The 1st pass at tomatoes came up a cropper, they took off easily but got cooked in the seedling trays as the soil couldn’t retain water all that well.
Did a 2nd batch of tomatoes in a Burpee self watering system(it’s aces) and I’ve had so many go off and thrive I’ve actually too many and am donating.
In short season the Marmande and Moskovich varieties are thriving best with Orange Roma and Peche Jaune right behind them. I’ve had some losses due to a mockingbird doing what it does, especially with my watermelons and sunflowers.
On the cherry tomato front, Super Snow Whites, Isis candy and a random cherry variety pack are doing amazing, Black cherry and God Love are doing ok and only Hawaiian currant(I suspect they need night soil temps to climb into the 70s) and Coyote(probably another warm soil grower) haven’t really taken off.
The Basil has really taken off once it hit the 80′s, but hasn’t transplanted well, maybe 50% survival rate.
All of the Hops(Kent Golding, Hallertau, Fuggle & Cascade) have finally all taken off and most are starting to climb the string. As the days get longer they’ll accelerate their climbing growth. Flagstaff is about the bottom range of their reliable growing range and Tempe only gets a month of the sunshine hours they need. It’s going to be interesting to see if they can adapt to the desert and truly be productive.
