white over. Gutters were filled to overflowing with huge hailstones, the latter were sliding down rooftops. The hailstones were so big – the size of hazelnuts. My poor garden looked like it had been filled with polystyrene for a shoot in a winterland movie. My poor containers were at least 5cm (2″) deep in hail. Flowers were stripped from branches, some new shoots on Rosa rugosa were just cast to the ground and we had a brand new, unwanted water feature outside the back door. A rolling stream of icy hail. Here comes summer. It went on for 20-30 minutes. Then the sun came out, the hail stopped, the rain stopped but gutters were still pouting water. The thunder is still rumbling on.

Did the black plants fair any better than the others – no they all suffered the same. I ran out as the rain started to cover the back tulips as they are just about to open up and the buds look gorgeous. I don’t know yet how they weathered the storm, not able to manage the steps that are covered in ice.

It is one of the most bizarre things I have witnessed. How does the weather go from 24C to hail, which is freezing water in a matter of minutes, then stop and the sun come out almost immediately and it’s back to 24C? Photos copyright Karen Platt 2011.

Black sweet peas plus more

20 Apr 2011 at 19:36

kplatt

United Kingdom

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I did get the black sweet peas sown a couple of days ago. Like many other flowers, the ‘black’ sweet peas are more maroon or burgundy. I have sown Midnight, Black Knight, which has the bonus of being scented and Black Diamond. I have also sown Louise for the first time, which is deep maroon and the old variety Matucana. I have put some white sweet peas around my dark plants in the garden and there will be photos of these as soon as they are in flower. I have sown White Supreme and Dorothy Eckford. I am expecting spectacular displays. I have sown around a 100 seeds now and although I have more seed, I’m not sure there is room in the garden.

This is always a problem with sowing seed – you end up with so many plants – but there is never a shortage of friends willing to take free plants off your hands. They make a nice gift to cheer someone. At least when sowing direct into the ground, one does not have to worry about finding pots and where to put all of those.

I’m pleased to say that Lathyrus Ballerina Blue has already germinated – the first to do so, but this is this year’s seed, some of my others are very old seed and I am not expecting miracles. Stored correctly, seed can last many years and keep good viability, so it’s fingers crossed and may the gods smile upon me. There is a real growth spurt in the garden with the sudden warmth and sunshine.

There was a wonderful display of sweet peas at the Harrogate Flower Show and I thought you might enjoy some photos. In order of appearance Lathyrus Spencer mixed, Charlie’s Angel, Happy Birthday, Ethel Grace, Eclipse, Beth Chatto, Alan Williams and a Spencer mixed in purple shades. All photos are copyright Karen Platt 2011.

Harrogate Flower Show Spring 2011

17 Apr 2011 at 07:37

kplatt

United Kingdom

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I always know that spring is sprung when it’s time for the Harrogate Spring Flower Show. Although this is their 21st year celebration, I didn’t think it was the best year. For one, the Alpine Garden Society did not have their marquee, and this has always been the highlight of my Saturday visit. To satisfy my alpine desires I popped along to RHS Harlow Carr in the afternoon, but their alpine house was looking decidedly sad in comparison to the previous year. I heard a lot of people complaining about the entrance fee because there was so little that looked good at the garden.

Back to the Harrogate Flower Show and what I considered to be the best of the show. In general ‘black’ plants featured in almost every display. This was certainly not the case when I first had a stand there to promote the International Black Plant Society some years ago.

The best display for me was Edrom Nurseries who received a well-earned Premier Award, although I saw some winners of this that had nowhere near as a good a display. This reliable nursery is run by Terry and Cath. They specialise in alpines and woodland plants. The Meconopsis x cookei ‘Old Rose’ was a delight.

Jacques Amand had a good display too, but I am sure it was not as good as previous years and I was looking forward to their tulips on their bulb display but it was a  showing of Frits and Hyacinths. Caltha palustris v barthei with its tiny flowers was a surprise. It is dark enough red to be in the dark garden. Big leaves for such a small-flowered plant.

Absolute classic were the Lily displays – there were three of these, each trying to outdo the others. The scent was magnificent and the flowers perfect. Though not new for this year, the choicest lily for me is Dimension. I thought this was the star of the show. This lily could be considered ‘black’. It is one of the blackest. A definite contender for a red-black garden.

The orchid displays were also brilliant. I love the darkest orchids and the green ones. The best display for me was the Vandas, which are just getting darker and darker. Vanda ‘Siam Ink’ is one of the best. The Vandas are now bordering on black.

The display of Allium and Hippeastrum is always one of the best from Holland. This year it was breathtaking and the best flower by far was Hippeastrum ‘Temptation’, looking extremely tempting. I think it’s now hip to grow Hipps. The purple Alliums have always been a good compatible colour for the dark or black garden.

As always Dibleys had a fine show, but this year their Begonia display was not as fine as in previous years. However they surpassed themselves with the Streptocarpus. They were all lovely, but ‘Bethan’ was a clear favourite. Dibleys have always grown the black Streptocarpus.

There is always at least one good show of hosta. I had a conversation with two ladies who have given up, like me, on hostas, too many slugs and snails and you never see a leaf that is not eaten to shreds. However, I was tempted by Hosta ‘Golden Meadows’. Beautiful form and colour. One of the very best Hosta breeders is Ron Livingston in the USA.

The plant that was most seen at the show has to be Heuchera in all its colours. It was rather overdone as no less than 6 stands were specialising in Heuchera – overkill. The thing with Heuchera is they can look ‘Sunday best dressed’ but once you get them into the ground they tend to get rather slobby and sloppy. The old foliage looks awful, the stems rise and you have to keep cutting back and re-planting. Then there is the vine weevil that love coral bells. I thought the plants were rather expensive at 5-6 pounds for a tiny pot. I could certainly be persuaded to grow a little ‘Southern Comfort’ though.

Outdoors this show has always been a bit of a ‘garden centre’. Garden sundries, clothes and ice cream and fudge sellers. In the other marquees the food hall was so crowded that I turned back round and walked out. There were, as usual, fine displays of daffodils and tulips as cut flowers in the Floral Hall. I fell in love with Tulipa Marit. There are of course many black tulips.

For your 15 pounds entry this is a good day out where you could buy all the plants you want and all the ornaments etc you could desire. Buying tickets in advance saves money on the door. The next show takes place in September. Harrogate is a wonderful spa town, easily accessible by train. The town itself has first class floral displays in its public spaces as well as the Valley Gardens. RHS Harlow Carr is a short 20 minute bus-ride from Harrogate. A bus runs from the rail station to the flower show at a rather expensive 4 GBP return. The Number 6 buss to Harlow Carr by comparison is a journey that takes twice as long but only costs 2.50 GBP return. All photos are copyright Karen Platt 2011.

Black Iris

12 Apr 2011 at 20:37

kplatt

United Kingdom

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Just a brief respite from seed sowing to bring you the latest news about my new ebook ‘Black Iris’. For the past few years I have been concentrating my research upon black iris. Iris are such wonde

rful flowers and I have included over 490 black iris. This includes iris that are called black or have been referred to as black. I have found so many delightful dark beauties to talk about.

As usual I write in my own inimitable style, from my own growing experience and contacts with breeders and growers around the world. The unique information included in the ebook cannot be found anywhere else. Observing these iris has been an absolute joy for the last decade. I admire these flowers, especially the stately bearded iris – it is so elegant a flower and black suits it so well. It is a flower that can send me into raptures.

Highlight of my decade as the black iris hunter was a visit to Schreiner’s Iris Gardens. I had previously met Ray Schreiner when I first exhibited at the Northwest Flower and Garden Show to sign copies of the first edition of my book ‘Black Magic and Purple Passion’. We talked about black iris. So I was thrilled to meet with Ray again and he ran me out to the fields in his jeep and picked a few flowers for me. I make no apology for the fact that Ray is my god of black plant breeders.

I was thrilled when finishing the book to be invited to write for the American Iris Society’s bulletin, that article will be appearing this month.

Download your copy of ‘Black Iris’now.

Sowing more seeds

11 Apr 2011 at 19:48

kplatt

United Kingdom

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If you only have 15 to 30 minutes to spend on your garden, growing from seed is a quick and easy way to get things going. This evening as temperatures here plummet, I have sown the first batch of sweet peas I spoke about yesterday on the blog. I have soaked a second batch of sweet peas ready for sowing tomorrow. These are ‘Apricot Sprite’ – a very fetching colour on the seed packet; the lovely bicolor ‘Pink & White Ripple’ and ‘Rosemary Verey’ named in honour of the great lady gardener who owned Barnsley House.

As I write my mind is full of the heady scent of sweet peas floating on the air. I have been in two minds however regarding sowing my sweet peas. Great questions arise about sweet peas – do you soak or not? Do you file the surface or not? I am in favour of soaking, I did an experiment some years ago and thought that it improved germination. As for filing the surface, the jury is still out. I have not done it so far on the seeds I have sown this year but I have in previous years. This may sound odd, but I think it helps with the darker seeds. File a little of the coating away from the eye and see if it helps. At this time of year you can sow sweet peas straight into the ground.

Woman cannot live by sweet peas alone, so I have also sown a good batch of crunchy salad leaves and a good measure of rocket. I love that dash of peppery taste mixed in with my salad leaves. These crops are both good as cut and come again. Spring might only just have begun but summer is on its way.

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