Noah Yates' Peppers Tomatoes and Melons 2017

solid7 · Jan 16, 2017

Noah, I'm getting read to plant my second wave of tomatoes right now. Can you recommend any outstanding flavor varieties? Even better, if you can tell me what you've planted in the past that tolerates cool weather? We don't get freezes where I live, per se, but it can occasionally get really close. I've had such a good tomato season, that I'm really in the mood.

Trident chilli · Jan 16, 2017

How can anyone beat that list .... words fail me .. I tip my hat to you Sir and wish you the very best for this season what a "pepper patch" you must have Noah .. being completely selfish when you plant out if not isolating could you surround a bonnet with BBG7

Noah Yates · Jan 16, 2017

Solid7, I am not really very experienced in growing tomatoes yet... It is a passion for which I am still in apprenticeship (the folks on the tomatoville forum are the masters.) The tomatoes I have amassed are by and large ones that I read about on that forum. In my limited experience cherokee purple and pineapple are tow heirloom tomatoes I have grown over the years which do well and taste fantastic. Last season I started my crazy tomato collection with 178 varieties. I did not support the vines properly, which resulted in sub-optimal results. However, of those 178 varieties last year my favorite tasting was either 'giant belgium' or 'bulgarian old sort no name' (I got the labels confused.) With regard to cool weather tolerant tomatoes, I think many of the russian varieties are known to do well in cooler weather... maybe some of the early season medium/small fruited russian varieties are what you are looking for-- anna russian, black sea man, black prince, black krim, cosmonaut volkov, etc As I say, I hate to recommend things as an expert, because I am still a bumbling buffoon when it comes to growing tomatoes. Supposedly, according to the folks at tomatoville in my latest research... the real class when it comes to a good, uniform, productive, crack, disease resistant, great-tasting, non-hybrid, open-pollinated variety is 'Eva Purple Ball.' The most highly acclaimed hybrid tomato is the japanese hybrid 'momotaro F1' or "tough boy F1" as it is called in the USA.

Thank you trident chili! Its an impressive list, but it corresponds to a certain maddening of the brain. a boggle of the mind if you will. Ill try to remember about your request and plant a scotch bonnet with BG7s!

solid7 · Jan 16, 2017

No worries, thanks for at least trying. I am very familiar with the Russian black varieties. Black Prince and Black Krim are always on my grow list. (got a nice Black Prince going now) I'll check out the Eva Purple Ball and Momotaro.

Noah Yates · Feb 1, 2017

I started my pepper seeds soaking last night. Today they will be sown!

PaulG · Feb 2, 2017

That's a passel o' cups.

Looks like sailors lined up on the
deck of an aircraft carrier!

Good luck keeping all that under control!

bpiela · Feb 21, 2017

How are the tomatos poppin'?

Noah Yates · Feb 21, 2017

I am waiting until early April to plant the tomato seeds. Its so tempting to start them... I almost cant wait, but I must delay because of space concerns. The peppers are doing well. All of the varieties I was extremely excited about have germinated. I will post some pictures sometime soon.

tsurrie · Feb 22, 2017

Wooooooowieeeeee ... Dont know how tonreact to that list. You got ambitions, Noah. Way to go!

You sure youre not building somekind of Noah's boat and plan to rescue all those plants ??? Just wondering

Noah Yates · Feb 22, 2017

Hahaha! Actually, my dad has written a novel which is about a character named Noah using the fortune he inherits from his billionaire grandfather to build a frozen ark on the moon containing seeds from all plant species on earth! I guess given that he also named me Noah the pressure is on for me to do something similar! Actually, I am interested in being able to find a real winner out of all of these varieties. I am on a hunt for varieties that perform really well in my climate and with my techniques.

RaelThomas · Feb 22, 2017

That's an amazing array there! Best of luck sowing all of those, Noah.

Noah Yates · Apr 26, 2017

Here are some shots of my plants soaking up some morning sun on their third day of exposure to the elements. As you can see, I decided to wait on my big tomato grow out, as I will be traveling too much this summer to be able to manage so many tomatoes. Next season will be the ultimate tomato adventure!

Tomatoes: Odoriko F1, Momotaro F1, Pink Girl F1, Pineapple, Giant Belgium, Bulgarian Old Sort (No Name), and the rest are experimental lines I am helping to isolate for Double Helix Farms in their breeders assistant program. Of the 3 lines I am working on, two varieties have Cherokee Purple parentage and the other is a "crimson gene slicer."

Basil: Siam Queen, Lemon, Lime, Licorice, Cinammon, Thai

Yellow/Orange Chinenses

Dark Chinenses:

Red Chinenses:

Sweet and Mild:

Musk Melons and Watermelons:

Yesterday I finished harvesting and rebuilding my worm farms. I harvested a total of 250 gallons of high quality worm castings! I am thinking about making a few new raised bed using the bounty.

alkhall · Apr 26, 2017

250 gallons... just awesome, is all I can say.

Looking forward to seeing pics of the plants you use it on.

Noah Yates · May 20, 2017

My chinenses for this season are ready to be planted! Just a few more days...

Lots of little helpers are to be found scouring the plants for parasites :party:

This could possibly be the lone seedling that germinated from my great great grandfather's pepper seeds. The seeds are at least 47 years old... I tried multiple attmepts to germinate them in the past... but they never sprouted. This season I tried exposing the seeds to a variety of treatments, and I was able to germinate one seed. The catch is that this seeds came from a batch that was soaking in a cup of fish hydrolysate and was accidentally knocked over by my dad. He wiped the seeds and liquid up with a paper towel and placed them into a plastic bag. For me it is almost too much of a coincidence that the lone seed that sprouted was one that was "tampered with," as he could have easily swept up an unseen, lone, random seed that happened to be in the spill zone of the experimental treatment dixie cups. However, from the start this pepper plant has looked unique. I thought it looked more chinense-like at first, which worried me since grandpa Arnold's dried peppers appear to be anuums (cayenne type.) However, now the plant is developing flowers along with the anuums. It is certainly interesting... I will be planting it in my grandma's garden (it is her mom's dad's dried peppers I retrieved the seeds from.) We will see what the pods look like!! :pray: