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We don't have voles where we live.... The best suggestion I can think of is, like a chicken coup to keep out preditors, I would have cement footing wall all around and even cement tiles or if you can afford a permanent laid cement floor... couple inches poured cement flooring laid down to keep any creatures from coming in. Cement tiles are easier as you can just carry and lay them in. Our issue here is rabbits and raccoons and forest mice or rats. I find that just the mesh may not be enough if it isn't attached to cement to rodent proof. The other way would be to have continuous fine 1/4 inch holes but thick cable mesh or fencing bottom and sides and roof continuously attached like a box and can be framed. Hope this helps.

Tomatoes are 18-24 feet apart. The more apart the better as the plants have room to splay and get more sunshine..... Some people use cow cable panels, I use single stakes with supporting stakes depending if needed. If it is Garlic you are asking you need to plant 6 inches apart all around.

In a contain like this the big one, max 2.... although I planted 3, it's too many plants still even though they are dwarvf plants I have found. The smaller one should have only one. I placed two.... I find that dwarf plant need just as much room as a regular tomato plant indeterminate or determinate.

So very kind, thank you.... Hard to know what ones voice sounds like to oneself.... appreciate your viewership and encouragement!

Hi April Dolan, Thanks for watching! We appreciate your support and kindness!

My pleasure!

Hi April Dolan, thank you for your lovely comments, so kind.

Hello, eyyupk.... I could not translate so, sorry about that.... hope you enjoyed the video!

@@RascalandCrowFarm very Good. Thank you.

Hello artport7, Yes, they are San Marzano in the video.... This was a year they grew hugely... all the years after that they grew much smaller. I believe it was a combination of things... Soil amendments and weather that year.

Hello Xavier, yes, I feel that the Azoychka is incredible tasty. Tastier then yellow brandywine? .... I find that everyone has a different pallet and everyone tastes the same tomato very differently from each other. The reason a person can taste a difference in the same tomato another person tries, is that each person's chemistry at the time can be altered by the their diet. For example, a person who has a more acidic body than a person with a more alkaline body will taste the same tomato differently. Their health level can be different than others too. I have greatly paid attention to this when I have a group attend a tomato tasting at our farm and get their feed back. It is so very interesting to see certain people find different notes in a tomato than others. Some of our clients love green variety tomatoes as the citrus appeals greatly to them and the black tomatoes taste metalically to them when others don't. You learn this from these experiences with the public when asking them to describe what they taste. It is facinating! I hope this helps. I haven't really enjoyed the Brandywines as much as the selected tomatoes I grow. I choose tomatoes for their taste and found the brandywines were very run of the mill in flavor. Having said that, I believe... I am somewhere in the middle in body chemistry that gives me a more balanced ability in detecting flavor notes than others. So, really it depends on what your pallet is doing at the time that will determine what tomato tastes better to you and it is a personal flavor thing. Hope this helps in any way.

For over 25 years searching for them from different Heirloom farms and seed companies online and personally aquiring them from different places. Their are companies online you can check out, just look up heirloom seeds.

Huerta "Mi Pequeno Eden" ... Thank you for your kind comment...

Hi Janice Game, What absolute lovely comments you have given me. Yes, it really is a passion for me... I agree, I have seen others tomato plants but none as robust as my plants I've also noticed. It all depends on what people feed and amendments they add to the soil for their tomatoes for a great outcome. Also, weather and watering as well helping in pollination also makes a huge difference in outcome. The weather these past 2 years have been colder here where we are in Southern Vancouver Island, but still a good outcome for us this year. I try and explain the best I can to help others and hope this comes through. Thank you for your kind support and such beautiful comments. You have made my year!

Helllo Atimati Muki Ma, My Aunt's family is from there and it is a small little town but people live there. My Aunt's family still own property and houses there and have friends and family living there. Once upon a time it probably started with 4 but of course like any other time multiplied. A lot of little towns started that way all over the world, like my own families little village at the top of a small mountain...

Hi Atimati Mukti Ma, I know there are more varieties than the 2 in Portugal. So here's the thing.... a tomato may look like another but is not the same variety. By just looking at a tomato, you can't tell what variety it is. You can however tell what type it is, such as Ox, Beefsteak, Slicer, Cherry, Strawberry etc.... There are thousands of tomatoes in the world and even Heirlooms are hybrids as they are cross pollinated either by hand or naturally. When heirlooms are cross pollinated by another heirloom it is still an heirloom but a new variety of heirloom. There are lab created hybrids, there are created tomatoes by cross pollinated any tomato... but the lineage is the important thing to know, weather it is of heirloom cross pollinated varieties or not. It takes at least 50 of the same lineage for a tomato to be an heirloom. Thank you for your comment and sharing... I love Braga. To note, my aunt is from "Quadrazais".... it is a small community but I guarantee there is much more than 4 couples living there.... lol. It is quite possible that "Quadrazais" means 4 couples as the zais could be from the word "couple" as "casais".... however it doesn't have a "z" in it. I'll have to ask my aunt if she knows the background on the name. If I find out, I'll let you know what she said.

@@RascalandCrowFarm when I was looking for a farm to buy, I was in Quadrazais. It was the locals that told me the meaning of the name :) . Anyway, I collect tomato varieties since 40 years and never heard of more than two in Portugal. Would be fascinating to know more so please, keeps us informed on how this goes. I mean, can you keep the form, colour and flavour year after year? Once I created a new variety and my friends called it "Tomato Atimati ". But after 3 years, it became something different. If you ever come to Braga, I live north, closer to the Gerês National. C Park. Come visit

Hi Atimati Mukti Ma, To answer your question about a new variety that was created... So, this was a natural cross pollination that produced a new tomato not the one you originally planted as it got hybridized from a cross pollination of your other tomatoes. You then said that after 3 years, it became something different. Okay, so what happened is that a newly created tomato takes years and years to stabilized that seed. You need to keep planting that seed year after year. If it becomes something different then go back to the original seed you had and keep on planting that same seed. Never replant the changed tomato from your originally created one to try and get back that original tomato, won't work. It takes years and years like I said, for a new variety to stabilize by replanting that true tomato seed. Go back to the original seed that produced you the right tomato and plant more than one. This is why it is not easy to produce a new tomato variety... I have also created new ones, about 4 in 15 yrs. occuring in naturally in cross pollination. It happens once in a while.

Hello, Ternika 100, Thank you for your kindness and support. We appreciate your visiting us here.

Hi oldporkshops, Sorry I've been away for a while.... back now. Okay, so I have grown about 10 varieties only. Based on what I know of my 10, none are cherry varieties as cherry varieties don't do well for some reason here close to the ocean, still don't know why. They produce very late even though I get alot. I do have a suggestion of one of the regular cherry varieties that isn't a dwarf that will do extremely well.... That is the Blonpkomf.... it is a apricot small round cherry and produces about a 1000 sweet tomatoes on one plant.... it is incredible and a Heirloom German variety. You should be able to find it online in the US. As for other varieties of cherry tomatoes that I have grown, none compare to this one above in abundance and flavor, I found. The bigger cherry tomatoes that are about 1 inch to 1 and a half inch in diameter, would be a regular heirloom again "Bumble Bee" and " Green Vernisage" both excellent in flavor but not dwarfs. I haven't grown any cherry dwarfs yet but may in the future just to try to see if they produce early enough in my area. As for beefsteak in dwarfs, the best ones I've grown are "Fred's Tie Dye" as outstanding flavor and this year I'm regrowing some varities to see how they do in raised beds... and I'll let you know as the dwarfs I find didn't do well in containers but do much better in raised beds. So, I'm sorry I can't tell you much in terms of dwarfs too much, but I'll find out in about a month or so left for this year.... I'll taste them and see what the results are and will get back to you. So over all, Dwarfs don't do well where I am in containers as a whole. Some do well in raised beds and that result I will let you know soon. I will never grow dwarfs in containers where I am again, they do terribly and over all I find the plants do well in raised beds like the heirlooms do. Hope this helps, and thank you for your questions.

Hello there, Thank you for your very detailed reply. I've looked for Blonpkomf but Google had no results. I suppose you meant Blondkopfchen? If so, I've found many seed sellers with this variety. Thank you for recommending this one. It is my first year with the dwarfs and I've started them indoors in gallon milk jugs containers and some in 5 gallon grow bags. I saw in your video "How to Harden Off Your Heirloom Tomato Seedlings" that you too used gallon milk containers. If I may offer one suggestion? Instead of cutting halfway from the top, I cut my milk containers above the handle. There should be a line where the bottle slopes upward towards the opening up top. I follow that line and cut using it as reference. I do so for two reasons. First, it allows me to still use the handle to carry the container around. Oh and I drilled five holes at the bottom for drainage too. Second, I remember from high school biology that a plant's roots is usually the same height as its height above the ground. As such, I try to match my container to give it as much soil as it is projected to be high. The seed packets I bought from Tomato Growers have the estimated height printed on most of the packets. Hopefully, it is going to make a difference. I'll let you know. Another thing is that the air where you are might be too salty. This too can affect plant growth, but I see that your other plants are thriving, so this probably isn't that much of a factor. I sincerely appreciate you sharing your experience and recommendations and look forward to hearing from you after you can harvest the varieties you grew this year. Cheers.

@@oldporkchops Hello there oldporkchops, Thank you for sharing your ideas , I so appreciate any imput in exchanging ideas.... Could you send a picture of how you cut your gallon, I'm not quite getting how you do it and what the advantage is, but sounds very interesting... I always handle the jug by the bottom and side for stability... When further growing in the jug for the last month before I put it in the ground I, bend over open the top and leave it bent to give the plants room to continually grow up on my greenhouse shelf and save the jugs for one more year of use after washing them. Because I generally start with 8 seeds and then eliminate them as they grow down to the best 2 before my final planting, the jug has plenty of room to grow at 2 plants per jug, 12-14 inch tall plants so at that later last month stage the root room will be fine. When I transplant into the same jug at 5 inch tall seedlings, I make sure I plant the roots close to the bottom so they have room to spread burying most of the plant and even a little sideways bent root if tall. I don't drill holes for drainage because I'm careful not to over water the seedlings so you don't have to drill holes, keeping the jug self contained to hold water when I'm watering them outside in the greenhouse. It takes a little experience and nack in knowing how much your seedlings need in water which I'm sure you have. As you know, tomatoes don't like to be drowned in water and the greenhouse heat evaporates the water quickly needing to water every 2 days or so. The salt issue in the air isn't of concern here.... it is more the night coolness of the ocean where we are that can drop down 10-20 degrees if you can believe it. It is good to flood your soil once in a while to release any salt minerals accumulated in the soil to keep it balanced when livng in a place like ours especially, but even in a regular place it is beneficial because the minerals do accumulate from watering. A little trick I've learned to help the balance. Please do send me a picture of the way you cut your jug, I would be so interested to see it visually. Thank you so much for your experience and please do let me know your further growing developements.... so nice to exchange our ideas and knowledge. Thank you for your wonderful comments....

@@RascalandCrowFarm Hi again, I've emailed you a picture of my milk jugs.

Yes, got it thank you....

Hi Butternut Hill Golden Retrievers, Yes, of course that is true.... problem is that if your weather isn't good on any given year and you have to plant 2 weeks later than usual, you will have mostly green tomatoes at harvesting time. That green tomato will still be at the right green stage for harvesting to ripen on their own without compromising the tomatoes flavor when it ripens in it's own gases. Some years I get some ripeneing on the vine, other colder years most will be green at harvest time... but they will alll ripen soon enough and wonderful. Many people give up when the season is at the end and throw away green tomatoes without ripening them in a box and miss out on a wonderful harvest. Hopefully this explains this....

Lachozidanesval channel tanaman, Thank you for the kind comment...

Hi J. Steeves, Thank you for your inquirey. Look at our site rascalandcrowfarm.com and on the front page I'll list what I will sell in seed starting in December when most sites start selling tomato seeds after processing.

Hi MM Ma, I've been having a hard time growing them... I tried container and in ground. The in ground, in raised beds do much better I find, even though they are a container plant. I am holding off selling seeds until I get a robust good crop. I have grown about 8-10 and they haven't done that well I find. You can find them online and see how they grow for you. I am still experimenting with them to see if I can get a better crop. I had 4 plant failures in crops last year with new varieties I planted. It is my feeling that Dwarf Tomatoes are very environment sensitive and that any weather change for them can easily ruin their crop or growth which has been my experience for the last 3 years in growing them. So, I am waiting for good crops in order to guarantee a good seed harvest. Until then, I won't be selling any. My rascalandcrowfarm.com site is under construction right now.... I will post on my site when I have it up and running when I do get a good seed crop. Thank you for your comment!

@@RascalandCrowFarm Hello. Thanks for sharing your experience. Based on what you shared, do you think planting these dwarf tomato seeds indoors in a controlled environment would be better? My indoor environment has about 8 hours of sunlight and is above 70 degrees Farenheit (about 30 deg C) 10 months of the year.

You can purchase seeds from Victory Seeds. Also Tomato Growers, and a few others.

Hi Sherva, I explained on the video that it was just for display purposes for a client on the day of harvest that I did this. You can't grow tomatoes without leaves.... which are the lungs of the plant.

Hi Brandon, Nice to hear from an Azorean.... Portuguese people and even Portugal was bad for keeping the tomato names.... No one in these Portuguese regions could tell me what they are actually called but of course you can see their type by the type of tomato. So, I named them from the region they came from which all were from home gardens. Thank you for your kind words and your comment.... hope this explains.

Hello Ladybug, Thank you for your kind words and subscribing to our little channel! I hope your garden does well with your beautiful rare heirloom tomatoes this year.... Happy planting...

Hi Melody, You may be shocked to know that tomatoes actually don't have suckers... "Suckers" are branches that don't produce fruit. What you think are suckers are actually fruiting branches that you can choose to cut some off or keep them as they are fruiting branches. Here's the thing.... if you keep most of your suckers on, then you will have more fruit but smaller fruits. If you remove some, ("never all" or you won't have much fruit)... then by removing only some, you will have larger fruits but less. Hope this makes sense... It is a myth that tomatoes have "suckers", ... they are in fact "fruting branches", and most sites don't explain or tell you this. Hope this helps and thankyou for your support and viewing our videos.... more to come.

Hi Melody, Thank you kindly.... your comments are valuable and encouraging...

Thank you Organix Girl for your interest in our seeds.... It depends on my availability.... which ones specifically are you looking for? If I have available, I sell them for $3.50 US each 25 seed pack, plus shipping. Let me know what you are interested in.... If still interested you can let me know which ones listed on rascalandcrowfarm.com on our tomato varieties album and contact me on rascalandcrow@hotmail.com.

Hi Sa B, ... No, I don't put holes in my jugs as I want the seedlings to be self contained and not worry about having to have trays under them. The jugs protect them from the cold windows but still allowing for air circulation and room for the seedlings. I watch my watering, you never want to over water them as you know that tomatoes hate over watering that can ruin them and turn into dampening... you need enough to have the plants moist through to the root initially upon planting them but not soaking... and then wait until the soil is quite dry to then rewater. The purpose of the milk jug is to be self contained by making sure there is no over crowding of the seedlings to allow for good air circulation. I initially plant 6 and then pull out the 2 weakest ones after the second leaves come in to decide which ones I will discard or replant into another if they are to sell. At the 2 weeks mark before planting in ground, I take out another 2 leaving good room for them to further grow in their jugs until planting time or else the milk jug is too overcrowed for continual growth. You can also repot the 2 you take out to sell, if that is your thing or also for further growth to add to your garden. It works perfectly. Hope this helps, thank you for your good question...

Yes, all of our farm is organic.

Hi I. G. Natius, I can do that... keep in mind, the same tomato can taste different each year because of weather, ammendments, watering practices etc. So, what may not be so great a tomato this year, can be a fantastic one next year. Never give up on a tomato variety until you have planted them at least 3 times of your own seed in your soil, is what I do to determine a keeper.

Hi VS Berlina. Yes, so right.... However, I can't tie anything with the nitrile gloves... it is almost impossible as I've tried... the stretchable ribbon I use to tie gets twisted into the glove plastic.... so crazy... What we do for the love of tomatoes... lol.

Wow, fungal infections under the nails... I have to say, I have never had that problem or any infections ever and I almost never use gloves except when handling the leaves and tomatoes at harvest time. That sounded so terrible, I'm so sorry you had to go through that... I wonder if you had manure in the soil that may have cross contaminated on your hands at the time?

@@RascalandCrowFarm I don't think it was due to manure. The fungus lives in the soil and probably entered 2 of my nails when my nitrile gloves got wet. It's a very common issue, but it isn't painful. Once the medicine kills the virus, a new nail will grow and you're back to normal. It's just unsightly in the meantime. But those plastic gloves you wear seem to be doing an excellent job. Since I started wearing them, I've not had problems either. I always wear them now.

@@vsberlina3712 Excellent information, thank you for sharing with me...

Thank you kindly Johnathon! Thank you for viewing our channel...

The "Azoychka"....a Russian Heirloom. It is a slicer and has great flavor....

You are very kind Cassidy, thank you for supporting us in watching our vids...

Yes I have... I noticed that if you germinate the tomato seeds like I do and then plant the germinated seed, they do much better if you take off the Cotyledon leaves when the second leaf gets nice and big enough. They tend to go stringy and leggy if you don't... They will fall off later if you leave them on, but it helps the plant get more robust earlier in their growth instead of leaving them on and letting the growth get leggy with skinny stalks. I do it specifically for tomatoes because of the better outcome if I do. As with other species of seeds, I don't recall honestly... I can't think of any veg that you have to do that to... Eventually some of the veg that gets the 2 first leaves do fall off like melons and squash types... etc. without altering their growth, but with the tomatoes I do notice the difference... specifically with indeterminates... I do them to all tomatoes anyway. Hope this helps, and thank you for your question...

@@RascalandCrowFarm You're very welcome, thanks very much for taking your time to answer it for me. I am attempting to grow two organic pink lady apple trees & am currently at the Cotyledon plus a few leaves stage. It took about a week or so for full sprouting of roots (via the seed within wet tissue then sealed bag way), after germination i have given each one their own pot. Been using a top notch fertilizer one which contains sea weed plus some well developed compost for their home. Brought some all rounded lights to give to them during indoor stay plus some occasional UV light which i think will give them that sensational boost. First time i've ever tried this & have found it highly educational, thanks again.

Hi Lawt Colt, That is fantastic that you are growing the "Pink Lady Apples" by seed... I also grew about 10 apple trees by seed myself, by re-creating the cold stratification process in the fridge to break their dormancy and jump start the germination process ... since I sprouted the apple seeds out of their natural season for growing. My trees are about 5 years old now pruning to help shape and I am still growing them in pots to plant hopefully next year in ground. I grew Ambrosia Apples from it's original seed from the agricultural center that originally created them here in British Columbia in Summerland in the "Okanagan" fruit and wine country. I noticed that Oregon grows our apples from the Okanagan now... My Ambrosias are looking beautiful and tall at about 6 and a half to 7 feet tall but of course they are susceptible to the plagues that love apple trees. This year they have fared better... I have never used any kind of natural pesticides on them but next year will spray them in their leaf dormancy stage in February to see if they fair any better. I don't take off any Cotyledon leaves other than my indeterminate tomatoes when they get a good growth on their second leaf as experimenting for some years showed they particularly fared better to grow robustly when removed. Like I said, the cotyledon leaves will naturallly fall off if left but the plant grows spindally and not as robust early on as I mentioned above. It does really make a difference... All other plants I leave the cotyledon leaves alone. When I planted my tiny apple trees outside finally, I grew them all in a 4 x 4 area until they grew to about 2 feet and then I replanted them in their own pots for which they took off. I replanted them as they grew into bigger pots... Ambrosia's are interesting as they grow like a stalk tree with the apples growing mostly along the main tree stock trunk... making it easy to pick and compact on a plant. I'm so loving that you are sharing what you are doing and am learning with your method experimentation.... Thank you so much for sharing what you are doing and your experiences with growing as well... Give us all an update on your wonderful growing experience and educational lessons... Thank you for your kind support and sharing your excellent experimentation knowledge as well... so appreciated! Hope any of this helps...

@@RascalandCrowFarm Hey, apology for taking what feels like an eternity to reply! It has been on the tip of my thoughts to do so for so long hahahaha, thanks for your patience ;-j ah wow that all sounds amazing, thanks for sharing that with me, i have already taken notes lol. With my Apple plants i have hit a snag! I left them outside for about a month to get some of thatr natural light air flow, & for the last few days the leafs appear to be dry & have developed a white dusty coating over them! Wish i just left them indoors & fed them the bulb way ;-( Not sure what to do now, i have brough them back in, given them a boost of the seaweed fertiliser with water, and put them back under the light. I have read some where that said i should spray them with a fungal pesticide? Another place said i should remove the white leaves & leave the rest to regrow? Clueless, may i seek your guidenece in this, thanks again for all your input & help, take care.

@@RascalandCrowFarm Aren’t apples like some other fruits where you don’t get anything close to harvesting fruit that is like the fruit the seeds came from?

Hi Daniel, thank you for your question and supporting our little farm by your viewing. I space my tomatoes usually between 20-24 inches. I tend to space around 20 inches usually as space is at a premium.

Hi Kimberly, Thank you very much for your sharing info on the Hillbilly... I find it so great when people share their experiences with the same Dwarfs as they are new and not much is known on their particular individual variety behaviors... thank you. To be fair, I didn't have it in an optimum sun area unfortunately, so that definitely also was part of the problem as I ran out of space to place them. It gets very hot here with a nice dry heat... not much humidity in the summer, winter is another story.... lol. Would love to visit North and South Carolina, the Carolina's are so beautiful! The Portuguese varieties I have come from different family members picking them up for me from different regions of Portugal they visited friends and family. These seeds come from heirloom seed from farms there and aren't sold anywhere. Let me know which ones you seem to be interested in and email me at -rascalandcrow@hotmail.com.

@@RascalandCrowFarm thanks so much for the reply! When I get home and can rewatch that video, I'll send you an email!

@@hellokimmy68 Great!

Yes, it is true... there are regular tomatoes that have the same name as Dwarf tomatoes.

Yes, you can do that too... I just let them do it naturally so that I don't have too many ripening at the same time when you have many as I do at harvest time. Thank you for sharing... so appreciated.

@@RascalandCrowFarm lol i want them ripening at the same time can one big load drives me crazy canning cukes for pickles every 2 days

@@sb.1035 lol... I totally get that.

Do you save seeds and if can I get some from you please and thank you

Hi Rodrick.. Yes, I do.... Just send me an email to: rascalandcrow@hotmail.com and remind me of the seed you want and I will respond back.... Thanks Rodrick!

Hello Sherry, Wonderful!

Hi Homebound... Thank you for that lovely comment... Okay, so that is a great question.... I only grow heirloom tomatoes together in general.... however, I did plant one dwarf tomato to see how it performs in a regular bed instead of it's container destination. I would say that you can get cross pollination in that you can get characteristics to jump from tomato to tomato, usually it comes out in it's shape. For example, you can have a beefsteak and then it can have some tomatoes with an Ox shape to some. For the color jumping it is rare that you will have a hybrid in color and actually have a hybrid tomato.... to stabilize that tomato takes years and to stabilize that seed and produce that same tomato. So, I plant all kinds of heirlooms together in general at about 2 feet apart and I actually mix the colors in planting. I have found that when I keep the light colors together my tomatoes, don't seem to have great flavor on the yellows, oranges and white tomatoes. But, when I mix them all with reds and burgundys, they seem to do really well in flavors all across the board. I don't worry about it too much as you have to plant them in the growing area you have, rotating your crops of course. I haven't had too much of a problem. I try and save seed from each plant "every" year and this way, if the tomato didn't perform very good in a certain year, then I go back to the previous years seed to have the option for an optimum selection in my seed for any given variety. Hope this helps! I'll have a look and see what my stock looks like for you ... Can you email me at rascalandcrow@hotmail.com and just remind me of the seed you would like again, and I will get back to you in a few days. Thank you!

Hi Paintingtracey... We plant Fall/Winter Rye in our raised beds as green manure turned into the soil in the spring. We then add a couple inches of Fish Compost aka: Sea Soil and add the regular mineral amendments (Magnesium, Calcium etc.) when we plant. When the plants are mature enough to take interval waterings.... we deep water them every 5-6 days.

Hi Amy, thank you for your excellent question... You first start to see the stems on their way to starting to turn a pink to a light purple at the time when you are ready to start hardening them off ... When they are finally hardened off after the week of doing so, the stems are usually still quite light in pinky purple and then quickly within a week after having them outside (hopefully in a greenhouse)... you will see that they will get this dark purple and thicker stem. I get excited when I see this as I know they are doing well and are well hardened to survive even though they go through a "leaf stress period" in their leaves in our area because of cooler nights. The purple stem is not because of cooler nights, they do this in warmer climates too. Don't confuse purple stems which is good, to purple leaves which is not good. If you have purple leaves, that is a sign of deficiency in nutrients like phosphorous. You will see this natural dark purple stem transition happening within days or a week after you have them outside after hardening them off. This is not a problem, it is a natural process the the seedlings go through as the stems thicken and are toughened as they mature... At time of planting, your seedlings will go back to having a nice green stem, except for the Purple Top or Black varieties which the stem usually remains a dark dark purple or in some varieties black stems. I am speaking from specializing in growing Heirloom Tomatoes and others for over 23 years and am well versed on their process. I can't find any agricultural information at all on this, and I've seen other's opinions which I don't always agree with... as they maybe novices giving their advice to others on what it is. This happens every single year, without fail with no damage to your seedlings. This is just a natural stage process that they go though and it is when they are hardening up to produce new leaves as they continue to mature. Only be concerned when the leaves go purple... as a nutrient deficiency. Hope I've helped in answering your question and thank you for your support in watching our videos....

Hello Robert, If it is the black mesh one, we bought a nice big roll at Home Depot... it is about 7 feet wide and I don't know how many feet long but a lot on that roll. I believe it was pretty reasonable. If it's the Green plastic covered wire fencing around some of our outside raised beds as actual fencing.... It is also available at Home Depot and also comes in big rolls... Unfortunately the Green one only comes in about 4 feet tall. Hope this helps... check out other hardware stores as well... I believe it was in their fencing roll section. Hope this helps....

Hello Robert, I believe you mis-understood. I did not say.. softneck garlic have scapes... I said that softnecks and small hardneck porcelain garlic have pretty well an equally long shelf life. And to watch for the scapes, as after you scape cut... it takes as a general rule 21 days from the cutting to harvest. Again, keep in mind that every garlic type (Rocamboles, Purple Stripes, Marble Purple Stripes, Creoles, Turbans, Asiatics etc.) are harvested at different times because their scapes come up at different times making their harvesting also at different times. Softnecks are the first ones as well as Turbans and Elephant. Another thing to keep in mind too is that Turbans, sometimes have scapes and other times they don't... they are a hollow scape when they do... that is why you have a hole on the dried stem. If left a little longer in length you can see at the cut of the dried bulb stem if they have one. You will notice that softnecks have no stem, just leaves that are either braided or bulbs that are individual with no stem. You see them as the popular garlic in stores from China. Hope I have clarified things...

Hello elloelloo, Well, hello to South Carolina! How exciting it is to know my fellow Americans from there are watching some of my videos... fantastic! Yes, if you live in a climate that can have some cool nights or days after hardening off and during their tender leaves period before they toughen up... no worries, they should pull through. The weather seems to be unpredictable in these last years. I also, have never seen any research on this anywhere and so I like to post things that can help to troubleshoot things that can happen in a garden as well. Some post beautiful beginnings and ends to their gardening, but not the uglies in-between as it were... lol. So, here is an ugly that should resolve itself... When your other leaves get big enough like in the video, just pick those damaged leaves off... I like to try and post the unforeseen problems that can happen, as it may help others. I hope this video was helpful and... thank you for your kind comments and wonderful support!

@@RascalandCrowFarm yes, the other leaves have since grown more and are looking much healthier! We only had a couple cool nights but it must’ve been enough 😊 you’ve been the only person to cover this well enough for me to be able to figure out what’s gone on and what to do. Thanks again and happy growing from SC!

@@ellooellooo You are so welcome!

@@ellooellooo Excellent! Have a great growing season!