More torture #6

I guess there's no Publix in your neighborhood.

I have 4 in easy reach, 2 more a little farther.

That's why I'm doing all this. Here are more plants that haven't started producing yet. I plan to start more later.

More yet.

Another.

They look really nice & healthy - I have some ripening on my plants right now. Maybe I should try getting some pix of them....

Hello
mine have been doing well though size of the fruit has been disappointing so far The weather has been fantastic not the usual hot and humid. so bugs and fungus
are under control . Mocking bird has returned for the one bite out of each lol gary

Time to get out the pellet gun. The current mater count on all 7 plants is 24 including babies.

They seem to be coming in clusters now. Looks like I have figured out what I have been doing wrong before.
Cluster 1

cluster2

Cluster 3

Cluster 4

Current head count on the maters is 37 including the babies from all 7 plants.

I am still looking for heat tolerant tomato seeds. Despite a massive collection, I just bought 3 more packs of seeds. Afghan, African Queen, and Bedouin. Something has to work.

Total count as of today is 45 including babies. Some should be blushing soon.

A watched tomato never ripens does it? You should have plenty soon.

Not to disappoint, but I don't think the northern gardeners come to this forum much. I know I only really look at it when I'm in FL…

Here in Orlando, I'm preparing to pull my fall tomato plants this weekend so that I can plant out the new seedlings. Still have some ripening cherries. In the year I've lived here, I've only had one month (August) that I didn't have plants in the ground. Gotta love it!

Amberroses: I know what you mean. I examine every plant and every tomato every day. It can get maddening.

Latest count is 51. Still none blushing.

No sooner than I posted about none blushing, I got the first hint of blushing on 2 groups.

I took another count tonight. I have 7 plants in pots & tubs, 2 more in a mound in the back yard, and 2 backups in small pots not producing with a total of 9 plants, and 64 tomatoes.

What size pots do you have them planted in?

What size pots do you have them planted in?

I have a pair of plants in an 18 gallon recycling tub, 4 plants in 4 six gallon pots, one volunteer in an 18 gallon tub, 2 plants in a mound in the backyard that is a 30 year old mulch pile. My next head count will be my last because the tomatoes are finally beginning to blush.

This post was edited by garf on Wed, Feb 4, 15 at 13:04

Rather than risk the tomato being attacked by something, I went ahead and picked the first blushing tomato of the season. It will still be 2 or 3 days till it can be tasted. This ends the head counts with the final total at 72. Even one backup plant has babies.

The second tomato had blushed. That's all for now.

The second tomato has been eaten. Both passed the taste test. I will need to save seed from this plant for the next season.

I have picked the first tomato from Batch #2. I will pick them at first blush for a while so no creatures get them. Maybe later I will let them vine ripen. It measures 2 1/2" across. It will be around 3 more days till it can be tasted.

I tried to examine a pair of small tomatoes that looked close to ripe. They fell off into my hands. One had a fruitworm in it. That one will be a seed donor for next season. I bought a huge tomato from a produce store. I let it sit for a week on the window sill. I cut a center slice out of it for a hamburger and gave the rest to my wife. I saved some seed from it, so I should have some larger tomatoes next season.

Every few days I get one or 2 tomatoes. I have lost 2 so far to fruitworms. They will be seed donors for next season. I figure sooner or later I will get an avalanche of ripe tomatoes but I have gone to great lengths to stagger the ripening of the tomatoes.

Batch 4 which will be back up plants have been started and are doing well.

Some of batch 2 plants have bacterial spot. I don't want to spray them because I would need to wait a week to harvest anything.

They can't hide from me.

Here is my one and only fused blossom tomato this season. It is from Batch #2.

One batch 4 plant has been damaged. I think it's had it.

The plants are winding down, disease is setting in. I will try fertilizing them, but it is warming up, so might be nearing the end of the season. When the rains begin, I will pull the plants.

I found 2 big hornworms today. They had partially eaten some greenies. I really smeared those 2.

The fused blossom tomato has been cut in half and half eaten. It has been approved.

The batch 4 is down to 3 plants, doing well except for leaf miner.

I have seeds started for African Queen. I have been looking for something that can stand a Miami summer. With further research, this won't be it, but we'll see.

Can't wait for further updates Gary. Fun thread to read.

So far none of the african queen have sprouted. I haven't scored 0 for a very long time.

I spoke too soon. I have 1 sprout.

I now have 2 sprouts of the African queen.

Most of batches 1-3 had some sort of disease. 2 had to be pulled, the rest had to be severely trimmed. The pulled plants were replaced with batch 4 plants.

1 of the batch 3 plants had a good sucker at the base, so I cut away everything but the sucker.

I don't think this one from batch 2 is going to make it.