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Tomato Question

sunnyside1
10 years ago

For the last three or so years, two (cherry-type) tomatoes have produced wonderfully. They were a Sun Gold type and Sweet 100. Bought them both those years at Joplin Greenhouse.

This year, the yield was not even average. Did anyone else experience a lack of vigor in their cherry-types?
Sunny

Comments (11)

  • helenh
    10 years ago

    You don't have Matt's Wild Cherry for sure. It is a tiny little thing and bright red that replants itself and takes care of itself.

    My normal sized cherry tomatoes grew up in Bermuda grass because I put them on the edge. I am not a cherry tomato person.

  • rockwhisperer OK zone 6A
    10 years ago

    I grew Reisentraub this year for the first time so I don't have a past experience to compare it to but it was advertised as a vigorous, heavy bearer and it was neither. But none of my tomatoes did very well this year. Last year I would've had a big harvest if it had not gotten so hot so soon. They were literally boiling under their skins.

    I'm not a big cherry tomato fan, I was expecting the Reisentraub to be bigger. I've grown black cherry, sweet 100, and Tess' Land Race. The latter were so small they just became too much trouble to pick and the birds and chickens got most of them. I didn't really intend to bother with cherry tomatoes again.

  • helenh
    10 years ago

    If you plant Matt's Wild Cherry you will have them even if you don't plant them. You can cut them by the spray and then snip off any that aren't ripe with a scissors. They are pretty. I like bigger tomatoes that you can slice and eat with a bit of onion and salt and pepper. For popping in your mouth in the garden tiny Matt's is pretty good.

  • sunnyside1
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Well, thank you, ladies. I grow the cherries mostly for my gchildren, who never seem to get enough of them.
    Sunny

  • ceresone
    10 years ago

    My Reisentraub (first year) grew and produced more than any other. About silver dollar sized.

  • sunnyside1
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I grew one Arkansas Traveler tom this year for the first time. Have seen them for sale for years and years.

    They turned out about half dollar size, and mine was not terribly tasty. I probably will not have them back, as the big Brandywines taste better and are more prolific. I should have grown Mortgage Lifter, as I have never grown that, either.

    I'll have to try Reisentraub next season, Glenda. Also, please be sure to let us know when you start your tomatoes, because this is my year to learn to grow from heirloom seed.
    Sunny

  • pauln
    10 years ago

    I grew Mortgage Lifters this year, and it was the perfect tomato - huge, juicy, deep flavor. They are not the most prolific (most large tomatoes aren't with the exception of Amana Orange). I've grown Arkansas Travelers, and they do OK, but they're not my favorites. They do hold up pretty well after picking though.

    I'm in a community garden, and have grown heirlooms in the same plot for the past two summers. Heirlooms are notorious about being suseptable to diseases, and they were much worse this year. I may have to grow hybrids for the next year or two in hopes that the diseases die out in the soil.

  • helenh
    10 years ago

    I complain and complain about no rain but I have more foliage disease and rots when it rains.

  • regencylass
    10 years ago

    I ended up with a glut of cherry tomatoes from my Riesentraube and Fox Cherry vines. The Sweetie didn't do too well, but that's simply because I planted it in a terracotta pot and forgot to water it most days (oops!), however I did manage to grow just enough to save a nice batch of seed from, so I'm not too bummed out about it.

  • rockwhisperer OK zone 6A
    10 years ago

    I like to plant things in the same place year after year but I know it's not good to do that, so I try to rotate and it seems like it kind of throws my planning off. I'm planning this year to plant hairy vetch in with my tomatoes -- sow a few seed in the soil around the tomato plant when I transplant it into its permanent place. I have read that the vetch will add nitrogen back into the soil and eliminate the risk of nematodes and what have you. Apparently it doesn't grow very tall so lives happily in the canopy of the tomato plants, holds its own with weeds and helps hold the moisture in the soil. Well, time will tell.

  • sunnyside1
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    It's A Good Thing to be thinking about growing tomatoes when freezing mix is expected tonight. Bright sun, the smell of hot petunias (I never get enough of that -- it's so distinctive and so Summer) barefoot in the grass, tomatoes hanging on the vines in all states of ripening. Heaven.

    Hard to wait for it. If we didn't have something to do, something to love, and something to look forward to, I think life would be very sad, indeed.

    Be careful, everyone --
    Sunny

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