16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

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

Carolyn, that book is my favorite too. The pictures never fail to captivate.

OnT - I would go deep, but here dry heat is the threat.

(Per our favorite book, a mature plant will have roots all over the place. In warm soil probably not a big deal either way.)

This post was edited by johns.coastal.patio on Mon, May 26, 14 at 14:37

Yeah I get what you are trying to imply about the adventitious roots that develop when the plants are trenched in - that they are supposedly resistant to work or exertion; disposed to idleness. 2. Slow-moving; sluggish, etc.

But since none of that is true anyway then I suppose it doesn't matter if you don't explain why you are making that claim.

Dave

The original poster said Big Beef which is an indeterminate hybrid.

I too would get it planted ASAP. If you are going to grow it in a pot, which I don't know, then most indeterminates need at least a 10 gal pot and then very sturdy support, not that smaller ringed one that you show in the picture.

Hope that helps,

Carolyn

For that pot size I have 3 of them. One is Bush Goliath, Two are Husky Cherry Red. I saw a few on the shelf at HD that were Heat Master plants. I did those in ground last year. While they did survive the heat. The fruit set did not happen until fall.

Note I had a terrible time last year. I am not placing blame on any of the plants I planted last year. It was just too late when I did get plants in the ground that the weather did not destroy. (2 late rain storms that turned to ice, and froze the ground killing everything. Then 4 hail storms in 6 weeks that destroyed what I replanted.)

For the pot you could plant a bush type that would do just fine in it. The Husky Cherry Red does fine in one. I have taken over a pound of cherry tomatoes off of the one I have, and it is still putting more off. Bush Goliath gives nice sized fruit for such a small plant. Most are near to baseball sized. Some a bit larger. Also Patio will do well in the 3 gal container as well.

So this was not really a question about using the same container second year.

Fireduck, I never say "don't ever" to anyone, but you say "don't ever" for things that work very well for me. Just so you know.

Top growth looks good. I snip off lower leaves that are touching the ground. Mulch with a light airy straw. They should recover if you get those leaves off the wet ground...
not sure where in the zone you are but on the east coast we have been soaked for days.
like mentioned above, they need to get used to where they are if not properly hardened off...just an adjustment time is needed and another week of patience.
I've never ordered tom starts but must be such different growing conditions than where you are...

Thanks for the help! I trimmed off the damaged leaves, so they're looking leggy but better. Guess I need to harden off differently if I buy from this source again.

Cheers!

It is true that genetic of a variety determines fruit size, but there can be a lot of inconsistency in size due to the number of fruits growing all at the same time with a crowded foliage. So then reducing the burden on the plant may result in bigger fruits. People who grow tomatoes for championship do it all the time.
But To me even small fruit is fruit too. After all you cut them up when you use them.

There are folks who grow varieties for competition and they have their tricks, like using only fused blossoms, aka megablooms, and thinning out fruits, and more, and then there are most home growers who don't grow for competion who say thay want larger fruits.

In which case I agree with Dave,that if you want bigger fruits choose a variety that has bigger fruits.

Suckers. aka lateral branches, do not suck energy from the plant so that doesn't help to take them off for larger fruits,it just means less fruits on the plant since lateral branches are very productive as to setting fruits.

Let's say you have something like Rutgers, a medium sized red, and you want something larger, then think about Coustralee, Zogola, for red ones, maybe Omar's Lebanese or Large Pink Bulgarian for a pink one,justto give a couple of examples.

Carolyn

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I did the bacterial wilt test, and it doesn't seem to be that (can't see any white stuff coming out of three stems I tried). I did speak to a local horticulturist who really does believe it is some sort of wilt. She recommended heavy amendments for next year. This makes sense to improve the soil, but will it really do anything to kill the cause?

I also have a bigger issue, I think. I built a teepee trellis in this area and put it in to the ground. Due to the way I built it, there is no good way to get in to amend the soil, till it up, etc. I'm afraid that I'm going to have to take down the trellis this fall :-(

Live and learn........

I'm glad that it doesn't appear to be Bacterial Wilt,

But in talking with your local person did she or he suggest physiological Leaf Roll or did you mention it.

The word WILT is just a generic word and there can be many reasons/causes of why plants will wilt, but I don't see amending the soil to be one of them that will either prevent or cure WILT, IMO, for any reason.

Carolyn