Sneaky Pete's Salsa

08/16/2026

Picked about 25 # of Romas including San Marzanos.
First batch of ~20 mild pints this weekend.

06/21/2026

Remove your scapes and make something amazing.
I used mine to make a garlic basil pesto.

Can you spot the difference? 👀
Take a look at these garlic bulbs... why are the ones on the left so much smaller than the ones on the right?

A N S W E R 👇
✅ The bulbs on the left were left with their garlic scapes attached!

When scapes aren't removed, the plant puts energy into the flower bud instead of sizing up the bulb. The result? Smaller garlic bulbs at harvest.

This side-by-side makes it clear—if you're after big, beautiful bulbs, don't skip harvesting those scapes! 🌱🧄

👉 Learn more about picking scapes at: https://ow.ly/ullO50Z9VMF

05/10/2026

Critical time for the garlic. Do not let the soil dry out. They need to stay moist so the bulb can expand.
I’m also adding some blood meal 12 – 0–0 to keep the leaves green.

05/09/2026

Replanted the 20 San Marzano‘s into 1 gallon pots.
There is also the “Big Daddy tomatoes, hot chili peppers and sweet habaneros.

Started everything the end of March with potting soil and a little bonemeal. Two weeks later, they were transplanted into 4 inch pots with potting soil and blood meal 12-0-0.
The trays are on heat pads to keep the soil warm with lights from 6 AM to 8 PM. The light range from all white and white with red hues.

05/08/2026

Come on warm weather. Nights are still at 40 degrees. The soil temperature needs to be consistently above 50° in order to put the tomatoes in the ground. Memorial Day weekend will probably be the best time to plant everything.

Replanted in 1 gallon containers. Pushing 24”.

04/28/2026

20 San Marzano going in this year.

The red garlics are doing great. The 20 best of about 100.

11/28/2025

This year’s crop was not what I expected. We had temperatures in July that never got below 70 at night and then no rain in August. We were only able to make 50 pints of salsa and 24 quarts of spaghetti sauce.

Tomatoes need cooler nights because high nighttime temperatures can disrupt their ability to set fruit and affect fruit ripening. While they need warmth during the day to grow, consistently hot nights above approximately 70-75 can cause flowers to drop, inhibit the production of ripening pigments like lycopene, and lead to lower overall yield.

Check back in 2026.

08/14/2024

Play MONOPOLY GO! with me! Download it here:

08/04/2024

The tomato plants are abundant with San Marzano tomatoes clustered in bunches of 8 or more.

Salsa in a couple weeks!