Growing Tomatoes

I always think the first tomatoes to ripen aren't as good. Very unscientific theory, but I find the ones that set fruit in cooler weather aren't up to full potential yet. That sungold had me wanting a ripe tomato! I have four on the counter that need a couple of days.....so it will be soon.

Jennie

Very nice looking container garden! I really like how they are out for aesthetic enjoyment as well. Thanks for sharing the pics. Looking forward to seeing your full size Sungold :)

Yeah they are awful. I had one groundhog take down 10 broccoli plants just as they were heading, in one sitting. Dug under a 6 foot high fence. They are major pests where I live, between them and the deer you really need a fort knox fence to grow anything.

Here's some more pictures.

Sweet Tangerine determinates (less than ideal sun)

Jet Star (less than ideal sun)

Bush Delicata on the right, Honey Bear Acorn (bush) on the left (the acorns definitely taste better out of the garden... wonderful nutty taste.)

Beets.. several are very ready to be picked.

Sugar Snap Peas not minding the heat one bit.. 7 feet tall.

Onions in the front, leeks in the back. The Walla Walla are bulbing up, not so sure about the Red Zepplin.. the Ringmaster whites I don't see, there were few in the Dixondale seedling pack and they were small.

I keep saying I will finish mulching next weekend... just can't seem to find the time. Soon those squashes and tomatoes are going to be very large and almost impossible to mulch and I am going to regret it when there are huge weeds.

Congratulations on having a garden again. I know how it is.

I misspoke before - Green Zebra is NOT a full size tomato at all (sorry, I have not grown it and was confusing it with others). It's salad size, 2-3 oz.

I looked in Carolyn's book "100 Heirlook Tomatoes for the American Garden" and she says: "indeterminate but compact habit." Perhaps this explains the confusion.

Anyway, it looks like you have plenty of time to ripen them. The top turns gold/orange when ripe.

Last year I grew GZ. They were small indets compared to other indets.
For sure need to stake or cage them.

Sey

The easiest way to reduce the problem is to plant sacrificial, unsupported, cherry tomato plants around your caged tomato plants. After the animals fill up on cherry tomatoes that are close to the ground, they don't bother with the caged tomatoes.

The eating pattern tells me that it is not the birds. Other those mentioned, how about rats ?

I suggest using a humane trap to catch them.

Sey

I wouldn't even try to separate them. I'd just slice out a size of that mix appropriate for the container you are going to use... transplant... then, with scissors, snip away at the base until you have one per container. During the transplant, allow some of that mix fall away, and as others have said, use a medium that fits your circumstance.

Yes, Azores is amazing place with amazing climate and unbelievably beautiful views that I never get tired of, especially good climate to north Europeans. I miss the Centigrade 30s though as I used to love 32C or 90F very much, but not at night. This is excellent sleeping climate here. I am amazed here I don't use neither heating nor air conditioning, just put a sweater on in "winter" on some nights and take it off during summer.

You're all helped me tremendously and I just made 6 small pots with one cherry tomato plant in it for growing. Now I suppose I should have some tomatoes in 3 months from now.

Separating the tiny seedlings was very easy. They are still too small to be entagled. I am used to grow palm tree seedlings and now I grow them here, but germinating palm tree seeds is not easy here as it is not hot enough, but I came up with ideas and waiting for the results, with some easy-to-germinate palms (Washingtonia filiferas) already germinated.

Thanks for suggesting Neves Azorean Red, I will try to find them, unless I already bought them, unmarked.

Once the tomatoes outgrow the half gallon pots they are in, I will probably skip the 10 gallon pots and just plant them into the ground, to avoid hunting for huge amount of potting soil bags. But I will try making one 10G pot, I think. In fact, most of my pots contain mostly stoney ground soil with some potting soil from bags topped on top. Even that potting soil is not perfect, with some mulch-like woods etc. that are not exactly aged.

Welcome to visit the Azores, you won't be disappointed. It has a very good aura (spirit) and people are pure. Any time of the year is fine, but summer is somehow warmer (65F to 78F but an occasional 80F in July and August). They call it European Hawaii for a good reason. There are direct flights from Boston, which takes 4 hours. Lisbon to Azores is a 2 hour flight.

"My sungold is producing ripe fruits now, but it's 6 feet tall."

Oh wow. Well that sure puts it into perspective! I'll wait to water (I have a gauge I can stick in which measures water). I'll have to look into a better medium for containers.

Thank you!

Nice that you have a watering gauge. If Gardener & Bloome brand is sold in your area, it will be at independent nurseries but not big box. Maybe try another nursery if one's convienient. I know your results have been so disappointing so far - here's hoping for the recovery of your plants!

I third : Pick them at color break.
as Dave said : the fruit gains nothing from the plant beyond that point anyway.

Ripening ( after certain stage) is an internal process in the fruit. it happens in a lot of fruits including tomatoes. At that stage the stem becomes woody and almost dry and you would need a sharp pruner/knife to cut it.

Sey

An alternate thought is, if you have a wildlife camera or know someone who hunts and can borrow one, you can see what critter you're dealing with. I bought one last year for $55 from Amazon when I lost my cat and wanted to put a camera on my cat trap. It's pretty cool - takes pictures in the dark and everything.

Jenn

rgreen48(6b)

Having enough water is important for those 'maters. This year I have been experimenting with a few different low tech or home made, watering delivery systems and someone gave me an olla which is an interesting garden watering item. Some are working out better then others. I'm always entertained by garden experiments, as long as they don't all fail...

I don't have historical pictures and all of my seedlings died this year, but 1884 has been my hands-down favorite heirloom, ever. Huge beefsteak, old fashioned tart tomato flavor. Prolific. If I could grow only one tomato, this would be it. That said, I am growing 15 tomatoes this year - 13 different OP varieties, 1 hybrid and no 1884. :-( But I am excited about the German Queen and German Johnson varieties that I am growing this year for the first time.

My wife's favorite is a tie between Cherokee Purple and Paul Robeson.

These are the varieties that I am growing for 2015:

- German Johnson
- German Queen
- Hillbilly
- Arkansas Traveler
- Ugly Ripe (2)
- Mule Team
- Boxcar Willie
- Cherokee Purple
- Cherokee Chocolate
- Jersey Devil
- San Marzano Redorta
- Mortgage Lifter
- Best Boy (hybrid)
- Pineapple

Yeah. Agree with Dave.
In my opinion, That plant probably won't flower and/or fruit in that condition.

Sey

Next year, look for Tiny Tim seeds. It can be grown in a styrofoam coffee cup and placed on a windowsill when producing. Tiny Tim has a good taste. Other dwarf cherry tomatoes taste terrible (Tumbling Tom, Red Robin, etc.). If you put Tiny Tim in a gallon pot, it gets to be about 18 inches tall, and produces quite a lot. In a coffee cup, it is only 6 inchrs tall and does not have that many tomatoes, but the little plant is covered. Unfortunately, it is determinant, so it stops producing after it gives you a windfall. It is also fussy about care. Wants daily watering and regular fertilizer. Does not tolerate full sun outside. Start the seeds yourself. Then send them to your "suburban place" when transplanted into their pots. When they start producing, put them on your windowsill, and you will have tomatoes to eat. I did that for years when I lived in an apartment.

Oh, Hudson, that tomato looks soooo good. Yum. Stuck my Anna Russian in a brown paper bag to speed along its ripening. Cannot wait. As an aside, I've been getting greenhouse tomatoes from the local Amish farmers, but they don't look that good either inside or out. I wonder why? Maybe they don't regulate temps enough, what with the no electricity thing (although the one I go to does use a generator for a fridge so he can sell eggs and butter. I've always wondered why that's OK).

The temperature in our GH is usually between 55 - 65 degrees F at night. There are some fluctuations below 55 degrees - but for just brief periods of a few hours of time.

caryltoo - I don't understand why a generator is OK either - is there an Amish Mafia? We may have the Amish to thank for Brandywine - so thanks to them for that!! I think zone 3 is ideal for a GH if used correctly and built with the right materials because of our cold climate. Not much we can do in the winter but March - November temperatures are manageable. Summer temperatures especially are not too hot with cool nights. Our GH was dubbed "The Magical GH" by one of our participants! I like that explanation the best!

Almost-ripe Brandywine... ahhh, must be nice... :)

Each of these plants has five or six big almost-red fruit on them, so I can't help but believe that
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Dan, those are mature / old plants. Yellowing lower leaves is a normal thing especially with dry and warm condition couple with being burdened with load of fruits. JMO

Sey

I agree with Jenn - Sey & Antmary - thanks for posting photos - your plants/tomatoes look great!!

Thanks, Jenn and Hudson.
My plants are in tip top shape, all loaded with buds and flower, w/ near perfect foliage in color and vigor . It is just fruit setting that is lagging behind. Part of this slow action in the garden is due to cool nights. The lows are around 53F. Even we get lows in 40s now and then.

Sey

Of the varieties in your list 3 of them ( black/brown) are noted for good flavore by many:
Black Krim
Cherokee Purple
Black cherry

Rutgers is a classic All American variety. I have grown it several years ago and growing one this year too.

The cherry varieties are among the popular ones too. I have grown Super 100 and Sun Gold. They are sweet but the texture is watery/juicy but sweet.
I stopped growing them for being too small. for me. I am growing bigger ones with more meat and better texture.YMMV

Sey

Well, it's true, most lists of tomatoes and their traits do not necessarily include texture. Sometimes, people will note that a variety is particularly soft or firm. Although it does not necessarily include texture information, this is a good resource to know about:

http://tatianastomatobase.com/wiki/Main_Page

But mostly I just wanted to point out that if you end up with tomatoes where you don't care for the texture, they will still make great sauce, soup, juice, and maybe dried tomatoes.

Soup is my absolute favorite thing to make from my own fresh tomatoes!

I probably did it wrong :( I just pulled back the weed fabric that I had used for planting last year, put down a layer of compost, put my seedlings (started indoors from some from the same seeds that I used last year, now I'm thinking that maybe they're contaminated) in and pulled the weed fabric back over them. They're watered every other day with a drip hose for 20 minutes every other day. I didn't start spraying till last week, when I noticed the damage.

<They're watered every other day with a drip hose for 20 minutes every other day. I didn't start spraying till last week, when I noticed the damage.>

All the other issues aside, please don't do that. That is called shallow watering and only creates shallow rooted, water dependent plants that never thrive. 1-1 1/2 inches of water per week delivered slowly at one time per week is more than enough in 9.9 out of 10 cases. Plants will not benefit from frequent shallow watering for brief periods of time under any conditions.

Dave