16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

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!

Oh, what happened to my botany knowledge? Of course! the seedlings have 2 parents, so with the other tomato varieties only 4-8 ft. away from the Brandywine (don't know specifics of cultivar; bought the seedlings at a local plant & flower store), the chances are good that the babies are all a mix. Right now the 3 inch high seedlings don't have typical potato-leaf foliage. I'll save a couple and plant them at the end of the newly located tomato bed, and we'll see.

Thanks for your advice.

Carol

Carol, if some of your volunteers are Bandywines, then they are OP and stable and don't have two parents.

But if some of your volunteers turn out not to look and walk and talk as a true Brandywine would, then it resulted from X pollination and would indeed have two parents.

Without knowing if your original plant called Brandywine was true Brandywine with PL foliage or Red Brandywine,which has RL foliage, I guess you are in for a mystery. ( smile)

Let us know how it all turns out.

Carolyn

jen...back to containers. Make sure you have a free-draining potting mix. This is most important. I do all container planting for my maters...and have good success. More sun the better. Bigger pots are better. Five gallon buckets work (need drainage holes). I have 15 gal nursery pots (not really 15 gallons of water size). My 20 gallon "Brute" trash cans (plastic) are really perfect for any tomato plant. Frequent low-dose fertilizing is essential for container plantings. Go for it!

While probably not available as a plant in your area, I would recommend Polbig as a container tomato. They are incredible short, 2.5 to 3 feet tall and they crank out tons of tomatoes. It is an early variety. I have over 100 of them planted in my high tunnel for early tomatoes. They produce all season long for me in the tunnel, not sure what they would do in a pot? Based on their size, I have sold plants to people who were looking for a tomato to plant in a pot. When it comes to harvest time, I crawl on my hands and knees 200 feet each time. If not, you will miss the real low ones!

Jay

Sounds like Colorado Potato Beetle larvae, and if it is they are very bad critters. They can eat that plant down quickly. Pick them off and smash them or put them in a cup with alcohol or nail polish remover. Bt does a number on them and not a bad thing to have around.

Awww, no sock hops in your garden Lucille? Better change the records in the jukebox. :)

First thing I thought of given the color was squash bug nymphs but I don't think I have ever seen them on the tomato plants unless the squash was right next to them. Just a guess.

Dave