16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

My digital was at 39F at 6am. I'm in a valley with a large pond, so I assume that contributes to cold.

Have to go pull off the covering on 40 ground planted tomatoes now. I won't even begin with the peppers...

These last two weeks have given me such anxiety, with all the rain and erratic temps. At least the cabbages, lettuce, and radishes are in heaven.

Oh, yeah, frost pocket. Good luck!

Yes, you should have a light directly over them. An inexpensive fluorescent shop light works pretty well. However, leggy tomatoes can be planted deep or trenched.

Thanks. I will look into that if artificial lighting will work. I am definitely not going to feed my plants chemical fertilizers to make them presentable. I do want them to be healthy and I know the key is to make the soil healthy and to keep bugs off them. Tomatoes need a great deal of light too. If I can figure out how to put a light over the plants on the balcony, I will do that. Thanks again.

Seysonn, the reason that most tomatoes shipped in in the winter from FL and Mexico, etc. do not taste that great and are a pale pink instead of red is b/c they are picked green and then gassed with ethylene in huge chambers.

Ethylene is normally produced by the fruits in the ripening process, It's one reason that some folks still put fruits in paper bags and add either a cut apple or a banana, since they produce ethylene as well, and the paper bag allows for concentration of that gas.Same story for those who wrap unripened fruits in newspapers.

Most greenhouse tomatoes these days are grown hydroponially and many of them are darn good tasting. There's a hydroponic tomato place near me and their fruits are sold all over upstate NY and they take them to the Green Market in NYC as well

The first time I went there to see how the operation was run Phyllis asked if I smoked, I said yes I did, and she wouldn't let me in.LOL. I tried to tell her about TMV but made no progress.

I stopped smoking for a while, was let into several of the greenhouses and it was really interesting to see, and yes, the tomatoes they grow, special ones for hydroponic growing, tasted darn good.

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: Shushan tomatoes

Thanks for the explanation Carolyn but you've only further convinced me that vine ripened are better tasting. A neighbor farmer always picks his tomatoes pink so they have fewer blemishes but his sales have dropped over the years because the consumers can definately tell the difference. Some have told me that they taste like gased tomatoes (which he doesn't); others say the flavor is just lacking.

I'll even go one step further against the lacking scientific evidence in the complex flavor of tomatoes in stating that tomatoes ripening in cooler Autumn weather have poorer flavor profile and those tomatoes found under the tangle of vegetation that never develop more than a pink color take on the musty rotten flavor. There are some who will swear that the imitation flavor additives taste better than the real thing but common sense tells us better.

From what I can tell from your photos the new growth looks healthy, correct? These older leaves are showing some signs of environmental stress and nutrient deficiency that can be caused by several issues including the excess rain which means - if nothing else - they need feeding.

The problem with using organic fertilizers in containers is that there is no active soil food web developed in the container to convert the dry fertilizers to useable nutrients for the plants. Liquid organics, ones that can be suspended in water, are the quick fix in that case. Things like fish and kelp emulsions and even epsom salts for magnesium to eliminate the yellowing.

The environmental issues should disappear as the plant settles in and matures although you may lose the damaged lower leaves.

For next year I would suggest planting them much deeper as there is a great deal of leggy stem exposed that may weaken as the plant grows. Are they getting enough sun?

Dave

Thank you for the quick and informative reply. I will definitely get some liquid organics on them and see how they respond. This was my first shot at starting from seeds (which I pulled from a great tomato appetizer at a restaurant last fall). For next year, I think my light/heat set-up needs some work so I don't get that leggy stem you mentioned. I suppose I could try to reset them a bit deeper, but that wouldn't be wise at this point, right? Sun in our yard is a problem. Right now they get sun for about 10 hours a day. That will go down a bit as the trees get some more leaves.

A successful tomato is like a successful party. Prepare the best you can let nature take it's course. Lately my best trick is to make sure the plant is fed properly. In past years I've had a bias toward underfertilizing. Not this year. My plants are dark green with bright yellow blossoms, and they look really healthy. Also spray fungicide early rather than after it's too late.

I'm a gifter... always sharing good tom crops with friends and neighbors.
In season around NYC and NJ, the farm stand toms can be very good and abundant.

Store bought, hot house grown, picked early and green, varieties grown for transport and shelf-life, are bland and watery. Companions for iceberg and Diner salads...bottled blue cheese dressing or 'ranch'.
-the exception being the Cumato i had this past snowy January when my local market had them on sale for 4 lbs for 5$. A winter treat.

Finding what does well in your healthy soil and climate/zone, will give exceptional flavor picked just shy of ripe. Some i eat in the garden as snacking, ripe on the vine...others are counter ripened if a heavy rain is expected....
Anna Russian here may not be the same there. I grow many varieties not knowing what my season may be like. My first tray of starts is a mixed variety as is the second...the third tray is all oxhearts from TGS (tomato growers supply)...a row of each. They consistently give a good crop of meaty toms without trouble and great flavor. Sweet and tart.

A local small garden center can give great advice as to what grows best in your climate and soil as well as a neighbor or friend...
Buying a few healthy starts locally is a good beginning.

Wow, giant tomatoes! Are you planning on entering them in a fair?

I'm surprised it was that hot in PA already. It was supposed to get to 83 here on Memorial Day, it was more like 75. Only 54 now, drizzling, I did go out and start building some raised beds but it's miserable. Came in to charge cordless drills/drivers since both are DEAD. Not getting much done today I'm afraid.

I am hoping to break the world record. lol.

I thought the season for growing tomatoes in FL was in the winter.

I'll need to figure this out because we'll most likely be moving down there in a couple of years.

I couldn't find the bag I bought of soil go figure. I picked up a fertilizer you mix with water today to see if that helps
I started growing them end of March so it's probably been around 2 months that the plants have been growing.

Here's the part where it gets junky: Could I cover part of the tomato cages with a colored (not black, not clear) plastic bag to make it so the seedlings get morning sun?

Any fabric that lets air through it while still protecting them from the wind and providing some shade will work much better than plastic unless cold temps are still a problem for some reason.

Dave

Thank you so much for your responses!

Linda, I love the idea of using plant pots and I happen to have some extras laying around the potting shed that I could use for this!

Deer eating them is unlikely but not impossible. I was actually wondering if I should do the cayenne and water spray to keep them from being delicious until they're bigger.

Dave, I'm planning on the plastic bags being just on the tops of the tomato cages to shade them from the hottest sun right now, sort of like a little parasol or something. :) I have some black gardening fabric, but I was afraid that the black would make it too hot under the cover, so that was why I was thinking I'd do the plastic bags.

I'll get them out in the garden probably tonight and get all my stuff rigged up and if I remember I'll take a picture so I can show you my handiwork. :)

Thanks again for your responses!

Jessica

another photo. No stem or petiole lesions-yet.

Most of the images show water shortage. Not disease.

Perhaps occurred suddenly, as in windy; extreme high temps that burst in on a hot spell; very low humidity; too small a pot (are they in pots?)

Splitting or cracking is most often caused by extremes of moisture from watering or rain. During a dry period the fruit tends to shrink and then comes a period of heavy rain or over-watering and the fruit swells and splits the skin. Some varieties - the thinner skin varieties - are more prone to it than others.

Other causes can be a period of rapid growth or rapid changes in temps.

There are 2 types of splitting/cracking: a) Concentric cracking, which is a splitting of the epidermis in circular patterns around the stem scar and (b) Radial cracking which is a splitting of the epidermis from the stem scar towards the blossom end as in your photos.

Usually the damage will scar over but if any molds or fungus begin to grow in the crack pitch them.

You can check out the link below for more info on these and the other deformity issues with tomatoes like zippering and catfacing.

Dave

Here is a link that might be useful: Physiological, Nutritional, and Other Disorders of Tomato Fruit

Thank you very much! We have had really hot weather last week in upper 80's and a few heavy thunserstorms which I suspect may have caused this based on your response. I will leave them alone and hope they heal over! Thanks!

YouTube sure is a mixed bag. I was just watching Utah Extension on how to trellis cucumbers, which I trust, but there are a lot of people who will show you a "novel" start to something and no follow-up, which I trust less. How did it work out? They were never heard from again. :-/

The easiest way to get started from scratch when you have no working knowledge of it is to either (a) just buy a cheap system at HD and experiment with it until you get a handle on the set-up or (b) draw up a diagram of your container layout with sizes and type of plants marked on it, the distance to your water supply indicated, and any other concerns you have.

If you go with (b) then call/fax it to Dripworks (other suppliers probably provide the same service too I don't know) and ask them to you work you up an estimate of what you would need for a basic system for that layout. Be sure to ask them if you will need a backbone (bigger supply tubing) for your set-up as it depends on the number of containers and allows for greater expansion down the line.

They will gladly answer any questions, tell you which drippers they would recommend and how many for each container, the order the containers need to be in for single line supply or multiple line supply, and will even assemble some of the components for you before shipping. They can also advise you via phone on any set-up or maintinence issues.

Dave

Might the question be, is flavored coffee ok for you? :-)

Might the question be, is flavored coffee ok for you? :-)

True but more relevant is do coffee grounds of any kind do anything for tomatoes?

Since there is lots of scientific testing and anecdotal evidence to the contrary I wouldn't worry about whether they were flavored or not. I'd just add them to the compost pile where they can actually have some benefit.

Dave

Mike, if you click on my user name you'll see a bit about me. and that includes where I taught Soil Microbiology and so much more, after leaving teaching med students.

I've been reading/posting online since 1982 at various message sites and researching many many topics through the years.

I was helping my dad in the tomato fields when I was maybe 5-7 years old, and have grown tomatoes wherever I was and moved back East in 1982 when I had all the space I needed to grow whatever I wanted.

So I've been up close and personal with tomatoes for many years. I'll be 75 in June. been retired since 1999 and to date have grown about 4,000 varieties.

I severed all four quads in my right leg in 2004 and since then have not been able to do my own growing b/ I've had to use a walker. But I make an annual seed offer elsewhere and my job is to find seed of varieties that will be new to all or most and I have several folks who do the seed production for me for that seed offer as well as my SSE listings, although 2014 is the last time I'll be doing that. And there are several owners of commercial sites who also donate seeds and I do send seeds for trial to the owners of seed companies that I[ve known for a long time.

A few varieties are still grown here at home, cared for by Freda who does all my cleaning, gardening, etc and here's the few that will be grown here this season:

1. Sugar Giant- 3 of 4 germinated
2. Sweet Ozark Orange- 3 of 4 germinated
3. Black Opal- 3 of 4
4. Moms Heart- 4 of 4
5. Purple Bumble Bee- 4 of 5
6. Emerald Pear- 5 of 5
7. Pink Bumble Bee- 2 of 7
8. Iceberg- 1 of 5
9. Casino Chip- 7 of 8
10.Stoinas Bulgareia- 4 of 4
11. Domac- 2 of 4
12. Georges Giant- 3 of 4
13.Yoders Red Beefsteak- 2 of 4
14. Michaela's Pink- 4 of 4

The above are being grown for me by a local man whom I've been mentoring. A few of the names he misspelled and there are varieties there from Romania, Russia, Slovenia, Italy and other countries, but heavy on the small snacking ones since I can't get out to where they are to harvest, Freda has to do that for me.

Carolyn, who has many wonderful friends via her SSE listings since about 1990 and has never thrown out any of the saved seed, and also has made lots of friends from many countries as well. Seeing pictures of their gardens, hearing about the foods they like, what they like to grow, etc, has been just great.

Carolyn,

Your life story is inspirational! I too was helping my dad in the garden when young, but on a much smaller scale. I'm so sorry for your current medical situation and I have the highest wishes for your speedy recovery if at all possible!

Geez if we could sit down over a cup of coffee I think I could pick your brain for hours! lol =)
Those are some beautiful varieties you're working with; I haven't had the pleasure of growing any of those just yet.

Hope to speak again soon; I will be sure to heed any advice you may have for me in the future!