Late For Tomatoes

If you are in Texas, you are late for tomatoes if you are just starting your tomatoes in the greenhouse this month. That is right. If you did not start your tomatoes in January in your heated greenhouse, you may not get tomatoes this year. In Texas, it gets super hot and humid and once the temperature starts hitting in the 90s and does not cool off at night, the tomatoes stop growing. It is just too hot. This can happen at any time during the summer, starting from May and going all the way to August. Usually by June the heat hits.

Late for tomatoes but give it a try anyway. Who doesn't love tomatoes?

Late For Tomatoes
February 7-February 13, 2022

Monday, February 7, 2022 - Late For Tomatoes

My mother today. Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy birthday to my mom who turns 84 today. It was a very busy day. It started out at 42° and got up to 64°. The sky was bright blue and clear. We had lots of seed orders to fill and lots of customers who came in today. We pulled and filled orders all day long. We had a working lunch and David and I bought charcuterie boards for the whole team as well as fruit and veggie plates, muffins, and cupcakes for them to enjoy while they worked.

The plastic display bags that I need to hang up seeds in our farm store still did not come in. They used to come in the day after we ordered them from U-Line but now, no. We ordered them on Thursday. I wonder how much longer it will take to get them in.

I also added some new seeds to the website and hung some seeds for sale with bags that I took when I filled orders from the store. Recycle, reuse!

We ate turkey with delicious noodles for dinner tonight and I am full. I spoke with my sister and with my mother, wishing her a happy birthday.

Nacho and his current helper, Mark, are here today building the rest of a deck that was never finished last year in the backyard.

Nacho and Mark are adding to the deck they built in December, making it as long as the pool deck.

The hot tub that David got me for Christmas is on the deck that is being finished up.

In Texas, It Is Late For Tomatoes

It is late for tomatoes in Texas now that it is February 7. Still, we continue to sell a lot of packs of tomatoes both in the store and in seed orders in Texas. We start our tomato seeds in January so we can get tomatoes before June when the sun gets too hot. Most of the time, tomatoes just won't grow in the horrible heat in June, July, and August here in South Central Texas.

I know that in most areas of the country, you have snow on the ground and won't even think about gardening until May but once that June sun hits here with unrelenting heat, the plants won't put tomatoes out until September or October, if you can keep your plants alive all of that time. So, yes, it is too late for tomatoes now in Texas if you have not already started them.

Tuesday, February 8, 2022 - Late For Tomatoes

Sunrise was beautiful but notice how far away the sun is from the oak tree. It just keeps on moving away until fall.

Good morning. It is 31° outside. Nacho and his helper are here finishing up insulating the Production and Fulfillment Buildings. Then they will finish up the new backyard deck and whatever else David has for them to do.

Eggs fresh from our hens every afternoon! They come in a variety of colors. The blue ones are just as tasty and healthy as the brown ones.

Let's stop for a moment and reflect on the eggs my chickens are laying each day. As some of you may have read, one of our hens died over a week ago. We think she had a heart attack when she saw a huge dog that one of our guests took on the farm tour. There is no other explanation but that she was terrified. I am still sad about that. From now on, no dogs will be allowed on the farm tour. Dogs will need to stay in your vehicle.

Recently, a customer told me that he would not buy my eggs because blue eggs are mixed in with the brown eggs and he could only eat brown eggs. I am sorry but that is ridiculous. The egg inside of the shell is just as healthy and tasty whether in a blue eggshell or a brown eggshell. He wanted a dozen brown eggs. Now that it is cold, we usually don't get just a dozen brown eggs. Chickens lay less often in the cooler weather.

Ameraucanas produce blue eggs and we have some. I told the customer that they are just as healthy. He asked me when I would have just brown eggs. I hope never. I love the blue eggs. All of the different shades in the box look so pretty.

It takes about 26 hours for a chicken to produce an egg during normal laying conditions. During the past month, it has been cold for Texas so they are laying less. I say take what you can get. The yolk is dark and tasty no matter what color eggshell it is from. Different breeds produce different colors and sizes of eggs. Be happy with what God gives you.

This morning I had six dozen eggs in my refrigerator at the Farm Store. Now there is just one lone dozen. Come on by and pick them up! We have had so many nice, new customers in our store today. We've enjoyed every visit.

Our display bags just got in so we are now stocking the store again.

Matt and Linda are restocking the store. Since our TV commercial, it has been difficult to keep the store stocked. Thank you to all who order from us and visit us for their seeds!

We are selling our Texas Spring Planting Seed Sets like hotcakes. Actually, the Texas Fall Planting Seed Sets are going quickly as well. I am having more made as we speak. If you don't want to have to guess about your Texas or hot weather garden, buy our 38 variety spring garden set which you can read about here.

You can read about our Texas Fall Garden Set here.

Our Texas Spring Seed Sets feature 38 seed varieties handpicked by David and take all of the guesswork out of gardening.

Our Spring and Fall Texas Seed sets are on display in the store and we cannot keep them on the shelves.

We finally got the orders filled today and sent with the mailman. It is a bright, beautiful day at 66° and it almost makes me want to plant.

The buildings are insulated and the deck is complete. Nacho and his helper left before 1pm. It is now 4:30pm and almost time to go home. My feet hurt and I am ready to go get my chores done and cook dinner so I can sit down and relax.

This evening, I just put the turkey bones in water to boil for turkey bone broth and then I will make a nice turkey soup.

Earlier, I was putting the chickens to bed and noticed that one was taking a dust bath so I took photos.

The light is on to boost egg production since it is cold but these hens want to go to sleep. They are on their roosts.

The light is on and it is night. These hens want to play.

One of our customers today said her daughter puts her chickens to bed with a light on so they will put out more eggs because egg production goes way down when it is cold. Our egg production is down so I am trying it tonight. Fortunately, there is a light in the chicken coop. This is how we can see this hen give herself a dust bath.

The light is on in the chicken house and this hen is taking a dust bath at night!

View 2: The light is on in the chicken house and this Rhode Island Red hen is taking a dust bath at night!

We sold a lot of tomato seeds today to customers, but it is late for tomatoes. I guess there is still time to plant some but definitely don't wait until March to start them. Then it will be way too late for tomatoes.

Wednesday, February 9, 2022 - Late For Tomatoes

Delicious, sweet, orange Sun Gold tomaoes are the best cherry tomatoes I have ever grown. Even though it is late for tomatoes, we will risk it.

So even though it is now late for tomatoes in Texas, Matthew wants to start some for his yard. I will start some with him. I want Sun Gold Cherry Tomatoes and I know David did not plant those. We will get the trays, pots, and seeds and head off to the greenhouse this morning.

This morning started off at 32° Fahrenheit and it is so cold in the house. I have been freezing since last night. I am dressed and ready for work so I will be going over soon. I went out and turned off the chicken coop light. It was so weird looking outside last night and seeing the coop light up.

Today it should be 76° and it is 54° right now at 9:21am. I don't see how it has warmed up because I am freezing. We have the store heater going now. Linda is filling orders. Matt is working on some rabbit manure for your gardens and I am working on the computer. It is a gorgeous, blue sky kind of day so come on out and do some shopping!

We just did a job interview and hired on another worker through an employment agency. We decided that is a better alternative. If it doesn't work out, they take care of it and we don't get stuck paying unemployment when someone decides to quit and tells the unemployment folks that we fired them like we went through in January of 2021. They would not believe us so we had to fork out money to her because an employee who went to church with us did not show up three days in a row and did not call in. She told them we fired her. Ridiculous!

Thursday, February 10, 2022 - Late For Tomatoes

Good Thursday afternoon! Even though it is late for tomatoes in Texas, I had five customer groups so far today who bought tomatoes. And, of course, Matt and I planted 42 tomatoes in my new greenhouse last night. We planted the Red Pearl Grape and the Sun Gold Cherry tomatoes. We will take some for our own gardens and sell the rest at the Farm Store when they are ready. Hopefully, they come up fast. I cannot wait to eat them!

I had to close orders today because my assistant does not work on Thursdays. Matt pulled them for me, gave several tours, and restocked the store. I just found seven more orders for him to pull. It is already after 2pm so I know the mailman will be here soon.

Most of the customers who came in today saw our commercial on TV. One found us on a Facebook group and another reads my blog. She brought her husband and three pretty little girls in with a picnic lunch from Seguin, Texas, where David's father owned a farm for many years. He passed away back in 1999 so it has been a long time. Matthew took the family on a tour and let the two older girls each pull a carrot from the garden since they are about ready to harvest.

Our First Canning Class

Getting ready to can with our first harvest of the new year--carrots! Late for tomatoes, but these carrots are early because they were overwintered.

Our first canning class will be on how to can carrots since our carrot crop is ready to be harvested. The class is open to the public. It will be on Saturday, February 26, 2022 at 11am. The cost to attend is $20 plus the cost of materials (mason jars). If you are interested, please email David directly at davidsgardenseeds@outlook.com. He will get you signed up and make sure there is room for you to attend the class. The class is limited due to space in our kitchen. The mason jars will probably be about $1.50 per jar. The cost depends on how many canned carrot jars you would like to take home with you.

The class will probably be around 4 hours long because you have to prep and cook the carrots. Please do not bring any children. We will not have a babysitter and no one here has four hours to watch a child on a Saturday. On Saturdays, since the TV commercial has been airing, we are swamped with customers and with gratitude.

Right after the store closed, David, Matthew, and I piled into the truck to go into Poteet to Strawberry Pines for an Atascosa County Small Business meeting, our first. We met with many other local business orders in this beautiful, rustic wedding venue that we have often passed. It was very nice. It was 76° when we left the farm. We were there about 2.5 hours and never thought to bring jackets. We met inside the big barn and soon it was cold. The owner closed the walls and doors but it was still freezing and I was starving. They had food there but never let us go get a plate.

Next time, I will bring jackets and I will eat on the way over. We got home before 9pm because we drove into Poteet after and got Dairy Queen. We met a lot of nice people but we should have gotten food before the meeting started, not after. That was just too long to go without anything. Lesson learned.

Friday, February 11, 2022 - Late For Tomatoes

Good Friday morning! David and I are heading up near Seguin today to visit a pecan farm! Yay! I am so excited to get away from the farm and do something different. As much as I love meeting you all when you visit, I am now working in the store six days a week. If I am lucky, I can get 15 minutes for lunch. We are short handed and it is hard to find good help. My son will cover for me today. My assistant should be here to take care of website orders. I waited on some wonderful folks yesterday, but the whole time, I was having to get orders out because my assistant does not work on Thursdays. I need Thursday and Saturday help.

Remember that if you want to buy tomato seeds, you need to get them started in a hurry. It is late for tomatoes in Texas.

So we went up to Seguin this morning to Swift River Pecans and bought some pecan trees, firewood, and a lot of pecan trees. The owner, Troy, showed us around and gave us a tour of his pecan orchards. They are beautiful. He also has a sawmill there and a lot of beautiful pieces of pecan wood.

We got home and discovered we had a lot of customers today. It was nice to get out and do some other things. We got firewood for the fire pit, which we still have not used because it has been way too cold out.

The temperature has warmed up to 77° and it is a gorgeous day.

Our front porch light blew off a few weeks ago in a bad wind storm. Today, we tried to put it back up and found that a large nut from it is missing so it won't stay up. It looks lovely. (Not really.)

Saturday, February 12, 2021 - Late For Tomatoes

Good Saturday morning. It started out at 51° so it is warm compared to every other morning this week. But don't worry. It will be down to 31° by tomorrow morning.

Today promises to be a busy day in the David's Garden Seeds® Farm Store. If you want to buy seeds for spring, come on over to the farm today. Don't forget that it is late for tomatoes so get the seeds today and get them started. I know that sounds very hard to believe to someone in upstate New York or Michigan. Yes, it is February 12 but in Texas, it is late for tomatoes!

Our bluebonnet seeds are literally disappearing before our eyes. People are buying them ten packs at a time in both blue and maroon. In Texas, they should go in the ground in October, not now. They need to overwinter so they can come up in late February and early March of the following year. They are wildflowers and all wildflowers in Texas need the chill of winter before they bloom beautifully the following year.

The wind picked up and it is chilly and blustery today. Still that has not stopped the customers like I thought it would. They are coming left and right this morning! Someone just asked if we have bulk bags of wildflower seed. We do not. We have small backyard packs of seeds.It

It was a busy day today but I had six less sales than I did last Saturday. I was able to close all of the orders that were pulled. We gave one partial tour because a family had driven several hours so their kids could go in our greenhouse. Because the weather was cold and windy with blowing sand, we did not do regular tours. We don't want anyone to get hurt so if the weather is not good, we will not do the tours.

One lady came in wanting a bulk bag of wildflower seeds. We do not sell wildflowers in bulk so she left without even shopping.

We watched Svengoolie and, sure enough, our advertisement was shown twice during the movie. It looked awesome, if I do say so myself! Our son sounded awesome at the end. Yes, that is Matthew singing and playing the jingle that he wrote for our company!

Peppers and peas and lots of leafy greens.

You can't go wrong with squash this long

At David's Garden Seeds®!

I was so excited to see it come on Svengoolie. And, yes, it did cost extra to have it run during the Svengoolie movie but it was really cool.

This afternoon, I found a new gopher hole being dug. I saw the gopher but I could not capture him on the camera.

Sunday, February 13, 2021 - Late For Tomatoes

Last February we had Snowpocalypse, a whole week of below freezing temps, very little power, and lots of busted water pipes all around. It was miserable!

It is 7am and 27 blessed degrees Fahrenheit! Can you believe it? I have to go out there and take care of the animals and it is below freezing. We will make a nice recovery, up to 67°, but it is cold out.

I went out at 8am when it was 33° and not that bad to feed the animals. They are doing well. I broke up a bit of ice in their water dishes and they are just as happy as can be.

I hope you have not started planting outdoors yet because the freezes are not quite over yet. One year ago this week, we had the now infamous week of Snowpocalypse. You just never know what is coming up with weather!

Last year, we had our tomatoes growing in the greenhouse because February is late for tomatoes. We lost them all and had to start again the week after Snowpocalypse. We lost everything that week for spring planting. Hopefully, this is all that there is for 2022 so we don't lose plants again. February is late for tomatoes so we have all kinds of them growing in the greenhouses for spring.

In the truck, bundled up for church with my jacket, my I Love Lucy hoodie, and a matching T-shirt. It was freezing in the church so I am glad I was prepared.

It is now 9:30am and it is up to 40°. I froze last week at church so I am layering this week. I am wearing my new pink I Love Lucy T shirt and the matching hoodie as well as a jacket on top of that. No more freezing for me over there. I have my gloves, too.

The church has been meeting in a building that is over 100 years old and it was freezing again so I am glad I came prepared. I also brought seat cushions because last week, my butt froze in there. It was warm today.

We picked up some chicken after church and enjoyed that. It warmed up quite a bit. We did some inventory this afternoon.

I got 20 eggs from my chickens today! So the customer who was in here last Saturday was right when she said to leave the chicken coop light on to make more eggs. It really makes a difference.

On the way, I ran into the gopher at the same hole from yesterday. I snapped a lot of photos and got a few with him partially in them.

This gopher was still digging the same hole he was working on yesterday afternoon. A lot more of him came out of the hole but after taking many shots, this is the best I got.

This miserable dude dug up 4 large holes right by the gate to the backyard and just kept going.

We watched the Super Bowl this evening. It was kind of fun. Some of the commercials were good, others, not so much. The half time show was hip hop. We are not fans. We would like to see another country music show for half time. It has been a long time since they have done one of those.

Right after the Super Bowl, Shark Tank came on and we enjoyed watching that.

Remember that even though it is late for tomatoes in Texas now, you can plant them again at the end of August and you can get a lot more tomatoes in your fall garden. Those will keep going until the frost takes them out.

Return from Late For Tomatoes to Business Growth

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