16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
"I don't care what the plant is labeled"
If you get a healthy strong producing plant that year, you've won the lottery. Then it comes time for the planting the year after that. If your mystery plant is a hybrid your saved seed might not give you the plant you want.
I have a limited amount of room so care very much that each plant produces what I want.
Also, you are against weird DNA. If you have an unlabeled or mislabeled plant, you don't know whose DNA you are getting.
I think it is logical to assume that heat loving plants (such a tomatoes and peppers) to slow down in growth in cooler temperatures. It happens so often when cool spring weather lingers on and the plants(matoe & pepps) do not grow substantially. They seem to be just sitting out there. It is also true for cool crops . Even those grow MUCH slowly when cool fall weather moves in. Right now, my sweet peas have been in emerging state for the past 5 days or so. Had we had warmer weather they could have been an inch tall.
So I think cool air and soil temperatures slow down growth. I could be wrong.
If this is King Umberto/Roi Umberto, yes, I have grown it and if you Google it you'll find it variously described as pink or red, some say a tip at the blossom end, some say not.
There's a huge long thread about it elsewhere but I can't transfer it to here or be possibly banned.
If you Google it you'll also find comments like tough skin, assertive flavor , etc., all to say that it was not a variety I liked very much and no, it wasn't sweet.
Yet others say they like it for sauce.
Until you grow it you won't know if you like it or not.
Carolyn
Many Thanx...already planned on Sweet Million, Suingold, Italian Ice, Choc Cherry and Orange Paruche so one more is no big deal. I give these away along with most of the 60 beefsteak tomatoes that I grow after eating some every single day. I labsolutely gobble tomatoes and love growing them so I take them to my folks who are 90 yrs young, my sisters and the ladies at two local libraries, former work friends, neighbors etc etc. I usually put 8-10 big ones and a sandwich bag full of cherries in a plastic grocery bag and do the gift thing. Maybe 20 times a yr. My wife always canned two canners of tomatoes but after doing three canners of half runner beans on the gas grill side burner I usually don't have the pasazz left to fool with the maters. Like Doby Gray I have drifted far from the subject but I like to talk gardening. Ha Ha
Thank you, I am going to have to think about how to do this. I didn't realize a completely shaded enclosure would still help hardening them off. I don't have overhangs on the house. I usually wait for a little bit of sun at least, then then start with an hour or two and increase from there. Can you do more than one trip outside per day at beginning? Like one in the morning and another in the late afternoon or evening? I am not sure how long it takes them to recover from the first trip outside. If they are in a shaded enclosure, they can right from that to full sun in garden? Or maybe one extra day of half sun then full sun? How long does it take when removing them from the enclosure?
I joined up for one reason and that is to fix those leggy tomato seedlings for you. Let me explain it this way...
I used to grow my tomatoes from seed all the time and then I got out of the habit for a few years. When I started back my plants would shoot right up and fall over...no matter what I did. It was very frustrating.
I followed every bit of advice I could find and my own good sense and still it was a mess. This went on for three seasons. Grrrr!
Then, I ran across a very simple suggestion and then it all made sense. All that goody goody do this and do that drivel I had been told prior went right into the garbage can.
See, when I used to grow my own plants I had a grow light. When I started back I did not. That was the answer.
Assuming you aren't doing something with your seeds that is off the charts, to get straight growing seedlings, all you have to do is to put a light right on top of them as soon as they pop up out of the pot. That's all.
A grow light is good. Short of that, a one or two bulb florescent is just fine. Put the light as close as you can to the new growth and keep it that way as they mature. Move them into the sun as fast as you can.
I don't care how bright it is in the house. You got to get the light right down on top of the seedlings to get their attention.
Follow this and you too will be what they call a "happy gardener" for sure!
It isn't always a light factor regardless what type and how close it is... sometimes it's the soil and/or lack of nutrients they need. Sometimes it's just the seed itself that isn't as great as the others even if they all came from the same fruit.
And like some mentioned... fans and burying the stringy stem works. All plants need fans for stronger roots, preventing mold and to help them not be as shocked once outside.
It was suggested to me that we skip a season, grow in pots, or bring in new dirt.
If I wanted to grow in pots, how about the alternative, dig holes in the garden and put new dirt just where I plant. Does that seem reasonable?
If we do want to replace dirt, can anyone suggest where to look? Does it mean bags of soil from a nursery?
In the mean time, I'm going to have my soil tested and see if there are any solutions to make the tomatoes happier.
thx,
rob
It depends on what your options are. I, for one, wouldn't want to can tomato juice but MEAT. In this respect , roma, baby roma, san marzano are better options, IMO.
Another thing is that , canning whole tomatoes require a lot of space. I prefer making sauce , with about 75% space saving. In other words, one gallon tomato makes one quart of sauce. (aprox)
Super Fantastic do very well in Zone 6b or 7 in WA State
They are hardy for early transplant, do well in hot weather and produce loads of tasty fruit. They are moderate to heavy feeders that do very well on water soluble 16-16-16 with an added touch of sulfur.
SF's peel easily and preserve very nicely using water bath method.
In my experience black/brown tomatoes are more prone to crack than other.
But there is a way to avoid having cracked matoes: PICK THEM AS SOON AS THEY TURN COLOR (from green to red, pink, brown) and let them to sit on the counter (away from direct sun).
I garden where there may be very little rain during the growing season. The soil drains very quickly but I can often only irrigate twice a week. When I do, it is with field sprinklers just like in the alfalfa fields next door to the big veggie garden where the tomatoes are grown. The conditions are prime for splitting.
I'm not quite so stoic about splitting and not stoic at all about the decay that may result. There are some varieties that I just will not grow.
Thessaloniki should be mentioned as an heirloom that tends not to split. It was the first heirloom that I knowingly grew about 15 years ago and I've had it every year since. Porters never split. Those are just a few that come to mind.
I'd like to say that some gardeners seem to think that it is a tough skin that keeps the fruit from splitting. That may be true but flexibility is probably just as important. I'm probably not using the correct horticultural terms . . . elasticity??
Anyway, it is often said that SunSugar split less than Sungold. I agree but I don't find SunSugar has tougher skin that Sungold. It has a more tender skin but I like having both in my garden! For 10 years I have had a "trial" going on out there as to which is my "favorite." It is one of the happier parts of my gardening.
Steve
Soil in a container quickly compacts and doesn't drain well. It can stop root development and lead to root rot and death of the plant. That's why using it is never recommended.
And all sorts of things are labeled "top soil" so the quality is questionable to begin with. If it was labeled Miracle Grow Garden Soil then it says right on the bag that it is not for use in containers. For best results I would suggest you replant them in a proper container mix while it is still early in the season.
You can find much more detail on the problems of using soil/dirt in a container as well as the issues with using compost in one over on the Container Gardening forum here.
Dave
Yeah, unless you graft them on to new root stock they will be regular (as in never-grafted) Sungold. They aren't genetically altered just because they were once grafted onto something else. But then plain ole Sungold grows just fine for most of us who aren't plagued with soil-borne diseases.
Dave
If you read the link below you'll see that some say that fruit yield is increased, sometimes marginally, on grafted plants.
IF that's true with you grafted Sungold F1 plants then fine, but cuttings from the vegetative part should give you the normal number of fruits, which for me has always been high anyway.
CAROLYN
Here is a link that might be useful: rootstock and fruit yield
In general, is there a difference in days-to-maturity for cherry or grape tomatoes versus the DTM's for larger toms?
Also is there a difference in DTM's for determinates vs. indeterminates?
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I cut and paste so I don't forget what I'm supposed to be posting about.
First, DTM's are sheer guesstimates and depend on where a variety is grown, where geographically, what the soil is like, amendments used, if so, how much and when, and what the weather is like in anyone season, etc.
In my experience there's no real dofference in DTM's, in general, for small fruited varieties as opposed to larger fruited varieties. And I've grown about 4,000 varieties to date, so am basing that on my own experience.
And again, no, IMO there is no difference in time to ripeness between Indet and det.
I find it much easier to go by something like this:
55 to 65 days, early varieties
65 to 80 days,mid season varieties
Over 80 days,late season varieties
Or a similar version based on a range of days to categorize relative ripeness, And I see more and more websites doing the same and dumping the DTM's.
Carolyn
Agree. There are early, mid, and late season varieties for cherry-types, determinate, and indeterminate types. DTM, for what it is worth, is determined by the genetics of the specific variety not by its type or fruit size.
Dave
Just a follow-up to my original post. I selected the "Micro-Tom" variety. I did use the coffee filter method. Batch 1 (3 seeds) I left in the filter for 5 days. Batch 2 (3 seeds) for 6 days. After all 6 seeds germinated I planted them in two separate 3" pots and put them under the lights. All are doing well. Yes, planting the seeds is tedious. The only problem I ran into was figuring out the right way to plant them.(LOL) Once I mastered that everything is going ok. I like this method because I don't have to worry about using a heating pad to raise the soil temp. I also don't have to worry about the plastic dome covering the seeds in the tray/pots. How long to keep it on etc. Ok I realize that if you are planting a large quantity of seeds this method is not for you. But, I'm not. After I master this I will try the other methods. This is a fun and learning experience. Isn't that what gardening is all about? Well at least it is for me and by the way the "youtube" vids are very helpful. Amen
I have germinated seeds many ways:
1) in paper towel in zip bag
2) in glass jar
3) in a dish
4) in starting mix
Number (4) although is a direct sowing, but it is a bit tricky: How to Keep them Warm and control the Temps , moisture : The seeds are about 2 -2 1/2" away from the mat. The soil does not transfer heat efficiently UNLESS it it really HOT. Then your seeds might cook and/or the soil get dry fast. I don't like covering the soil to avoid damping off and fungus growth and gnat problem. Paper towel is good if you have to germinate just a few but if you want to germinate dozens, then direct sowing in starter mix is the best option and you have to learn how to tune HEATING and keeping moisture CONSISTENT.
I've had a lot of the same issues as Tuscon. Lots of growth and few tomatoes. I'm trying yet again this year. I put the Epsom salt, aspirin, and humic acid in a raised bed with good soil. I have the shade cloth ready when it gets time. We will see.
Any other heat Advice is welcome or any other innovations to share. How about hand pollinating somehow during the summer months. I was thinking of keeping one plant in the house so it's cooler and using its pollen for outside tomatoes. Would that work and how to do it?
What other parthenocarpic and tasty varieties are out there?
What other parthenocarpic and tasty varieties are out there?
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LEGEND: It is also developed by The Oregon State University, as Siletz.
Google it.