Bedding Plants

Welcome to Rainbow Ridge Garden’s bedding plant site. Have you always wanted to have fresh tomatoes and peppers right outside of your door; to just step outside and pick healthy and delicious vegetables and have them for dinner. It is really easy to do and takes very little time and space. Due to Daryl’s prowess with building shelves and mini-greenhouses, we are able to start more plants and offer some of these awesome varieties for sale to the public. We have had years of field growing experience and thus are selling some of the varieties which have done well for us. We will also have strong tomato cages and stakes for sale which should offer you a decade of use if stored and used properly.

Our Price List

Standard Tomatoes, Bell Peppers, and Hot Peppers:
Heirloom Tomatoes:
Heavy Duty Tomato Cage:
Wooden Stakes (3 ft):
Tomato Cage Plus Wooden Stake:

$1.25 per plant
$1.50 per plant
$8.00 each
$1.25 each
$9.00

Our sales locations and dates will be as follows

(Sale hours at all locations 1:00 to 5:00PM)
SHELDON: Monday, May 6, 13, and 20 at Old Hy-Vee parking lot.
ROCK VALLEY: Tuesday, May 7, 14, and 21 at the Farmers Coop downtown on Main St.
SIOUX CENTER: Wednesday, May 8, 15, and 22 at Arnolds Motor Supply, North Hwy 75
HULL: Thursday, May 9 & 16 on Sunterra Farm parking lot (across from Casey's)
We will sell these dates only while supplies last. If you would like to place an order contact us by e-mail or phone. Your order can be picked up at one of the above locations.

Tomatoes

Our tomato and vegetable transplants will probably look much longer and leggier than those you may be used to, and when we first started growing transplants in our green-house we would try to grow shorter sturdier plants but mostly to no avail. If the plants are moved into a cool environment when they are very small, the stems may grow a little thicker; but we no longer strive to grow short thick transplants. Our transplants harden off very well and simply flourish when planted, outdoing the transplants we purchase in garden centers in both speed of growth and production. At planting time we cut off the bottom few leaves, dig a somewhat longish hole, lay the stem into the hole, and cover with soil. Roots grow the entire length of the underground stem, giving the transplant a really good start. As the tomatoes grow continue to pick off the bottom couple of leaves for the first few weeks. These are usually mostly dying off anyway as the leaves above continue to grow.
When planting the little tomato transplants they must be protected from the wind and harsh sun-light for the first while. We have cut down 4 or 5 gallon buckets and we use these for protection. It also works well to use an ice-cream bucket or a gallon milk container with the bottom cut out. We have good strong cages which we make ourselves from re-mesh wire, which is in rolls at lumber centers. We then stake the cage with a 3 ft wooden stake with a sharp point at one end. These are used to anchor the cages and can be driven in with a sledge-hammer (with a light touch) or very heavy hammer; and will keep all but the largest tomato plants upright. The heirloom tomatoes are often vigorous plants and must be staked securely. Also cherry and grape tomato plants grow extremely tall and leggy. We use 5 foot tall cages and stake securely with 2- 3 ft stakes, one on each side. Be certain to locate your plants in an area where they will receive full sun as tomatoes and peppers are sun lovers and will not flourish in a shady location. We use cattle or sheep manure for fertilizer so really are not too familiar with the purchased granular type of fertilizer. If you can find a source of manure it would be benefit your garden to dig some in before setting out your transplants. Most garden centers will carry bags of manure. When the plants begin to flower it would be beneficial to sprinkle a little 8-16-16 or 8-32-16 fertilizer, (preferably with added calcium as tomatoes love calcium) around the entire root zone of your plant. Then water it in to incorporate. Do not over-do the fertilizer or apply it when the plants are too small as it can burn your plants.
We have found tomatoes to be an extremely drought tolerant plant, and have had problems with plants perishing due to wet ground conditions, but never from lack of moisture. I would like to offer 2012 as an example. We plant most of our tomatoes under black mulch with a drip hose for watering. In 2012 we put in one row which was planted in 3 ft plastic mulch, but was not reached by a water supply and thus had no drip line. It was watered once then we transplanted the tomatoes into the field, and once a week later. That was the extent of our watering on that row for the entire summer. This row flourished and yielded a large crop of tomatoes despite one of the driest summers in recent decades. Once the transplants are established only water the plants if you get less than ½ inch rain per week; and then water thoroughly about once every two weeks. Never water the foliage as this can lead to fungal diseases. Water under the plant only.
Really the only tomato disease we have had problems with on a consistent basis is early blight. 2008 and 2009 were wet years and we had a problem with bacterial speck and spot but that has not been a problem since. Those diseases all flourish under wet plant conditions so plants should be watered (infrequently) from the bottom, not sprinkled on top. Our tomatoes actually perform the best for us in dry years as early blight is much less of a problem, and in dry 2012, early blight was not present in our plants at all. Blossom end rot in which the bottom of the tomato turns black and dry, is related to calcium uptake in the plant. Some varieties are more susceptible than others, but we have never found this to be a season long problem. It will on occasion, effect the first fruits of the season but subsequent fruits are just fine. If you have the available space it is best to space tomatoes far enough apart so the leaves from one plant do not touch the next plant. Breezes can move through and dry the foliage faster after a rain and early blight will be less of a problem. Also rotating sites from one year to the next will help eliminate the build-up of diseases. Basically tomatoes perform well and will yield large amounts of juicy wondrous fruit. Also plant after last frost date or protect well if the forecast is for temps in the lower 30’s. Tomatoes will not tolerate cold at all.
OUR HEIRLOOM TOMATOES Most heirloom tomato varieties are of an indeterminate variety. These will continue to produce steadily right up until frost and will grow into very large plants. Thus the plants must be staked well. Many of these tomatoes will be larger and softer than hybrids, and because they are so juicy and sweet, the varmints and bugs also like them. It works best to pick them a little before they are totally ripe. Don’t worry, they will ripen quickly and taste delicious. Heirloom tomatoes by and large are not pretty, but the taste is rich and delicious. Many of these varieties also grow big and work great as slicers for sandwiches. We have 11 varieties of heirlooms for sale with descriptions of each variety. We have grown a few of these varieties in the past but several are new to us. I chose varieties which have done well in growth characteristics tests and taste tests, and we have a variety of colors; red, pink, mahogany, purple, a rich orange and streaked yellow/red/pink. These heirlooms are vigorous growers in the greenhouse and should take off well for you in the garden. Take a moment to check out these varieties and hopefully you will find some which appeal to you.
Arkansas Traveler: This is a medium sized (6 to 8 oz) truly pink tomato. We have grown this variety several times and it is very uniform in size, productive, and performs well in hot growing conditions. This heirloom is more than 100 years old. The fruits are pretty, pink and on the smaller side for an heirloom.

Black Krim: A Russian heirloom originating from “The Isle of Krim” in the Black Sea. This is an 80 day variety which will perform well in cooler weather and is high yielding. Mahogany colored with deep green shoulders and deeply colored maroon/mahogany colored flesh. The taste is smoky and sweet. The average size is from 8 to 12 oz.

Caspian Pink: An 80 day rich pink colored tomato. A big winner in tomato taste tests with a flavor described as awesome. This heirloom hails from the Caspian Sea area of Russia. The fruits are mostly
1 to 1 ½ pounds. This heirloom makes a great slicer.

Cherokee Purple: 72 day. A legendary purple tomato that is at least 100 years old. Originally the seeds were sent to Craig Lehouillier by JD Green of Tennessee, who got them from a family who had grown them for more than 100 years. In 1990 this tomato was named by Craig Lehouillier. This heirloom has a sweet, rich, smoky flavor and is a widely grown heirloom, beloved by many. We have grown this variety for many years and it does taste great. The flesh is a purple, chocolate, green mixture.

German Johnson: A more vigorous, higher-yielding Brandywine type tomato. This is an old heirloom which was developed in West Virginia in the early 1900’s. It is one of the parent lines of the famous “Mortgage Lifter” heirloom tomato, with many of the same great characteristics. This is an 80 day tomato which grows from 8-16 oz. It is meaty with deep reddish-pink flesh. There are both regular leaf and potato leaf varieties. Our plants are vigorous growers in the greenhouse and have large leaves.

Kellogg’s Breakfast: A large orange beefsteak tomato with deep orange flesh, and growing 1 to 2 pounds. It originated in Redford, Michigan by a Mr. Darrell Kellogg. The flesh is deep orange, meaty, with few seeds; and the taste is ambrosial, fantastic, and addicting. A huge plant so stake your tomato well. 80 to 90 days.

Persimmon: An 80 to 85 day tomato, rose/orange in color and yielding very large fruits of 12 oz to 2 lb. The flesh is meaty, sweet, and with a small seed cavity so this heirloom works well as a slicer for sandwiches or sliced and sprinkled with fresh basil and blue cheese or feta cheese, then drizzled with olive oil.

Pineapple: A golden-orange beefsteak tomato with 1 ½ lb fruits common. The flesh is streaked with red and yellow; with a pineapple-melon flavor and tropical fragrance. Does great in taste tests. High production on huge plants so stake well.

Pruden’s Purple: This tomato is actually more pink than purple and is a potato leaf variety. The plants are huge so space widely and stake well. The flavor is sweet, not so tangy, and this variety does well in taste tests. Pick early.

Riviera Cuore Di Bue: This is a 75 to 80 day, 4-6 oz ox-heart tomato, bottom heavy, pear shaped, and heavily fluted; very interesting in appearance and uniform in size and shape. It originated in Italy and is widely grown around the Mediterranean Sea. It has a dense lustrous orangy-reddish flesh, is low in juice and high in pulp, and thus it works great in sauces and fresh salsa.

Super Sioux: This is a red tomato, bred to perform well in hot, dry, arid climates. A disease resistant tough plant with tart flesh and great for canning, The fruit are medium sized. The plants are most vigorous growers in the greenhouse.

FULL SEASON HYBRID TOMATOES: Our hybrid plants are vigorous and fruit production is heavy. We have tried several of these varieties but a couple are new to us. We pick varieties which do well in trials for both growth and flavor.

Early Girl: 63 day compact space saving plant. 5 to 6 oz deep red fruits with excellent flavor for an early tomato. Dependable plant year after year.

Primo Red: 68 day and large for an early fruit. Plants are compact and bushy, and the fruit have a deep red color, good firmness and very good eating quality. Grows well in cool conditions so can plant early. We grew this variety for the past two years and it is large and does well as an early tomato.

Red Deuce: 72 day, 10 oz fruit with good deep red color, uniform and smooth with great eating quality. Plants are strong and foliage cover is very good. Good heat tolerance and high productivity. An all-around superb plant.

Scarlet Red: 73 day 10-12 oz tomato with meaty intense red flesh with a rich full flavor. This tomato is somewhat blight tolerant and does not succumb to early blight as quickly as many other tomatoes. We have grown this variety for years and it is our deepest red tomato. It starts out a little slower in the greenhouse and is one of our finer looking plants. Put it in the ground and it takes off.

BHN589: 74 day 8-10oz tomato which resists cracking. This tomato has shown incredible performance in variety trials for both plant vigor and taste. We have not grown this tomato as it is fairly new, but we do look forward to testing it out this year as it appears to be a top of the line variety.

Red Defender: 75 day, 10 oz fruit, good deep red color with excellent firmness and with a long shelf life on the counter. The plant is productive and taste is very good.

Fabulous: 77 day, a fairly firm tomato with outstanding flavor. One of those tomatoes which just performs well year after year for us.

Rocky Top: 76 day 10 to 12 oz tomato with a large plant. A fancy beefsteak variety, uniform in appearance with great flavor.

Carolina Gold: 75 day, 8-10 oz and tangerine-yellow in color. Probably the best golden orange tomato on the market with heavy production of beautiful fruits. Have not found a orange-yellow tomato to match this one and we have grown it for many years. Orange tomatoes are lower in acid for those who have problems with red tomatoes.

Pony Express: 69 day mid size Roma tomato with a deep red color and long shelf life. We have found that all Roma tomatoes are not created equal and have had some very disappointing varieties in the past. This variety is prolific and performs well for us. For canning I mainly use this tomato as it is meaty and makes wonderful thick sauces and salsa.

CHERRY TYPE TOMATOES: Cherry and grape tomatoes grow on huge, tall tomato plants so they must be firmly caged and staked to keep from tipping over. We find that production of these tiny fruits is incredible so you can feed yourself and extended family as well, off one plant. There are many colors and all have their own delicious and distinctive flavor.

Black Cherry: We have grown this variety for a few years and the fruit has a rich full-bodied taste; much like an heirloom tomato. For those of you who don’t want to spend a lot of time picking you may be happy to hear that this is our largest cherry tomato at about 1 to 1 ½ inch in diameter. Shoulders will be slightly green and fruit a deep reddish-black. Bred in Florida.

Heirloom Cherry Mixed: These tomatoes are from a free packet we received and are a mix of colors. The packet said they are green, white, orange, yellow, red, and purple so until the plant starts producing, one cannot know what color the fruits will be. They are heirloom which generally means the flavor will be great.

Sun-gold: 57 day tomato with large plants bearing multitudes of tangerine-orange cherry tomatoes. The flavor is intense and fruity, and this variety wins many taste tests. The fruits do tend to split so timely picking is a necessity.

Yellow Pear: 70 day tall vigorous plant which bears quantities of 1 oz lemon yellow, pear-shaped fruits. The flavor is mild and these tomatoes look beautiful in salads.

Peppers

We have also grown peppers, both hot and bell varieties, for years. These have performed spectacularly for more than a decade. We have had no diseases, they are drought tolerant, and the foliage stays green, strong and glossy right up until the first frost. We do protect our transplants from the wind as described for tomatoes, but we do not stake or cage peppers as the plants are smaller and tough. Bell peppers need a spacing of about 18 inches but hot pepper plants should be spaced 24 inches apart as their plants will be larger. Pepper plants have even less tolerance for cold than tomatoes so must be protected if a possible freeze is forecast.
Peppers of all varieties change colors as they mature. This color change may take some time and it can be close to first frost for a few of the varieties, such as fiery hot habanero peppers. We have green to orange, green to red, and green to yellow bell pepper varieties. We have grown the purple bell varieties in the past but we have never found a variety which grew very large. If anyone could tell us a variety which has done well for them we would love to hear from you. Bells of all colors taste delicious but we do prefer the fuller, sweeter, and more complete taste of the colored bells to the green varieties. It can take awhile for your peppers to turn color but it is worth the wait. Our practice has been to remove only a couple of green peppers from each plant at each weekly picking. This allows some of the peppers to stay on the plant and turn their rich reds, yellows and oranges. If there is a blemish on a fruit this fruit will turn color first and can be used, just cut out the blemished part.
We grow a variety of hot peppers of which the jalapenos and chilies are the most popular. We do not have any chili peppers for sale this year but do have many jalapeno peppers, both hot jalapenos and a variety called “Senorita”, which is very mild. In the store you will only find the nice smooth green jalapenos, but these will also turn bright red if allowed to mature, and on the way to turning red they will often exhibit a stage where they develop whitish striations. We also oftentimes have jalapenos which will turn blackish before turning red. Many people who are familiar with hot peppers and use them regularly say that the pepper should be showing these white striations before they are really ready to eat. We do make jalapeno poppers at home and find that every variety (smooth walled and green, striated and green, turning black, and fully mature and red) will make a perfectly fine popper. Now that we grow these hot peppers I find myself enjoying a little of that hot flavor on sandwiches, in soups, and in scrambled eggs and other casseroles. Just experiment to find out how you like to use these peppers. We have included descriptions of our tomato, bell pepper, and hot pepper varieties on this web site.
SWEET PEPPER VARIETIES: We love growing peppers of all varieties as the plants seem to be totally impervious to diseases, and they produce an abundance of fruits right up until frost, and if kept covered, often beyond. Our family eats peppers stuffed, in salsa, julienned and dipped in your favorite salad dressing, fried with onions for fajitas or just as a topping for any variety of meats, and always included in our omelets and scrambled eggs. The red bell pepper varieties are more consistently hardy in our greenhouse with a high germination rate; while the orange pepper varieties seem to be just slightly more finicky. But by the time we set these little transplants out the yellow and orange varieties will do fully as well as the red bells.

Red Knight: A 64 day green to red pepper. This pepper will turn red up to 10 days earlier than most other green to red peppers. Plant grows compact and production of large blocky fruits is very good.

Gourmet: A 65 day green to a brilliant orange. Compact thick plants with prolific yields of 3” to 5” fruits. Continues production over a long season.

Orange Blaze: A 68 day green to orange pepper which was a 2011 AAS winner. Fruits are a high-impact orange, 3” to 4” long and 1 ½” wide. Plants are short and sturdy.

Declaration: A 70 day green to red pepper. Plants are vigorous and tall with excellent leaf coverage, and fruit yield is excellent. Fruits are slightly elongated and four lobed.

Socrates: A 70 day green to red pepper which has prolific yields and is very quick to turn red.

Early Sunsation: A 70 day green to yellow pepper. Good production of large sweet fruits, 4 ½” by 4” bells. We have grown this variety for many years and it consistently just does very well for us.

Revolution: A 72 day green to red pepper. Medium tall plants produce good yields of beautiful fruit; and will produce well in both hot and cold weather.

Sweet Banana: A 72 day long pointed yellow fruit that turns to a bright red. 6” long and about 1 ½ inch wide with sweet tender flesh. Great for grilling, frying and pickling. These are the yellow peppers used by “Subway” on their sandwiches.

Yummy Blend: A 73 day mixture of red, orange, and yellow small, elongated bells. Peppers are nearly seedless and store well and make a great little snack pepper.

Super heavyweight: A 77 day green to golden pepper. Fruits are very large, sweet and blocky. We have not yet grown this variety in the field but it does well in variety trials so we are trying it out this year.

Tango: A 78 day green to orange pepper with a fruit that is tangerine colored, big and bold.

HOT PEPPERS: The degree of heat in hot peppers is measured by scoville units and there is a huge difference from the mildest to the hottest peppers. Our Senorita jalapenos are very mild indeed, at 1/6th the heat of our hot Mucho Nacho jalapenos. We love to make “poppers” on the grill, and top our sandwiches with the mild Senoritas, grill our mid-heat chili peppers with a mixture of seafood and cream cheese, and save our hottest peppers for salsa. No matter what your taste you can find a pepper to fit.
Most people are familiar with the green hot peppers, but nearly all hot peppers will turn red when fully ripened and I believe the taste is more complete at that stage. Jalapenos are usually not at their full flavor when smooth and green. They are better picked when striations appear and when they are turning red.

Senorita Jalapeno: A 60 day very mild jalapeno with a scoville rating of 300-400. Great for those who want just a little heat.

Sahuara Chili: A mild large green to red chili with a scoville rating of 500.

Serrano Del Sol: A mid heat pepper with scoville rating of 4,500 to 5,500. Fruits are 3” long by ½” wide and turn from green to red.

Mucho Nacho Jalapeno: A mid-heat pepper with a scoville rating of 4,500 to 6,000. Fruits are quite large for a jalapeno and turn from green to red.

End of Season Specials

We usually quit selling at our farmers markets by about mid to late September. If we are fortunate and have a late frost we can continue to get many tomatoes and peppers after this. We will offer these to those who would like vegetables for canning at an excellent price. Generally we sell our late season tomatoes for $1.00 a pound, our bell peppers for 50 cents each, and our hot peppers for $1.50 per pound. We may also have onions for sale and thus you have all the ingredients needed for canning salsa, spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, chili sauce, tomato sauce, ketchup, tomato juice, and plain old tomatoes which are so easy to can and so very versatile. Please contact us per e-mail or phone to check on availability and to place an order.

We in the mid-section of America, the largest bread basket in the world, have much to be thankful for. In many localities one needs to work so hard to grow a garden; yet here in Iowa and South Dakota we can nearly just throw the seeds and plants in the ground, put in a few minutes daily keeping the weeds out, and we’re rewarded with a bountiful crop. We certainly desire for you a wondrous growing season and many happy hours spent in the garden. Not only will you have a bounty of healthy homegrown food, but people who garden also live longer. What more can we ask for.