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thisisme_gw

Looking for tomato advice.

thisisme
12 years ago

This year I grew Sun Gold and Juliet and I'm happy with them. I was not happy with the results of any of the larger varieties do to cracking and cat facing. Is there a small to medium size indeterminate slicer someone has grown in Arizona that is resistant to cracking and cat facing?

Comments (11)

  • MaryMcP Zone 8b - Phx AZ
    12 years ago

    I had great success with Atkinson's this past season. Not the absolute tastiest but sure better than store bought. And man, two plants were prolific producers. I've heard good things about Kellogg's Breakfast, it's an orange tom. I have some sprouted up for fall planting.

    Looking forward to what others have to say.

  • campv 8b AZ
    12 years ago

    Cracking is do to not enough calcium in the soil and irregular water.
    Just ask Dave the Garden Guy. All tomatoes will do it if this is your case. I grew early girl and other varities with out cracking this year from seed. Hope this helps.

  • hellbound
    12 years ago

    the cracking comes for irregular watering not lack of calcium (that causes blossem end rot) that being saud try early girls and some of the other plum sized early fruiting varieties and try and shade them in the hottest part of the summer. they are no where near as tasty as the big slicers but far more dependible in our heat, as far as catfacing goes it's just asthetic so eat up anyway.....

  • thisisme
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    hellbound believe it or not some tomatoes are much more resistant to cracking than others. My Juliet's were/are in full sun under the exact same watering conditions as the rest that are under afternoon shade. So far I have not found one single cracked Juliet tomato. If you live down here in the valley and Early Girl has not cracked for you I may just give them a try. Right now I'm looking at Ping Pong Ball, Eva's Purple Ball and Thessaloniki. All are known to be resistant to cracking.

  • tracydr
    12 years ago

    Marglobe and Aussie dint crack for me. Not the greatest taste but Marglobe was an impressive producer and did make good salsa, soup and "V-8" juice. I've never seen one plant produce so much fruit, probably forty pounds! Aussie was pretty good tasting, 14-18 ounce fruits, very productive.
    Arkansas Traveler had one or two cat faced but most were smooth. Delicious, just a notch under Cherokee Purple, taste-wise.
    Purple Russian, I will never grow again, every one cracked and split!
    Striped Roman, great paste tomato, dry, meaty, big and productive. Not for fresh eating, no splitting, easy to process. A little BER during the highest heat but otherwise excellent.
    I'll grow the CP and it's relatives, just because taste is so great and it does well in my garden, although the cat facing is a nuisance. Love AT,heat tolerant, great taste, even set a few fruit in a July!
    I'm going to try a few Brandywines next year, and a few hearts. I'll plant a lot more pastes, especially Striped Roman, because we like our cooked sauces for the pantry more than anything.
    I'm was most disappointed with Reisentraube. Late, BER, not very productive for a cherry. If I can get some Sungolds and Black Cherry going quick enough, I'm yanking them.
    How are your plants looking! Are you going to replace them for fall or are they doing well? Mine are all good except I lost about six to Southern Blight.

  • syswriter
    12 years ago

    Regular watering prevents most problems. Monsoon rains can trigger split skins anyway but some tomato varieties do better than others.
    See gardenoracle.com/tomato.html for a list of heat tolerant tomatoes. These tomatoes can produce fruit all summer without being bothered by excessive heat.

  • syswriter
    12 years ago

    Tomatoes that have worked well for me are Homestead 24 and Prescott.

  • thisisme
    Original Author
    12 years ago

    tracydr thanks for the tomato recommendations. I had such good intentions of keeping a consistent spray schedule to prevent blight. Unfortunately I was not able to do so and many are showing signs of blight. They are still producing though so I will probably just keep them. I know what you mean about fresh sauce. Nothing from a can can compare.

    syswriter thank you for the recommendations. I will look into them.

  • tracydr
    12 years ago

    I don't spray at all. The Southern Blight was weird. Started at the hottest ( SW) corner and traveled from plant to plant underground. I doused the ground with a strong bleach solution and pulled plants. A few of the edge plants look iffy but not too bad. The affected ones wilted and died within 24 hours, big strings of mold on their roots.

  • bucks
    12 years ago

    You may wish to try a determinate type I grow called Palla Di Fuoco. I am still picking tomatoes will so until I pull them in September. A good tomato, no cracking, and about 10 ounces on the bigger ones. My favorite.

  • tracydr
    12 years ago

    I've never heard of Pallo di Fuoco. Where did you get the seeds?

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