2020 pick of the day

I seen it spelled both ways and probably use yours more than not.The variety has also been called Howard’s Wonder.bb

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Wow, I am very jealous that you successfully grow and are enjoying muscat grapes. They are a very ephemeral treat for me from the store!

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Thank you.
So you think I should keep the Muscat? :smiley:
Maybe I can find a different place to put another Zestful. It is really the best grape we have tasted in terms of texture and flavor. It is not the one for someone who likes sour grapes. :wink:
They had them out in the beginning of spring and the size of the grapes was twice as big so I didn’t want to buy them. Now the second crop(?) is still big, but of normal size, which is what I think we will get when planting at home.

Thanks to your comment we will keep the Muscat. The flavor is good and the single seed is really not bad.

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Just cherries Tomatoes Sun Gold, Sun Gold Hybrid, Black, Red etc.

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The tree this apple came from was supposed to be an original Gravenstein, but I think it is a Red Gravenstein.

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TaaaaaDaaaah!
:grinning: Chicago Hardy

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The tiniest Gold Nugget mango I’ve ever seen. We had the tree in the pot, then moved to the ground because the hot and dry summer killed all the branches and flowers every year. This is the first time the fruits set. It fell on the ground. It was so fragrant and sweet. We still have about 10 green fruits on the tree. I hope they can survive the heat wave and the birds, and grow bigger. I will change to the tulle bags later, the ziploc bags trap too much water. After catching two very big beetles, I don’t see them any more.

The Ghost apples are dropping from the heat. They are small but good enough for salads, or in the spring rolls.

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Here’s another one that is new to me this year.The tag on the graft has Inca,with a question mark,so I’m not 100% sure,but from other photos,mine does resemble them.
This has a sweet,somewhat tropical flavor,with a little sour in the skin.Very good.About 18 brix.bb

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My first and only Laroda Plum at about 16 brix.bb

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This is my entire pear harvest this year. The critters are being extra brutal this year.

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The heat wave will be on for another week. We had the drip irrigation on five times today.

Elephant Heart: the tree is in ground so the fruits are still fine. This is the first year we have more than one fruit. It took a few times to get the best tasting fruits. For me, it is when the skin is dark red but firm on the tree, sweet and very good flavor. When it turns soft, it is still sweet but the flavor is weird, very unappealling. I got a big green one for my husband, not shown. He looked so happy eating it so I tried a tiny slice. I can only describe it as “crunchy lemon”. I will get a lot more green ones for him tomorrow, in case they will be wilting from the heat. The skin is thin and not bitter.

Emerald Beaut: very sweet so it will taste better cold… My place is so hot, I really can’t enjoy anything straight from the tree.

Eleplant Heart plums

Emerald Beaut plums

Emerald Beaut, for Elephant Heart the firm part is very good, but not the mushy one.

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Veteran peaches. Due to late freeze, got only 13 peaches from a 10 ft x 10 ft tree, but brix and size much better than normal for this variety. 16-17 brix, biggest peach was 7.5 oz.

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Pretty sweet. I bet they are delicious!

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Tomato Post Script.
Tomatoes are pretty much ‘Done’. We have had an unbelievable amount of rain since Isaias passed through, causing lots of cracking and just ‘spoiling’ in general.
And I have changed my mind about the heirlooms. Black Krim was actually very good tasting . . . but did not set many tomatoes. German Johnson performed the best for us, of all the heirlooms. Box Car Willie came in second. And the taste was great. I may grow all of those again next year.

Same conditions as above - Virginia Sweets did not perform well. Very few tomatoes. And nothing to write home about, taste wise. Same with Stump of the World. Huge vine with only a handful of tomatoes. Cherokee Purple did not set a single tomato, and vine was very spindly and fragile. Perhaps too hot here for that one?

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Three picks today.From the top,going clockwise,Mid Pride Peach,about the same as last year,not very sweet.Probably isn’t a good candidate to grow here.
Then,Flavor Grenade Pluot,clearly the winner in sugars at 23 brix.This one may have come loose and was hanging in the protective bag for awhile,softened and darkened.The other fruit on the tree are still hard and light colored.
Lastly,Broken Heart Plum was found on the ground,in it’s bag,but still bird pecked,although it tasted good and measured 16 brix.bb

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Filing these under “Things I would never have grown had it not been for this forum”.

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what the heck is that?

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Wasn’t a big fan of the elephant heart, too hard to get fruit and not good enough to merit the work.

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Bitter gourds. Havent cooked with them yet but my coworker got really excited about them.

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@urbangardener and @moose71
If you look under Bitter melon, Kho Qua, or Muop Dang there would be some Vietnamese recipe.

Please note that my mother-in-law had very bad diabetes. She had a lot of bitter melon as part of her diet everyday, because it was supposed to help with the blood sugar. I don’t know if it is that effective, or how it works on normal people, so please be careful. I never eat it because my mother never used it, too bitter.

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