![Mammoth Russian Sunflowers](http://tomatotown.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/20120626_Mueller_Sunflowere_0306-270x150.jpg)
Mammoth Russian Sunflowers
Sunflowers thrive in TomatoTown. Our tallest varieties have to be the Mammoth Russian Sunflowers that Farmer J planted this spring. Our stateliest to date is a 12 foot wonder in the middle of our tomato plots.
![Heirloom Peppers!](http://tomatotown.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/20120626_Peppers_0033-270x150.jpg)
Too Much Pepper
When you grow as many tomatoes as we do, you start hankering for salsa. So we grow a fair number of peppers, both sweet and hot. This year, our favorite so far is the prolific Albino Bullnose. We also enjoy poblanos, red mini bells, and yellow banana peppers.
![Tomato Town, Basil, Herbs](http://tomatotown.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/20110706_Tomatotown_wide0037.jpg)
Wide, Wide, World of TomatoTown
We’ve had requests for wider shots of the garden here at TomatoTown, so Farmer J left her trusty macro lens inside. Our garden is a bit on the wild side, which is good for critters. We’ve been to manicured gardens, and we admire them. We just prefer to let nature take its course, for the […]
![tomatotown, sunflowers, seeds, birds](http://tomatotown.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/20110705_Tomatotown_baltimore00059.jpg)
Ah, Sunflower!
Ah Sun-flower! weary of time, Who countest the steps of the Sun: Seeking after that sweet golden clime Where the traveller’s journey is done; Where the Youth pined away with desire, And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow Arise from their graves and aspire Where my Sun-flower wishes to go. William Blake, 1757–1827
![](http://tomatotown.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/20110105_Peony3010.jpg)
Peony
Even before the tomato growing season is in full swing, flowers are an essential component of Tomato Town. Farmer J likes to have a variety of early bloomers to keep her pollinators happy. Peonies are stunning early bloomers with a heavenly, honeyed scent. Farmer J’s mother first brought these plants from the farm in Topeka, […]
![](http://tomatotown.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/07172010_Tomatos_borage_07141.jpg)
Borage, A Courageous Companion Plant
We planted this fuzzy-leafed plant to lure in bees and ward off the dreaded tomato hornworm. So far, we’ve only had one hornworm, a vast improvement over last year when to pick a fully-ripe tomato you risked a slimy mess from worm destruction. Borage is widely eaten as a vegetable, but it has an ancient […]
![](http://tomatotown.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/Tomato_Geranium_symbiosis_companion-_plant_0106.jpg)
The Truth About Marigolds
I love the internet. I hate the internet. It is the ultimate research tool and the worst echo chamber of misinformation. I just got burned by forming an opinion about marigolds, of all things, after reading an entry on a garden blog that breathlessly extolled the virtues of these pretty flowers as being helpful in […]