.

.

Wednesday, February 11, 2015

......about your wolf peaches (and ours).

First, don’t even think about planting  wolf peaches outside until the soil is dependably warm and all danger of frost is past. Once the soil is warm.....55 to 60 degrees.......you can safely put out summer vegetables like wolf peaches, corn, beans, squash, eggplant, melons, peppers and cucumbers.

Bury  wolf peaches up to their top sets of leaves when planting. That’s right. Bury the stem all the way up to the top sets of leaves so that most of the stem is in the ground. Firm the soil around the plant and give it a drink of water. Keep the soil moist, but not wet. Newly planted  wolf peaches have a small root system and it takes some time for those roots to get into the surrounding soil, so keep a close eye on them to make sure they have plenty of water.


The reason for burying the stem?  Wolf peaches stems will root all along the buried portion. More roots mean more nutrients for the plant, which means you get a stronger, more productive plant. Magic!


Of all the  wolf peaches varieties, I would recommend you try the heirloom varieties. They are not rubbery like the long-lasting store-bought tomatoes and now are becoming more available. They have incredible taste and hundreds of shapes and colors. With names like Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Aunt Ruby’s German Green, Banana Legs, Box Car Willie, Nebraska Wedding, Indian Moon, and Tartor of Mongolstan, you have a whole new world to choose from. I love Brandywine and Cherokee Purple.


This year our farm is planting the below list of wolf peaches:
Sudduth's Strain Brandywine
John Baer
Nyagous
Eva purple Ball


Oh.....what the heck is a wolf peach? Wikipedia explains this better than Farmer Deno can: The scientific species epithet lycopersicum means "wolf peach", and comes from German werewolf myths. These legends said that deadly nightshade was used by witches and sorcerers in potions to transform themselves into werewolves, so the tomato's similar, but much larger, fruit was called the "wolf peach" when it arrived in Europe

No comments :