16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
>> How often do I water them now that its turning summer (its hot where
>> I am (florida))?
Just to illustrate that there are no hard and fast rules for tomatoes, I live in climate sorta similar to Florida, except it's dry (we get as much rain in a year as you get in a wet two days) and the temperature swings are larger because of that dryness. I water toms on a slow auto drip every single day. Here, it works but in many other parts of the world it would be a bad idea.
And take the "days until harvest" numbers with a BIG grain of salt. The numbers have some hype built in. Again, your climate and techniques dictate reality. Wing it!
I'll stick with the racoon part of the question since the answers to all your other questions are found in many, many of the existing discussions here - lots of homework reading to do including all the FAQs here that cover all the basics. For example just type 'cages or stakes' in the search engine at the bottom of the page or 'watering'.
But racoons I deal with weekly. Electrical fencing is ideal of course. If that is out regular fencing is better than nothing especially if it is lose, floppy, and angled out. The repellents work but have to be applied regularly and after every rain. I find coyote urine to be the most effective. Life trapping and relocating is very effective - Have A Heart traps. And if you are out in the country, a .22 works too.
Dave
On Cherry Tomatoes:
I have several SUNGOLDS that I have started from seed. Today I was at Fred Myers Garden center They have Sun Sugar. The price @ $1.99. was right for a nice 6" sturdy plant, BUT:
I realy do not have more garden space. Is Sun Sugar any better than Sungold ? If YES, I might squeeze one some place.
They had so many different nice varieties That I would've liked to grow, if I had space : LIKE. Anna Russina, Caspian Pink, Black from Tula, Indigo Rose, Red Zebra, Ananas Noir, Juliet, Jet Star, German Johnson, Amish paste, Kellog BeefSteak ... and few more.They all were from another grower, NOT Bonnie
So what do you think about Sun Sugar ?
Well, I can't be certain until seeing the fruit. :)
But the store calls it "Golden Sweet Cherry" and the picture that the store put on top of the shelf is of yellow cherry tomatoes (spherical, not elongated) as pictured in the Johnny's Seeds webpage.
The store has a picture and a brief description of each of the tomato varieties that they sell. I recall that the description for this variety mentions something about the tomato being developed at some research center called the "Week Center" or something like that.
I think, one can only tell if you have over fertilized with "N". And its effect is very dark green foliage. I have no idea how to figure out if you have over fertilized with P and K.. But looking at the picture, I don't think that plant is over fertilized.
I could be wrong.
This post was edited by seysonn on Wed, May 7, 14 at 2:20
I have come to think that growing in peat pots requires special conditions, like a greenhouse with sprinklers system, high humidity and GOOD air circulation system. It is no an accident that growers like BONNIE grow an sell everything in peat pots.
About RE potting:
When it is done, it will produce a period of disturbance (if not shock) . Then It will take upward of a week for the root system to grow in the new medium and expand. So if I was going to plant out within 10 days in the final destination, I would not re pot
I ended up up potting this weekend because after talking to many experienced gardeners in the area, I will likely wait another 3 weeks to transplant out. They had nice large root balls in the peat pots so hopefully they will do ok. I potted them deeper as well. Thanks for all the advice!
I went through something similar several years back. It was what convinced me once and for all to plant in raised rows.
Survival rate for me was approx. 80% of the 250 plants i had out at the time so the odds are in your favor. But you will lose some plants so be prepared to replace them.
Time allowed to see if they survive is as much as you can allow for, 8-10 days minimum if possible will give you the answer.
But one thing I fond that does help - depending on equipment you have available and how quickly the surrounding soil dries enough to work with - is to hill up around the plant and bury any and all exposed stem. New roots will develop all along that buried stem quickly and offset much if not all the damaged roots in the deep wet soil.
It is relatively easy to do with a furrow attachment or spaced harrow if you have one. If you have to do it by hand then focus on the varieties you most need to save.
Hope this helps and I wish you good luck.
Dave
When we moved into our new house 5 years ago I planted some tomatoes in an area that that poor drainage. Unfortunately in my case the area never dried out and every time it rained it just stayed wet. Fortunately there were only a few plants in the really wet area, but they didn't survive and were severely stunted. The time to do something is now......if possible.
To keep potting mix from escaping out those large drainholes, rather than use gravel -- which actually causes drainage problems -- here are some other options:
= Buy a roll of fiberglass drywall tape and put a few square inches of that over the holes. The roll I bought is adhesive-backed.
= Go to a crafts or fabric store and buy a sheet of plastic embroidery canvas. Cut a square a couple of inches wider than the hole and set it above the hole. (Or if you're worried about the canvas moving when you put the mix in, use a bit of masking tape to fasten it where you want it.)
The largest plants are Indeterminates (aka "vine types"). Shorter are Determinates (aka "bush types"). Even smaller are Dwarfs; some of these are "tree types" and need little support; the dwarfs I've grown have been happy in 5 gallon containers.
Whatever and wherever you grow, use mulch around your plants.
I am going to be the oddball for suggestions on this one.
For your zone, and the heat that is coming on I would advise to buy the large plant in the container with the basket on the container. Price is somewhere in the area of $15 add a box of MG Tomato fertilizer you are set for the year. The Bonnie Plants Bush Goliath is a good one. It will bear a large number of slicer sized tomatoes from a compact plant.
Also when the season ends you keep the planter for use next season. My dad grew the Patio type from Bonnie last year. It did great even in his shaded yard getting only 4 hours of direct sunlight. It was giving off a constant supply of small slicer sized tomatoes all summer.
I started with a Bush Goliath in the planter. It was $14.95. Due to my wife putting it on top of the picnic table, and 40+ MPH wind knocking it off, and rolling it across the yard I had to plant it in the ground. In the 6 or so weeks since then it survived a hail storm, and 3 freezes. (Note I covered it up when it froze.) It has more fruits than I care to try to count set, and tons of blooms opened up every day I check it.
In the planter I replaced the Goliath with a Husky Cherry red. It has been heavily pruned by a hail storm, and is fruiting like crazy. I do not know how many of the cherries my wife has already taken off of it. For some reason they never seem to make from the garden into the house.
For suggestions for container plants that do well in a not so huge container I would suggest checking on these:
1. Patio (This one tends to as I have seen give of a few fruits at a time all season, as opposed to all at once.)
2. Better Bush (I have 3 planted out. I ate the first ripe slicer sized tomato of the season off of one today.) All have set fruit with more setting every day.
3. Bush Goliath (The one I have is very Bushy, quite hardy, and is setting fruit like mad.)
4. Husky Cherry Red (It stays compact, gets quite bushy, is hardy. It will set fruit when all the others have stalled in the heat. Put it somewhere it will get a tad of shade after 5 in the afternoon during the dog days, and you will be snacking down on cherries every day.)
All can be purchased at your local Home Depot or Lowe's in the large caged container. I think they are a better value this late into the season. Most are already blooming, and large. Many have a few fruit already set on them as well. You do not have to buy a container, or potting mix. It has already been taken care of. All you have to do is put it somewhere sunny, water it when it needs it being careful not to over water it. Give it a bit of fertilizer as directed on the label of said fertilizer. Maker sure you water the medium, not the leaves. Keep the water off the leaves it will do a lot for your plant to keep the leaves dry, and the soil moist. Other than that all you have to do is harvest the ripe fruits. You will also get to keep the planter to use next year as well.
Dave, the panel is 5'6" above ground level and I placed it flush to the backside of the raised bed so it is only being used on the one side. That be said , what a great idea using both sides. Question for you, determinates grow very tall and will spill over the top and down the other side, wouldn't this be a tangled mess if I grew them on both sides??? It is still not too late to change the panels to the center.
Thanks for your feedback too John.
And I thought I was going to get a quick and easy answer.
You did. :) What you accept is always your choice.
Dave
PS: John, in case you didn't know, all your posts can be combined into one. Just click on the edit button. No need for subsequent posts minutes apart. There used to be a lock on the system that wouldn't let you do that but when they added the edit button they removed the block.
It really depends how low 40 and how protected your spot. I have no issues taking plants out and leaving in protected spot with mid to high 40 at night. For example I would do near south wall of your house lets say, specially if it has protected nooks. 40th with high wind and bad rain is different from nice cool weather with sunny day. Just my opnion. I do keep an option of draggin entire trays in the house if needed. Depends how many seedlings you have and what are you planning to achieve by this early hardening.
You can also rig some deep box with a lid as a make shift cold frame.
Thanks all,
I'm not planning on planting out until later in the month when temps are higher. I mostly want to get them outside to get some growth on them before I plant them out. My lights are working fine but I always find they grow better once outside. It's not a huge deal to move them out as I use 3" star plug trays.
I usually do the hardening off process over four or five days and have never had any issues. I also run the fan on them every day so I'm not as concerned with windburn.
It has been a weird spring here but the garden is drying out, the garlic is almost 8" high, for some reason I have a huge patch of self-seeded sorrel and all the various chicory, lettuce and arugula seeds have sprouted. Interestingly a large patch of Italian parsley also managed to over-winter and is doing great. So it'll be interesting to see how the season goes for tomatoes. Last year was horrible here.
I'm in no rush to get them into the ground but would like them to start getting some sun.
Poking your finger in those small pots, does seem to be a good way to determine how dry or moist the soil is :)
I have heard using a wooden popsicle stick( leaving it in. Pull it out and see how far down it is dry. With small seedlings/plants in small pots you cannot afford to let it get dry several inches from top surface.
So when are your seedlings too small to plant outside? I have lots of seedlings that seem to be stalling out inside... granted, this is the first year I've tried growing from seed and I don't have all the proper tools like fluorescent lighting, etc. I think they aren't getting quite enough light inside so I would like to move them out as soon as possible. I've been setting them out in the late afternoon / early evening for sun exposure. They all have just started their second set of leaves and they are pretty small.
I do have other plants already in the ground, but I just wonder if these seedlings might just do better outside or if they are still too fragile. I'm hoping maybe another week of hardening off... sorry I don't have pics handy. Thanks!
Daisyjoy,
I don't think seedlings are ever too small to be planted outside! After all, they often manage to sprout all by themselves in people's veggie gardens (if left to their own devices).
As long as your air and soil temperatures are warm enough, and you are there to water and protect them, I think they will do better outside.
Linda