Nice healthy plants! Mine are late this year, only have a few cherry tomatoes and some Big Beef forming...the rest are blooming.

I wonder if your kumato is an off-type? I bought some from the grocery store and saved seed to try next year...yours looks like a grape tomato or small plum type...not the regular round shape of kumato. It will be interesting to see the colour when ripe.

Thanks Donna.

Kumato is developed for the big greenhouse growers. And I believe it grows in big clusters, like many greenhouse varieties, Of course it looks like grape tomatoes at this stage but I like to believe that they will get much bigger. The store sold ones are maybe about 3 to 4 oz. So kumato is not a big tomato.

OTOH, I am not sure how it will turn out to be. I should be able to find out in about a month or so.

Apicture from the net.

Seysonn,
Can you go around your area and see what other gardeners are experiencing in regards to when they are picking their first tomatoes.
I ask, because I know that you planted your plants out in the garden way earlier than most. Comparing your results with your "neighbors" is the only way to tell if what you did is resulting in an earlier crop.

Thanks for sharing. Your plants, tomatoes and pictures look very good, especially those cherry tomatoes.

We here at Angel Field Heirloom Tomatoes pray that everyone support your local farmers, especially those who grow Historical Fruit & Vegetable like we do. Heirloom Fruit & Vegetables have thin skin, but more nutritional value than hybridize produce. Its hard work growing historical tomatoes & vegetables: but we love it., Amen!!!!!!

Farmer Joyce Beggs

We planted 2 types of tomatoes in April and only the cherry are turning red on the vine. The other (believe its a regular table type of tomato) is not producing as well and the fruit is not turning red on the vine. Is it our unusually wet, cool summer or is more "TLC" needed?

Seysonn, congratulations on your tomatoes! very healthy plants and you are going to have a good harvest.

Silvia

Hello Glo407

If your plants are healthy like the pictures above, your tomatoes are just getting bigger and will start turning rip very soon. Once you see coloration on the bottom of your tomatoes you can pull them and display them on your table for a wonderful center piece and conversation.

Thanks silvia . Planting the the second round yet ?

This has been an exceptionally warm July up until 2 days ago. We had temps in high 80s and low 90s for 2 weeks. Normally 85F is the high limit here in PNW.

About Early Planting:

Any day of early planting here in PNW counts, because the weather stays lingering cool ( Low 53 to High 73F) til almost July. In some place , even in lower zones 6, 5, 4 , summer kicks off real warm starting late May. So in those climates starting too early will make no significant difference in terms of getting the first ripe tomato. But not here.

My plant are set to produce. Most of them have lots of fruits. My Early choices have been slowly giving ripe tomatoes since July 8 and more are ready to join in, like Stupice, Legend, Early Treat, Silvery Fir Tree.

Have a Good Season, Ye'all !
And lets see whats happening in your garden.

Congrats on your very healthy looking plants! Must be something you doing right!
hmm, that kumato does look like grape cherry, I wonder if it going to turn to round balls...

Thanks linda,

I started with well prepared and amended beds, supplemented with a little slow release fertilizer, wit calcium and magnesium.
I also fertilize with liquid ones ( @ 1/3 to 1/2 strength ) every other week or so. I try to read my plants in terms of how much nitrogen they are getting. Since I am using 3 - 1 - 2 ratio fertilizers, the P and K should be in control too.

About Kumato : They sure look like grape so far. But they are growing fast. They might turn out plum shape. That is ok with me, as long as they taste good.

In all my years of tomato growing, I have never had tomatoes change shape...i.e. start out oval and mature to round...they always pretty much stay the same shape only they grow bigger. I do have a kumato that I am starting from seed this year but I doubt there is enough time to produce any fruit...I know of one other person who has grown it and she said it comes true for her.

Probably you are right, Donna. I am pretty sure the tomatoes that I bought were not grape shape. Maybe they were slightly plum shaped !?. Below is an internet picture showing what I got back then.

^ Yeah, those look like the ones I bought except mine were a little bigger, only three tomatoes in the paper tray pack. It will be an interesting experiment no matter what you get.

Seysonn, those same looking Kumato tomatoes were for sale at the local store and I bought them but I think that they did not sell well because I have not seen them for sale again.

Someone gave me seeds that said Kumato but they were huge green and black sort of, very good! I have not grow them again because I don't think that I will get the same results. And yes! it is time for me to start my tomato seeds to be planted in the fall.

Silvia

Seyson,
You spent weeks back in the early Spring touting how advantageous your planting method was, because you had a 5 or 6 week head start on the traditional plant out date. You went on and on about it, so I am genuinely asking if you can now document that you are getting fruit significantly earlier than your neighbors who planted out at about the traditional time. For someone as enthusiastic about tomato growing, you can't tell me that you have not compared your production and timing to others in your area.
It sure would be nice to have some sort of conclusion as to whether or not your strategy produced a very early tomato crop.
Your plants do look fairly disease free.

You spent weeks back in the early Spring touting how advantageous your planting method was, because you had a 5 or 6 week head start on the traditional plant out date.

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

That is true.
I did a combination of things to extend my season. And I got some results. I picked my first ripe fruit on July 8th. And so far have harvested 6 plus some cherry.

Although I pushed my season, but you have to understand the the nature of PNW climate, Here in Sammamish, WA. Still our night low are 53F to 56F. And highs are in 66F to 77F range. This is July, the hottest month of summer !!!. Now imagine how it was back in April, May and june. If you go and read about tomatoes growing you will be told that tomato will not thrive when lows are under 60F. Which is WRONG but it does not help a lot either.

So as I have said, in certain zones when the summer heat kicks in, those extra early planting days and weeks don't make a big difference BUT here in PNW everyday counts. The things are on a very low gear and turtle speed.

So all in all I am happy with my results. I will do it again next season. There are things about this climate that nobody can do anything about it.

Picked my first biguns today, Siletz about 8 oz. and Stupice, both planted May 11th. Buying LED grow lights for next season to start them off earlier, hopefully eating beefsteaks much earlier.

seysonn,

How did things proceed with your Kumato plantings? Very interested in hearing more about your experience.

Thanks,

smithmal

Smithmal,

I must have planted the wrong seeds What I was thinking as KUMATO, turned out to be YELLOW GRAPE. My mistake.
I also had yellow grape seeds from heirloom tomatoes.

The season started OK (Early July) and got into a nice peak in August. Now it is on the down slide and the weather looks like early - mid July. Not bad. I am harvestin more now than any time before in the season because my LATE varieties are ripening .

Here is how our weather looks like these days.

Still nice in Long Island (NY)...

Haven't had a rain-free day in the last 10. The next 10 forecasted of all rain, except tomorrow (It will rain, though). My night time low tomorrow higher than Daniel's L.I. highs for the next 9 days, and too high to set my tomatoes ;-(

Daniel and PC
You have almost perfect tomato temperature. We are doing fine here too but out lows are way down ; 47F to 49F

seysonn, PC in Florida has PERFECT temperature - with mid / upper 80s. Me, with low / mid 70s, I'm just ok - for this period of the year.

Yeah Daniel. That is fine for this time of the season.
Our weather is almost like yours with ONE exception: Our lows are about 4F lower than yours, in average.

Amazing late summer here.

LOL, it' always grows greener on the other side of the fence. My plants' leaves have been wet for 10 days straight from rain and 85%+ humidity practically 24/7. But in one week this place should really be hitting its sweet spot.

The night-time temperatures are far from perfect since the plants are in fruit setting mode, and not late season grow mode. In a week though night temperatures will drop below 75F and if it stops raining weather will be perfect for the plants that survived the great deluge. Next time under shelter!

69' F highest today Saturday, September 13, 2014, Long Island (NY),

First day with highest in the 60s.

Yeah . It cools off a bit when it is rainy, here too.
We have 70F in the forecast down the road.
Fall is inevitable.

Whatever I picked today was cooked up into Chili & Spaghetti Sauce.