16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

Yes, I've grown Old German and many other red/gold bicolor varieties.

Some that I especially like might include:

Virginia Sweets
Big Rainbow
Marizol Gold
Lucky Cross
Mary Robinson's German Bicolor

..,. to name just a few that I've grown.

BUT, they are very finicky about weather, and one season variety A might be lucious and sweet and the next year mealy and bland,

Also, the flesh of most is soft, so they tend to have poor keeping qualities, but when they are good, they can be very very good. ( smile)

Carolyn

I've grown Moonglow for the past 4 years and not only are they good to eat, but easy to grow. They always out perform all the other heirlooms I grow. FWIW

I agree with seyson that stringing is the best choice. Once the plants start growing and getting bushy, the 6" grids will increasingly become a problem for getting at the branches and arranging them. I have found stringing to be excellent for getting the branches arranged for good production and for maximum flexibility.

Run a cable lengthwise 18 inches in from the side of the greenhouse overhead along the roof. From this cable you can attach nylon cord/s to run to the base of the plants. As the plants grow attach nylon tomato clips to the plant and cord. If you choose to have more than one main stem just run another cord from the overhead cable to the plant. The clips can be reused for 2-3 seasons.

Thank you Carolyn for the link and other vendors. Shipping costs are definitely not the main concern, but a concern nonetheless. Of course I am more interested in healthy plants and a wide variety of them, which Darrel certainly offers.

I order from Laurel's. Very healthy, sturdy plants. I pick up as I am local.

In my opinion, I will tell you based on the words of your post, that your problem is the wacky weather. As Betsy clearly states, there is debate regarding allelopathic theory.

Debate in itself means nobody knows what the truth of the matter is. And that is it. I think the last sentence of your post is the answer.

Just feed the soil a bit more along with water. I have a hard time believing shade is an issue,along with any properties regarding 2 plants grown closely together.

Then again, I have many issues regarding recent studies. We just do not live long enough to know what the truth is.We can try though,and that usually makes us feel better.

Take care,
Travis

For the last 2 years I have grown a mix of sunflowers ( from giants to small varieties)along the highway fence in front of my property. Just on the other side of that fence I grew squash, and melons 2 years ago and last year I grew 35 tomato plants as a crop rotation. Both years, I did not have any adverse reactions from the sunflowers. This year I will be growing my sunflowers again (same spot), but growing only the big giants and the crop rotation this year, on the other side of the fence, will be corn. I use the sunflowers as privacy screen during the summer/fall months and the birds enjoy the seeds all fall/winter until I remove them the next spring. I would think the giant mammoth sunflower would be a very sturdy support for tomatoes by strategically planting the sunflower seeds. Before planting, the entire area was given compost and rotting manure. I had such an abundance of tomatoes last year and the year before squash that kept on growing into November.

Also:

"I understand that determinates are more compact but due to my insane work schedule (usually over 60+hours a week) the whole plant would probably be dead before I had a chance to harvest and eat. "

Keep in mind that the care of the plants themselves, whether determinate or indeterminate, is pretty much the same. They will both need to be watered regularly -- every day or even twice a day when the temperature soars -- which is the most "labor intensive" part of container gardening after the initial planting. So if you don't think you'll be able to keep determinate plants alive, it's not going to be any different for indeterminate ones.

Indeterminate plants do tend to produce fruit over a longer time period, though, so that would be a plus for you if you have a really long growing season and you want to spread out the harvest. But I'm not experienced with that kind of long season nor with the climate in Tokyo, so I don't know how many months of harvest you could expect. But you can always freeze or can the extras - whole, chopped, or made into sauce - to enjoy when your plants aren't growing, either from excessive heat or cold.

Paradoxbox,
be sure to drill holes for drainage in the plastic garbage cans. I personally would try to find containers that are BPA-free (BPA being a endocrine disruptor that can be taken up by plants).

Given your work schedule, I really recommend Earthboxes or CityPickers or similar self-watering containers, if there's anything like that in Japan. I garden on a 10' x 20' deck and two Earthboxes (4 plants) supplied many more tomatoes than I needed (this year I plan to can). The soil used is regular potting mix (I use Promix BX but have used Miracle Grow in the past). After the initial setup, there's no need to fertilize and no guesswork about over watering or under watering. The water stored in the bottom of the self-watering container helps prevent splitting, and may mean you need to water less frequently. Though when it's 90F/32C, I still water daily.

I have grown only indeterminates so far. They get 8ft / 2m tall very quickly and do require a sturdy staking system and pruning every few days though. Otherwise they take off to your neighbors and you have to whack off a big branch full of blossoms to prevent tomatoes from falling on a neighbor's property. On the plus side, pruning is rather therapeutic after a day at the office :-)

I am hoping the foliage might resist insect damage better than regular leaves. Probably just wishful thinking. I have started some Tasti-Lee. I hope they do better than my last attempt.

Garf,

I am getting ready to place an order with Territorial Seed and they have Tasti-Lee new for 2014. Wondering how you liked it?

Thanks,
Deanna

Raising money for teacher expenses is a great idea.
I think this is risky though. Damping off. Bugs. Too much, too little water.
Could you maybe see if you could get volume deals for some stuff and sell an heirloom 'kit' complete with potting mix, containers, seed, and instructions?

I am a teacher and we did this for an activity I got a small grant for. We grew about 100-150 plants, tomatoes and peppers. If you have never grown plants from seed, I would start now small. There is a learning curve. I wouldn't try the first time be when you start 2,000. I am a market gardener and have grown my own transplants for over 10 years now.

First of all, you would need to start them in small flats, 98's to a 1020 tray would be a good size then pot them up into either 2401's or 3601's trays that you could break apart to sell.

Greenhouse Megastore is just one source for these trays. I would suspect you would want to grow single plants and not 4 packs. As most people will plant 4 tomatoes, but they want them to be 4 different tomatoes.

You can grow these plants to sellable size under flourescent shop lights. Just make sure you use 2 four foot lights for every 4 trays.

I would grow a variety of shapes and colors.

Jay

I got Opalka from Tomatofest last year. It was by far the most productive variety in my garden last year, and seemed resistant to problems that other tomatoes had.

Don't you just love dealing with a stubborn old lady such as myself? LOL

Been doing it for 50 years now. But then she claims she learned how to perfect 'stubborn' from me. :)

Dave

And yes, you've actually been helpful. So thank you. I think I get what you're saying I think. Maxifort Rootstock grown as an isolated plant isn't known for being so tasty but I'm guessing when you frankenstein the thing it could become tasty if done correctly.

when you frankenstein the thing it could become tasty if done correctly.

Once you frankenstein the thing then you aren't growing Maxifort. It ceases to be Maxifort and becomes whatever variety you graft onto it - Brandywine, Big Beef, Kosovo, Cherokee Purple, etc. Whatever. And they are just like the fruit you'd get from that variety without the grafting. But the plant now has greater resistance to any of the soil borne pathogens it wouldn't have otherwise. :)

Dave

Thanks Kathy,

My problem is that I received a TON of tomato seeds in the recent swap and I want to grow most of them, but I only have room for 18 plants so, if I can grow any of them in containers, then they can be "extras".

Sorry to hear that Chadwick was like the blob that ate the garden (LOL). Maybe I can tame it by confining it. Ha ha!

I'll take a look though Remy's site for more ideas.

Thanks,
Linda

Plant data regarding size/height is not an exact science but it is relevant. An indeterminat is always taller and bigger than a determinat and that is bigger than a dwarf in the same garden. Some indeterminats are know for their aggressive growth habit. When it comes to height, we are not talking about sprawling plant. Then, of course, the plant growth (any plant) in part will depend on soil condition, fertility, climate, amount sun, etc. But when you grow a number of plant in the same garden, their relative growth and size can be predicted , base on the plant data that has been compiled and averaged out.

JMO

What is the significance of the shape/form/type of the leaf ?

JUST A CURIOUS QUESTION.

I found a couple references, somewhere, that growers of the PL felt that there was better performance and taste from it, although, as Carolyn says, one would have to grow both side-by-side to be sure.

Also, the Indian Stripe in general is felt to be superior to Cherokee Purple because it is both earlier and more productive, in addition to tasting better (among some palates). That would be especially important for me, because our season is so short.

-Bruce

Thanks Carolyn. If you want to add any recommendations, you know I always appreciate your input and will save the post for next year. I remember one recent year when Brandywine was the first to ripen for me, lol, so I do know what you mean. But I am sure I didn't plant any real early ones that year.

I ended up ordering:

Earliana
Anna Banana
Moravsky Div
Pruden's Purple

As well as some that are not early, including Indian Stripe, which you recommended and I have been meaning to try for a while, and more Fish Lake Oxheart, Cherokee Purple Heart, Orange Minsk, and Black Cherry.

I like Pale Perfect Purple. It is a medium sized pink, tastes good and is productive here. It is similar to Eva Purple Ball in size, shape and color. I like Eva too. I have planted it every year since I bought Carolyn's book. Other varieties have come and gone but that one I must have every year.

Tania's description shows it cracking. In rainy weather, I have much more trouble with the black ones cracking and rotting. PPP holds up well here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pale Perfect Purple

If you think it's not a hybrid, you could save seeds from the current fruit and plant them. See the FAQs linked on the Growing Tomatoes Forum page for how to save tomato seeds.

You could also go to the big box stores in your area and look at the seeds they're selling this year. Maybe the same envelope that looked enticing last winter will catch your eye this year.

Or you could continue to plant cuttings.

Good points. I think I have 3 plants with these cuttings...

Once I figure out the yield I'll see if it is worth saving. RIght now they're in a colder than wanted (65-67 during day) basement, and they've taken nearly 90 days to give 10-15 tomatoes... with about 30 more on the plant now. Seems slow.