16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
It is easy to get skin off.
Drop them in boiling water fir 15 seconds, take them out put in ice water . then peel them the skin will peel off real asy. I do this for cooking and sometimes for slicing. Tomato skin(thin or thick) is indigestible. So are the seeds.
Gather your browser information, OS etc and inquire at Computer Help Forum - GardenWeb. I've no problem with FF23x and Windows 7 .
My Two largest this year are Homer Fikes Yellow Oxheart and Andrew Ruhart's Jumbo Red.
HFYO top tomato 2lbs even, and several others in the 1lb 12 oz range.
ARJR top tomato 1lb 12oz, and many more at 1lb 8oz range.
Flavor TBD as I haven't eaten any of those yet.
CH
Agree with what Dave says. Also have comment with questions:
That bed they are in looks awfully small. What is the soil like about 2 feet down? I ask because I have seen sidewalk beds that have next to no dirt in them, the concrete footing from a building on one side fills most of the space. I've seen others that have the cement truck "over run" in the bottom of them.
Is there anything growing behind the fence? If there is, it could be competing with your tomato plants for nutrients. In that case you might have to feed heavier than usual for the tomatoes to benefit from it.
Also, soil tends to be compacted under sidewalks, so that bed may effectively be a container, and you might need to feed your tomato plants like they were in a container.
The plants also appear to be mighty close together.
How much sunlight do they get?
Betsy
This post was edited by bets on Mon, Aug 26, 13 at 23:01
Hang in there. I live in Texas and I'm getting serious blossom drop right now because it's so darn hot. Tomatoes like warm weather but not too warm. I've noticed when night time temps stay above 80F, they don't produce well. Also, some varieties are more heat tolerant than others. I'll bet if you stick with it for another month or two, you'll be pleasantly surprised. Blossom drop can actually be a good thing. It means that the plant will put more energy into the green foliage which means more blossoms later. Come October I bet you'll have a nice little harvest.
The yellowing on the lower half of the plant concerns me a little. Without knowing exactly how much you water and how rich the soil is, it's tough to diagnose because it could mean 1 of 3 things. Too much water, too much nitrogen or not enough nitrogen. If you're using compost, the nitrogen should be good. So I think I agree with digdirt. I think it's over watering. Tomatoes are pretty hearty and can survive well with little water. Let them dry out a little and see if that works. If that is the problem, you should notice a difference in about two weeks.
I do disagree with digdirt on the fertilizer. The top half of the plant is very healthy looking which makes me think that the NPK numbers are good. Also, too much fertilizer can cause blossom drop as well. So if it were my plant, I think I would stop fertilizing too. The compost should be plenty rich enough.
That's my two cents. Keep in mind, i'm not an expert. I'm only telling you what I would do.
Good luck
Having grown true Rostova, as I noted above, I think it's a great variety, but I havent seen anyone with true Rostova in many years.
I was curious to see what Tania said, but I kind of knew before I grabbed the link b'c we'd discussed it before .So I linked to it below and she's spot on.
Carolyn
Here is a link that might be useful: SRH
hmm, this makes me wonder what's wrong with mine. Started from seed 5 weeks ago, sprouted in two days, but now they only have two true leaves each. They're SS100s.
I did transplant them a week ago, could that have caused them to focus on the roots for now?
I wasn't aware that any of them are claiming to "prevent blights". That would seem to be a rather specious claim since the "blights" fungi are airborne. Improved rootstock would seem to have little effect on airborne diseases. Who is making that claim as I'd like to read more about it?
I do know they claim increased resistance (rather than prevention) to the soil born disease problems like the various wilts.
Dave
I've grown 2 grafted tomatoes this year and last year. I wanted to see what the difference might be. Also grafted eggplant and pepper this year. I saved seed from last year's tomatoes and they seem to be doing just as well as they did last on grafted roots.
The biggest difference was with the eggplants this year. The grafted had big fruit earlier.
Penny
jimster is right Plant Physiology will answer your question. From a common sense gardening perspective, after a lot of experimenting ( 25yrs) , If you trim non fruit producing branches from a tomato plant you will get bigger fruit . Trim to much and you'll get some sun burning and splitting ! .
This is the 1st year I have tried pruning non fruit producing branches and have had great success in spite of the fact that this has been a terrible year for growing tomatoes in my area. For example my German Johnson heirloom is yielding large fruit ( 1lb +). I put this plant in ground on May 2nd. It is now loaded with large size fruit that I will be able to harvest before the 1st predicted frost date of Sept 22nd.
What a cute little frog!
Glad to hear your Pruden's is producing well. It's been said many times, patice has its virtues. LOL!
I think I need to grow Pruden's Purple again, it's been a while. They were delicious when I last grew them.
Betsy
So many tomatoes, so little time!
This post was edited by bets on Sat, Aug 24, 13 at 12:11
new poster ..I believe I have late blight and it has spread like wildfire and so I am trying to educate myself as I have never exp'ed anything like this before...I have had early blight with not much trouble of keep pruned and well feed that being enough..This Late Blight is turning out to be a different animal
:(
Last night I actually had a nightmare and woke up in a cold sweat.
I read alot varying advice and went ahead and treated with the Donacil/Chlorothalonil, Ortho"Garden Disease Control" says it stops over 130 Diseases so we will see...My thought is once this has started in your its "All Over" as I have not see anyone say "Its stopped the onslaught" only Prevented..so wiped brow and will see.
My waiting brings me to ask if I pick my large green now before they even look like they have been affected might they still be infected if put into paper bags to try n rippen..I suppose It could not hurt to pic a few and see but wonder if anyone has exp. with this or will they too succume it time..I found this link that I thought I would post too as there is much debate on what to do and use ..
Here is a link that might be useful: Late Blight in Tomatoesàand Potatoesà��
I Don't know if the blight fungus is seriously harmaful to humans. An I doubt that they will persist to exist if you wash the fruits. It is a plant disease, not a humane disease.
That is my understanding.
But if you spray the plant (with fruits on it,) you have to check the pesticide's label. probably you should not consume them for like 5 days. This is the chemical in the spray not the fungus.
About harvesting tomatoes:
I have recently learned on this forum that if you pick a tomato, as early as you see a color break, you can safely pick and let it fully ripen inside, without any bag or direct sun.
So this way, you can save some of the tomatoes even if you lose the plant.
@ home groan
Tell me about it ! PROMISING ? hehe. I don,t know. Mine are still green and half the size they should be.
What do you think about the Stupice and Rutgers? I am growing both for the first time. Stupice was the first one to ripen but it was sort of "meh" as far as taste goes - not sure whether I would grow them again. Rutgers have set lots of fruit but nothing ripe yet.