16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Consistently as in through out it's life span? None. As the plant ages and the circulatory system gets smaller and more diffuse the fruit size declines.
Consistently as in almost guaranteed to get a few really big fruit from the variety each year? Well Delicious once held the record but I don't knwo if that is still true. Big Zac is another often mentioned, Giant Belgium another.
linked several discussions about the question from over on the Giant Vegetables forum below. They have many more suggestions in them.
Dave
Here is a link that might be useful: Giant tomatoes discussions
>> I believe they came form the nursery already infected since I have not had any evidence of having it in my soil previously.
The University of Arizona says it's widespread in the soil, tomatoes or no tomatoes. Let's hope they're wrong.
Your pic shocked so many people, not from the wilt, but from the soil surface. You can tell there's a whole slew of die hard mulchers here! It really does help mitigate some of the harsh conditions in warm zones.
This post was edited by cold_weather_is_evil on Mon, May 19, 14 at 23:29
Hey Deeby,
It's probably too late now and BT would be your best immediate option. Although for next year as preventative maintenance:
Plant Petunias, Thyme and Borage around the garden liberally.. They are natural repellents to the hornworm... Dill is also an option but you have to be careful; Young dill will enhance health and growth, while mature dill actually stunts growth.. If you were to go with it you'd have to be sure to chop them before maturation.. With that being said, it'd probably be best to stick with the former recommendations..
-Mike
Oh Edie,
You mean that my friend's chickens were unusual in not eating the hornworms? I assumed that it was because they had dined on tomato foliage which is poisonous. My goldfish didn't like hornworms either when I threw them in the pond one year! Free food is free food. Why are they so picky? Sigh!
Linda
1 gallon pots should be fine. I would fertilize with something like Tomato-tone.
smithmal
Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato-tone
and last but not least: I plan on just stackin them behind the shed at summer's end.. That's their only down fall - not collapsible, but I have the space so it's no issue for me.. I think i'll eventually cut a small section of the lower horizontal wires just for easier access when applying compost teas etc...
We had some problems with blight in recent years and found that being more careful to rotate did seem to help. This year our main garden is getting a year of rest and we're planting in alternate areas--hoping that a year off for the main garden will be beneficial for next year.
Woodyswife, it depends on which disease(s) you refer to when you say blight b'c that word is used a lot to just indicate a sick tomato plant.
Most of the foliage disease ones caused by fungi and bacteria can exist in the soil, as shed from the plants, for many years,which is why I don't think just leaving an area for one year will help solve the problem/
Turning over the soil deeply to bury those spores and bacteria, as I posted above, can help.
Just my opinion (smile)
Carolyn
lindalana wrote:
> Daniel, am sorry for your seedling loss but hmm, never seen tomato seedling dropping dead from temps 55Fâ¦
Wellâ¦
55â F was measured in the garage, at 6 ft. high, were the thermometer was. I think at the level of the COLD concrete - were the trays were - the temperature was in upper 40s.
I am aware that in a GREENHOUSE - where you can easily control the temperature level - 55' F is no problem. But outside... imho, is a different story.
> or even drop in 20 degree temp difference.âÂÂ
Well, do you dare to take out your seedlings from inside 75â F to outside 55â F in the first few days of hardening off, and leave them there the whole day - like I left mine the whole night in the garage ? I DON'T... anymore !
> Must be some other cause.
What kind of other cause could be ? The seedlings were BEAUTIFUL the previous day(s) and dead the next day, when I took them out from the garageâ¦
I am big believer in cold treatment for seedlings right about at the stage when they put out first leaves. I guess this is why I neither grow my seedlings at 75F nor have problems with dropping 20 degrees in temps. Am sure that loss was dramatic and made you being very careful.
Dave and seysonn - thank you for the advice! You're right, I probably just need to chill out and be patient... it's just, even when they were all barely growing, the other two still even put out suckers that I had to pinch out, and this one isn't even doing that... but y'all are right... if it ain't broke, don't fix it?
seysonn, I believe I planted them April 20th or 27th - not sure which one, heh. The beds are a foot deep and they have good drainage... excellent drainage! Probably why we accidentally overwatered at the start.
Is there a length of time I should wait around for growth before I consider doing something to help out/that something else is wrong?
the other two still even put out suckers that I had to pinch out
It will shock many here but I'll let that pass.
Other than patience, like John said you can always try giving it a feeding and see what happens. As to length of time to wait - that all depends on how much it bugs you. It sure isn't worth losing sleep over so if patience or time is limited just pull it up and replace it now.
Dave
Adaptation is a mechanism to improve the chances to survive ( carry on the survival of the gene) A black rabbit cannot survive near the north pole. Also a white bear might die of hunger, To be white they have a better chance of survival. We are not talking about mutation, not even a major change. Polar bear is just a bear.... a Tomato adapted to Siberia is still a tomato. Call it NATURAL SELECTION or SURVIVAL OF THE FIT(to climatic conditions), it is the same.
Those tomatoes came out of South America and some ended up in Siberia and few learned how to cope and survive. That is what I mean by adaptation.
what size pot is ideal for this plant? how often do you guys water your tomatoes?
Since you don't know what the variety is there is no way to know how big it will get or what size pot is "ideal" so a lot of this will be guess work.
The minimum recommended size container is a 5 gallon bucket. Bigger is much better for the plant and less work caring for it. So get the biggest container you can afford to buy and fill with a good quality soil-less potting mix (no soil). Then transplant it. If it survives that, buy a big tomato cage and a 5' stake for the pot.
Watering is "as-the-plant-needs-it" which can mean every 3-4 days some places or often means daily in some hot climates, less often in other climates. Take that wood dowel in the pot and stick it in the new pot 6-8" deep and use it to check the moisture level at the root level to know when to water.
Buy some water-soluble fertilizer and feed it a 1/2 strength dose once every 7-10 days.
Good luck.
Dave
Really you should repot, but I hesitate if they were over a foot tall (leggy) b/c you could damage them in the process, best to just do it once (at transplant) than twice (repot and transplant a couple of weeks later). Best I can recommend at this point is to water sparingly, make sure they don't get soaked with rain, and try to harden off and get them in the ground in the next couple of weeks. When you plant, plant them deep again - they're not likely to have much of a root system so be careful taking them out of the containers, the soil is going to fall off of them.
I hope you have lots of drainage holes in the bottoms of those yogurt cups - if not, try to take a drill and put some in.
I will defer to Dave's experience - he may have a different opinion on the best approach. But you may find yourself buying new plants no matter what.
Whoa sorry I'm bit reading carefully on the phone. You reported when they were 3 inches tall not 13? When did you start them? I'd repot even if in individual cells if 6 packs or something about 2 to 3 inch diameter and 3 inches deep so you can fit them under lights and let them grow abut. Harden them off the end if May and plant after the 7th of June should be about right.
thanks jean and dave! it is in a 18" high raised bed, filled with native soil (sandy loam in the LA river floodplain) with lots of composted organic matter worked in before planting, open bottom to more native soil. hopefully stabilizing the water will help. san marzanos must be more sensitive to it - my sweet 100, sungold and first lady II so far are okay though in same conditions. (so far....knocking on wood...)
[quote]Just got an interesting reply from the seed seller.
"...the purple plums came originally from Windhorse farm in New Germany, just outside Bridgewater (Nova Scotia). My understanding was that they were heritage varieties that the Wentzell clan had been toying with for about 150 yrs, so there may be no real refernce for them...I can tell you what I know, they are about 2" in size deep purple/red flesh, great for sauces or slicing, rich flavour." [/quote]
I know this is an old thread, but I am hoping that the OP or someone else might be able to help me find seeds for this variety. I came across the thread while I was searching for Nova Scotia heirlooms today. I am actually descended from the Wentzell family and so would so love to be able to grow these tomatoes!