Author Archives: ThePlantLady

About ThePlantLady

ThePlantLady.com is a library of gardening information compiled from many resources, including written texts, online databases, current research, and first-hand experience from farmers and gardeners. It includes growing requirements specific to each plant, as well as varietal information. My background in microbiology and chemistry allows me to tap into the scientific research being done today and digest it for the use of the home gardener or small farmer.

Black Plum Paste Tomato

Black Plum tomatoes from 2014 harvest

Details Lycopersicon lycopersicum Open-Pollinated Type: indeterminate Shape:  paste or plum shaped oval (CCN) Color:  dark green shoulders, dark red on the rest of the tomato deep-mahogany to brown skin (SoC website) Maturity: 75-80 (SoC) Late Season (CCN) Size:  2-4 ounce fruits (SoC seed packet) 1-2 oz (SoC website) small (CCN) Yield: very productive (here in Redding, CA) […]

Big Book of Gardening Skills

  This is one of my all-time favorite resources for gardening. It’s an old one, but it’s information is timeless. The author(s) have done a great job of organizing the information, and somehow it’s not the same old stuff you see in every other general gardening book.It’s a great addition to any gardening resource library. […]

Better Boy Tomato

General traits for Better Boy Slicing Tomato:    Hybrid or Heirloom? Hybrid Type Indeterminate Maturity 70 days from planting out Fruit Color Red Fruit Shape Round, slightly squat Fruit Size large fruits – 10 oz, or more Taste fine tasting tomatoes (NCG) Productivity huge crops (NCG) Disease Resistance Verticillium Wilt Fusarium Wilt Race 1 Nematodes […]

Balcony Tomato

I’ve seen the Balcony Tomato listed under a few other names, like “Tomato Patio Princess Hybrid”, both in catalogs owned by Burpee’s. It was developed for container growing, so it makes a very compact shrub, that hangs out over the pot in a nice fashion. I found it to be too tightly grown…almost deformed-looking. it […]

Aster Yellows

This disease is caused by a microorganism, a mycoplasma-like organism (MLO), which is spread by the 6-spotted leafhopper, aka aster leafhopper(Macrosteles quadrilineatus). The leafhoppers pick it up while sucking the sap of diseased plants. This aster disease hits in early summer and affects about 200 species of ornamentals, vegetables, and non-woody fruit plants. It’s a common disease of many annuals, […]

Arkansas Traveler Pink Slicing Tomato

General Traits of Arkansas Traveler Pink Slicing Tomatoes:  Heirloom Indeterminate Fruit traits: color: Pink Tomato 6-8 oz fruits does well in high humidity crack resistant disease resistant  heat tolerant Results from my own garden: No tomatoes set until October, probably because of our low humidity all of these late tomatoes are currently ripening off of the […]

Ananas Noire Tomato

Black Pineapple, or Ananas Noire Tomato

The Ananas Noire tomato is also known as the Black Pineapple Tomato. This is a new trial for my 2010 garden. From the vendor: 85 days; indeterminate. 1.5 pound tomatoes are shades of green, purple, orange and yellow. Bright green flesh with red streaks. Lip smacking flavor starts sweet and ends with tang. “Yields a […]