16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

I consider Rutgers a good all-purpose tomato -- fine for fresh eating as well as for processing. Fruits will vary in size from small to fairly large. It is good tasting and quite blemish free.

Jim

If I only had a choice of the three, I would pick Rutgers. I don't grow romas, but I have heard they are very susceptible to blossom end rot, and I've never heard anything good about Tigerella. I grew Rutgers for the first time this year and it is a decent tasting tomato - mine weren't very large. Maybe next year I'll give it a better spot and its real potential can show.

Carolyn, thank you much!!!! Yes, I would LOVE to hear varieties that you think are better alternatives! I am mostly going off the Tatiana list because I like her judgement on varieties that I grew as well and Tatiana lists many as excellent ones. I am sure it is all about trial and error and personal taste but suggestions do help.

Not sure why system double posts.
Wanted to add also that what I have been doing is growing varieties and giving them to people at plant swap as what I want to grow so often they will be trial for me as well. I think I might concentrate on growing heirlooms to give away the ones that are trusted and I know they did well for me so I can share my experience as well. And then I will trial for myself other ones that I think might be fun to grow. For example I really like Marianne peace but for 2 years in a row it was the last variety to ripen in my garden. Terrific taste but fruits ripens mid Sep. I might grow it myself and use WOW and early planting but probably not a good plant to offer to others here in my area.

This post was edited by lindalana on Sat, Sep 14, 13 at 21:10

so theoretically if I plant one seedling into deeper and larger container right away it will do better than seedling transplanted several times from one size container to another?

Sweet 100s are a hybrid. This means that the seeds of a Sweet 100 plant will recombine from their hybrid parents and "re-assort" in many different and unpredictable ways. Perhaps many many Sweet 100 seeds stared out, but perhaps the only ones that survived were those that had re-assorted to be most adapted to your particular (difficult) growing conditions. So they produced good, healthy plants. This SOMETIMES happens with Volunteer tomatoes. I know people who insist that all volunteers are crap, and they rip them out at the first sign of growth Others insist that the volunteers are sometimes the best and strongest plants in their garden. Due to genetic chance, both things might happen. If you have a plant you like, be sure to save some of the seeds from it, and try to grow them next year. And hope that it is stable enough that it continues to do well, AND to taste good.

Fresh Tomato salsa, with some fresh green peppers(with mild heat), sprinkle with your choice chopped herbs(basil, cilantro, chives, parsley, mint), some lime/lemon juice, olive oil and of course some salt. Cucumbers, IF only garden fresh.

Wait a minute... isn't that how *everyone* makes tomato sandwiches?

hmm the leave are going brown but the nights are cold and it is normal but would it be better if I take all the brown leafs off
the spots are very small and then spread even today I see my cherry tomatoes starting to do the same thing should I pick them green so the spots don't spread

The more I Iooked at that green fruit I think there's a good chance what you're seeing is anthracnose.

If you click on the link at the very bottom, go to the 7th row, and second picture in from the left are two green fruits that have lesions just as you pictured.

To find out more about anthracnose here's a link to a Google search;

https://www.google.com/#q=tomato+anthracnose

The reason I was a bit confused at first is b'c usually one sees it on ripe fruits, but the fruits are infected when they are green as you'll find out when you read several of the links in the search link above.

Hope that helps,

Carolyn

Here is a link that might be useful: anthracnose

Yes, they are safe to use b;c the fungus that causes it is not a human pathogen, but I wouldn't use them since most of the time when anthracnose appears in the Fall the fruits have gotten watery and usually they taste on the sour side,

But you be the judge on that.

Carolyn

Thanks Carolyn - your help is much appreciated.

We tasted one of the tomatoes last night and it seemed a little watery but not sour. We're going to peel and start to cook them down tonight before it gets too bad.

Thanks again.

Barb

Squirrels (I assume--I see them crossing our deck frequently) have been nibbling the tomatoes; this morning I found 5 small ones left on the welcome mat (to appease me?) and about a dozen scattered on the deck; one of the geranium blooms lopped off, some of my begonias. I have 3 large cherry tomato plants on my deck--will have to make a trip into town to buy some Repel!

There are 3 ways to deal with squirrels:

1) feed them
2) eat them
3) BEAT them

I like number (3); Just pick the maters at the slightest suggestion of color. And let them ripen inside. This is the most economical and ecological and humane method.
Live and Let Live !

Yeah animals are tough, and I'm lucky it's working out. As even with dogs, if hungry enough they will chance it.
I lost two dogs last year and started growing more fruit to fill the void in my heart, and the time I used to take care of them. And to keep my mind off our loss. I planted fruit trees and such, expanded the present garden a lot. Adding 3 new raised beds.. My wife was so missing our two dogs that died 3 days apart, I had to get another. Then I found myself having this new garden, and a new dog to take care of. I went from nothing to do, to no time to do nothing! But it worked out, he has been keeping the animals away and after taking one tomato, and not liking it, leaves them alone. He's really a great dog too. Again I feel blessed and lucky. Humbled by it all.

I could have got a tomato snatching, plum stealing lab like Linda has! Phew! That bullet missed me! Labs are great dogs. Jesse an Aussie has a lab friend, chocolate too! Ollie is his name, great dog! Oreo is a beagle and Jesse's friend too. His best friend, my daughter's dog, the same age (1 year) is a black pug Axel! They are so cute playing together! I often have to baby sit the pug. They are growing up together. Life is good.

This post was edited by Drew51 on Wed, Sep 11, 13 at 15:28

here they don't eat my tomatoes maybe because I feed them sunflowers seeds I have 5 squirrels in all and come every day and 2 chip monks

I was just trying to help.

If you can't get the tomatoes to ripen, you can eat them green. I'm no great fan of the flavor of green tomatoes, but if you add a good bit of hot pepper, green tomato salsa tastes fine to me, and tends to be less runny if you cook your salsa.

Even with green tomatoes, I prefer that they get fairly close to starting to ripen so they're not really very hard.

Good luck.

As for your other plant, see when/how folks in your community usually grow tomatoes. Timing can be very important, and can also be very different from one area to another. If you live in a mountainous area, it may even depend on how high up you are and which side of the mountain you are on.

I follow you Dave. I'll be hard pressed to get much at this point with them just flowering now an setting small fruit...but you never know when that first frost will hit.

thanks

How does Baby Cakes and Hooty taste?