Tomato Varieties
I have attempted to organize the tomatoes I have grown into charts depending on whether the tomato is a paste/oxheart, slicer/beefsteak, salad/cocktail, dwarf, or cherry/grape type tomato. Some tomatoes may fit in multiple charts, for example, a cherry tomato may also fit into the dwarf tomato category. In these cases, I try to include them in both charts. I will continue to add in more tomato varieties as time allows. If you have a favorite tomato variety not listed, please let me know and I will add it to my charts.
In addition to variety, I include whether that tomato is open-pollinated or hybrid. I abbreviate open-pollinated as OP and hybrid as F1. Open-pollinated plants include all tomatoes in which seeds can be saved and will grow true the following year (assuming cross-pollination has not occurred). This includes all heirloom tomatoes. I have included the days to maturity for each tomato variety as well, although these numbers can vary widely depending on environmental factors such as where you live, weather that year, the amount of rain, etc. I also designate whether the tomato plant is determinate (Det), indeterminate (Ind), semi-determinate (Semi-det), or dwarf (can be determinate or indeterminate). Indeterminate plants keep growing and can get very large, even up to 12 feet tall. They will continue to bloom and set fruit up until the first frost. Determinate plants stop growing at a certain height, often 2-4 feet tall and set their fruit around the same time. Many gardeners who can or freeze tomatoes or tomato products like determinate plants because you can harvest large numbers of tomatoes at the same time. Semi-determinate plants are, not surprisingly, in between the other two categories. These plants grow all season long like indeterminate plants but are more compact. They do grow taller than true determinate plants though. ​ I include any disease resistance, if known. Common diseases include fusarium wilt 1 or 2 (FW1 or FW2), verticillium wilt (VW), tobacco mosaic virus (TMV), early blight, and late blight. I also include any other noteworthy information, such as the color of the tomato, the type of foliage (potato-leaf or rugose/wrinkled), any awards the tomato has received such as being an All America Selections (AAS) winner, as well as my personal observations. However, what I notice in my garden can vary widely compared to what you may observe in your garden, it can even vary from year to year. How much rain that falls during a growing season, temperatures, and even diseases observed can vary based on location, weather patterns, etc. Diseases that affect tomatoes in my typically humid summers may not cause problems for gardeners in Arizona. And gardeners in the southwest may have problems with tomatoes not setting fruit in their brutally hot summers that I just do not see in my relatively cool Wisconsin summers that rarely get above 90°F. Taste can also vary not just based on weather patterns but personal preferences as well. I do not like overly sweet tomatoes, I prefer well-balanced sweet, but also slightly acidic type tomatoes. Paste and Oxheart Tomatoes
Paste tomatoes are generally used for sauce because they are less juicy, meaty tomatoes, usually with fewer seeds. They are oblong, pear, plum, hot pepper, sausage, or heart shaped. Many traditional paste tomatoes are less flavorful when eaten fresh but improve when cooked. There are, however, many heirloom paste tomatoes with improved flavor.
0 Cherry and Grape Tomatoes
Dwarf Tomatoes
​Tomato plants are considered “dwarfâ€
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The Basics of Fermenting WineFermentation is anaerobically (without oxygen) breaking down sugars into alcohol or lactic acid. Carbon dioxide gas is often produced as a byproduct. Fermentation by bacteria or yeast is used to make a variety of foods such as yogurt, cheese, sauerkraut, sourdough bread, some hot sauces, kimchi, kombucha, wine, and beer. There are two ways to perform alcoholic fermentation: naturally occurring wild yeast or commercially available yeast that you add to a ferment. I prefer using commercially available yeast as your ferment has less risk of spoilage or off flavors. However, many people enjoy trying wild ferments. When to Pick Your Grapes There are several factors that determine when to pick your grapes: Brix, pH, and TA. Brix is the percent sugar. I try for 24% for my red wine grapes to get a ~14% ABV. The higher the starting sugar, the higher the potential alcohol concentration at the end of fermentation, assuming you ferment to dryness. You generally want at least 18-19 Brix for white wines to end up with 10-11% ABV. pH is the strength of the acid in the grape juice. A pH of 7 is neutral, less than 7 is acidic and higher than 7 is alkaline or basic. White wines are generally more acidic than red wines, with a pH usually between 3.0-3.4. Red wines ideally are between pH 3.3-3.6. If you are using fruits other than wine grapes you may need to significantly alter the Brix and/or pH to achieve an acceptable wine. Total acidity or TA is the amount of acid in a solution, but, as stated above, pH is how strong that acid is. You could have a lot of acid that is not very strong, or you could have relatively small amounts of a stronger acid. TA is measured in grams per liter (g/L), not the pH scale. Wines grown in northern climates tend to have a lower Brix, higher pH (more acidic), and higher TA (more acid in total). As the grapes mature, their sugar concentration increases, and their acid levels decrease. Last year (2023) we picked our grapes early because they were being destroyed by birds and then wasps. We bought bird netting before we realized the wasps were also a problem. Because we picked early, our Brix was low (~18), as was our pH (~3.0), for red wine. We added sugar to achieve a Brix closer to 24. Our TA was also what would be considered high for grapes grown in California (~9 g/L), but this was actually surprisingly low for Marquette grapes. This year (2024) we bought insect netting that kept the majority of birds and wasps off our ripening grapes and so we picked later in the season. Final numbers after crushing the grapes were 22 Brix (the grapes tested at 24 but we only sampled a few grapes, not entire clusters), 3.4 for pH, and 11+ g/L for TA. The TA is too high, but in line with what you generally see for Marquette grapes, but the pH and Brix were better. I again added a little sugar to achieve roughly 24 Brix. I am hoping that by using a yeast that reduces acidity (see discussion below) and following alcoholic fermentation with malolactic fermentation, I can reduce the TA to a more acceptable level. Yeast SelectionWhat yeast you choose depends on many factors including what type of wine, beer, or cider you want to ferment, what alcohol content you are hoping to achieve, what temperatures you will be fermenting at, etc. There are specific yeasts for beer versus wine and even red, white, or fruit wines. EC-1118 is a commonly used yeast because it has high alcohol tolerance (up to 18%), it rarely gets stuck (stops fermenting), gives a neutral flavor, ferments at a large temperature range (45-95°F), and is good for a variety of wine styles even though it is traditionally considered a champagne yeast. It is commonly used for reds, whites, and cider as well. EC-1118 is not a good choice if you want to follow alcoholic fermentation with malolactic fermentation as they are not compatible and high alcohol levels can also inhibit malolactic fermentation. I use Lalvin 71B for my Marquette wine (even though it is traditionally used for white wines) because it is compatible with malolactic fermentation, which is commonly used for red wines, especially acidic grapes like Marquette. Both 71B and malolactic fermentation reduce the overall acidity (TA) of wine. 71B can neutralize up to 40% of malic acid found in juice and malolactic fermentation can neutralize much of the rest, creating a smoother wine. One potential disadvantage of 71B is that its alcohol tolerance is 14%. If you want higher alcohol wine, this is not a good choice. Other options for red wine include Bourgovin RC-212, Premier Rouge, and ICV D254. I have used RC-212 for my elderberry wine with good results. Fruit wines (other than grape) are often fermented with K1-V1116 but it can also be used for white wine. Other traditional white wine yeast includes Premier Blanc, Cote des Blancs, and ICV-D47. Grifo brand grape crusher/de-stemmer (left), wine press we bought used (center), air lock bubbling on the lid of a fermentation bucket (right). Equipment and Supplies You can either buy your equipment and supplies individually or many homebrew shops sell kits with much of the equipment and grape juice, or beer ingredients included. What kind of equipment you need depends on what you want to brew, wine or beer, but they do share much in common. I have only brewed beer from kits (I have never done all-grain brewing) but I have made wines from both kits and whole fruit. Most techniques are similar; however, beer uses grain or grain/malt extracts while wine uses whole fruit or juice. Here I will cover the basics of general wine fermentation as that is what I have the most experience with, but I also plan to post about making wine from our Marquette grapes in particular in the future.
Marquette grapes in the hopper of the crusher/de-stemmer (left), grape juice, skins, and seeds after crushing (center), wine ready to be pressed in a mesh bag (left). Where to Buy Fermentation Equipment, Supplies, and Kits Where to buy fermentation supplies depends on where you are located. I often buy from a local shop, however, it is not a designated brew shop, so their supplies for some products are limited. For more specialized supplies I need to buy online.
 Our first glass of Marquette wine fermented from our grapes in central Wisconsin. How to FermentIf you bought a wine kit your best option is to follow the instructions that came with the kit. Here I will cover the basics of making fruit wine from scratch, either using grapes or other fruits.
References and Resources
What Apples Should You Use?Sweet cider is, not surprisingly, made with sweeter apples. Chances are if you like to eat the apple fresh you will probably also like it as cider. Feel free to refer to my blog post on apple varieties to see what varieties are generally used for particular purposes but, almost any apple can be made into cider. Some advice I have seen multiple times is that the best apple cider is made from free apples; basically use what you can get. The best hard cider is made with a combination of tannic/bitter, sweet (low tannin/low acid), and sharp/acidic apples. Sweet cider can be made with sweet or sweet/sharp apples, but tannic apples are generally not used. Last year we made a Honeycrisp cider, this year we made a Honeycrisp and a McIntosh cider. Both were tasty but the Honeycrisp was sweeter and the McIntosh, while sweet was also a little more acidic. McIntosh apples (left) and Honeycrisp (right) that we turned into fresh apple cider. Cleaning Your Apples and EquipmentI scrub my apples with a vegetable brush with some distilled white vinegar in the water. I also pick out any bad apples. You can cut out minor holes or spots, but you do not want apples that have started to rot as it will give an off flavor to your cider, and it is also unsafe. It is also not recommended to use apples that have dropped from the tree as there will be a higher bacterial load on drops. We clean all our equipment well and spray it down with potassium metabisulfite (which we use for our winemaking). For fresh cider we rinse off the metabisulfite but for hard cider, it does not need to be rinsed (unless you are trying to do a wild yeast ferment) as you generally add potassium metabisulfite anyway before pitching your yeast the next day. You can also use StarSan or OneStep sanitizer which is also used in brewing beer. If you do not have these sanitizers, you can just scrub your equipment well with dish soap and rinse really well with hot water. Apples ground with a food processor (left) are ground more finely than with a manual apple grinder (right) from Roots and Harvest (LEM). How to Make Cider Ideally, to make apple cider you will have an apple grinder and a fruit press, however, you can make it without those pieces of equipment. Last year we rough chopped our apples and then used a food processor to grind up the apples. The advantage of this method is that I think it created more juice since the apples were ground up pretty well, the big disadvantage is that it took a long time and lots of chopping. This year we bought a Roots and Harvest (sold by LEM) apple/fruit grinder. The advantage of this grinder is that it was faster, but the disadvantages are that I think we got less juice out and it wasn't as easy to turn the handle as I expected. Large apples still had to be cut in half, but it was much less work than chopping them for the food processor. Getting the grinder moving first and putting in only a small number of apple halves at a time did make it easier to turn. However, if you are planning on processing a large volume of apples, an electric grinder, while expensive, would be much faster and easier. Alternatives I have read about for grinding apples are pre-freezing them which breaks the cell walls releasing the juice when they thaw or using a new kitchen garbage disposal or woodchipper. Since garbage disposals and woodchippers are not designed to be food-safe, I prefer using equipment that is specially designed for food. Pre-freezing apples requires free freezer space, which is not always available. This year we tried freezing small apples whole and cutting the large apples in half before freezing them. We use food safe 5 gallon bags that we use to freeze our elderberries and grapes before processing them so we used them for the apple halves as well. We have not yet ground and pressed these apples (thaw them first!) but I will update this post when we do. After you grind all your apples put them in a mesh bag. You can hang your bag, let the juice drip out, and then manually squeeze out extra juice at the end or use a press. Since we make wine, we already had a grape press, so we put the ground apples in the mesh bag, pressed them, and collected all the juice as it ran out of the press. A Roots and Harvest (LEM) apple/fruit grinder (left), ground apples in a mesh bag placed in the fruit press (center), blocks of wood on the top of the press to allow pressing of smaller batches (right). Pasteurizing your Cider After pressing you may want to pasteurize your cider. To legally sell fresh cider in the United States it must be pasteurized. If you are making cider for your consumption, you do not have to pasteurize it. If the very young, very old, or anyone immunocompromised will drink the cider I highly recommend pasteurizing it. Unpasteurized cider can be contaminated with E. coli or other bacteria. To pasteurize cider, heat it to 160-185°F for at least 1 minute. If you will store it in glass jars, be careful pouring hot cider into them as thermal shock can cause the jars to break. I recommend having clean, warmed jars ready to pour the hot cider into so there is less chance of thermal shock. Pasteurized cider can be stored in a refrigerator for up to one week. If you choose not to pasteurize you should drink it within a day or two. Long-Term Storage of CiderTo store cider long-term, I recommend freezing it. You may also can cider for long-term storage, but heating cider to can it turns cider into apple juice (at least in regards to flavor). References and Resources
Pepper Varieties
I have compiled a list of pepper varieties I have grown or have seeds but have yet to plant. I split the varieties into two charts: hot and sweet peppers. I will add to these charts as I try new varieties and will also try to add the most common varieties whether I have grown them or not. In general, I do not grow the super-hot varieties, although that may change in the future.
In the chart, OP means open-pollinated or seeds that can be saved and will grow true (assuming no cross-pollination). F1 refers to hybrid seeds, which are crosses from two different varieties. These seeds are generally not saved because they are not likely to grow like the parent varieties, even if cross-pollination does not occur. As you can see from the chart I highly prefer open-pollinated varieties as I like to save seed (although I get a lot of cross-pollination because I do not separate my plants). Unless otherwise noted, most varieties are Capsicum annuum, the most common pepper species. Please check out my blog post on the commonly cultivated pepper species for more information on each species. Days to maturity are estimates and may vary depending on where the plants are grown and the weather during that growing season. Days to maturity are the number of days after transplant, add another 8-12 weeks (or more for super hots) if starting from seed. Scoville numbers are in Scoville heat units (SHU) and can vary quite a bit from plant to plant or even from different peppers on the same plant. Environmental conditions such as temperature, water, soil, humidity, sun exposure, and pests can all alter the heat level. The stage of ripening can also change the heat level. Peppers that have the NuMex designation are those that have been created or improved upon by New Mexico State University Chile Pepper Institute. TMV is tobacco mosaic virus a plant virus that also infects peppers and tomatoes. AAS is an All-America Selections winner. AAS is a non-profit organization that tests how well plants grow. I compiled these lists from various seed companies and other resources listed at the end of this post. Hot Pepper Varieties
Sweet Pepper Varieties
References and Resources
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AuthorIn 2016, my family and I moved from the New York City area to small town Wisconsin. Our move, this website and blog (and our previous Etsy store) is the result of our desire over the past several years to simplify our lives, increase our quality of life, reconnect with nature, and enjoy a more self-sufficient life. I grew up as a country kid in central Pennsylvania working on my grandfather's fruit farm and as a corn "de-tassler" at a local seed farm. My background is in biology where my love of nature originated. I am a former research scientist and professor and have now transitioned to a part-time stay-at-home mom, self-employed tutor, and small business owner. Thank you for taking the time to check out my site. Archives
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