16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes
Carolyn, please don't leave!
Seyson, one video is not proof (and you provided no other links), especially when the person who posted it said that tomato plants in containers will often exhibit leaf roll. As for my reasoning about the video, I was just stating points as to why **I**, as in me personally, don't consider him to be a tomato authority, and I did watch more than one just to make sure that one was not a fluke.
I also don't consider myself to be an absolute authority on tomatoes. I answer questions based on more than 40 years off and on gardening experience and knowledge from reading credible sources. You will not often see me answering disease questions unless no one else has after a period of time, and even then I will include a link to visual diagnostic aids so the original poster can make their own comparisons. I have been fortunate and have not had to deal with much in the way of diseases in my own garden.
On the point of pronunciation, I just thought it odd that he pronounces Sudduth's with two long u sounds but spells it with an a.
I plan to say no more on the topics of negativity and contrariness.
Betsy
We have been talking about a tomato problem (BLACK KRIM...). We were not talking about somebody elses's personality; We were not making character judgments ; UNTIL .. The record is there and clear.
If somebody feels being offended because somebody else expressed opposing views, that is his/her problem.
For Pete' sake, in America we have the Freedom of Expression, part of our constitution. Can't we be free to express our opinions on some tomato matters ?
This post was edited by seysonn on Sat, Aug 24, 13 at 17:50
I know what you can do with them, send them out here! I picked my first 2 ripe Sophies Choice a week ago and used both for my first tomato and basil sandwich of the year and boy was it good! I went to write in my garden journal when the first ripe tomato of this year was ready, and saw that my entry for the next day one year earlier was that I had just finished canning 14 Quarts! I am over a month behind, but at least I have a small crop starting. A couple of days ago I had my 3rd tomato, a KB that I used for my first fresh tomato and basil pizza of the year. YUM. I have my 4th tomato, the first Mortgage lifter, I will either use for my first fresh "salsa for one", lol, or a tomato sandwich tomorrow. I am planning the use of each one carefully! I pick at first blush to make sure no critters get one. But at least they taste wonderful so far, not mealy or watery as I had feared, but I confess I have only watered once or twice all season. Some disease, I picking off leaves, but not horrible. I will probably try to spray this weekend to keep them going until most of this small crop can ripen.
I've got quite a few ripening on the counter now, may bring some to market on Wed, but Grandma Mary's seem to be getting BER (I know, inconsistent watering but with these alternating monsoons and drought weeks what you going to do?). The Chadwick crosses are all cracked, CP seem to have stink bug damage so Cosmonaut is about all I have that are marketable and those plants are quickly becoming defoliated so though they're loaded with fruit I don't know how long they're going to last. Rose de Berne and the Burpee hybrids are loaded and look great, Grandma Mary's has tons (if we can avoid BER from now on), I hope the weather holds so they ripen by Labor Day (or early Sept) but this year is nowhere near as good as last year (even with the drought), just a late start with June rains, lots of blossom drop during July so not much fruit set and a short season up here in the hills.
I'm giving up on the cherries - GD are dying, SS100 look OK but even the fruit that looks ripe tastes bitter - literally spit 1 out the other day! Maybe another Burpee mislabel since some also seem larger than they should be.
I've got a couple BK, CP, and those crosses that are developing mold in the cracks so they will be used today. Won't have enough for canning this year even if disease wasn't an issue (don't want to can fruit from diseased plants, could be higher in pH). Last year this time I was just starting to bring heirlooms to market but I had a LOT (tubs full, wish I'd taken pix) - in Sept I was even wholesaling them to 2 different stores I had so many.
Not quite as simple as too much water. That is the primary cause but not only factor. Available nutrients is another. No way to know if you are over-watering or not with details on what your watering regimen is.
General guidelines are 1-2 inches of water per week, deep watering less frequently rather than frequent shallow watering, and most important keeping consistent soil moisture levels.
You can pick at color break and finish ripening indoors to eliminate last minute water overloads in the fruit.
Dave
Shadow Boxing has many varieties in the pedigree that were adaptable to container planting. It has some of the blue anthocynin from the precursor of Indigo Rose, and stripes from many generations ago of Green Zebra.
The addition of the Maskotka into the breeding would open up the vines to allow for very blue tomatoes since direct sunlight is required for the blue to show up well.
http://www.tomwagnerseeds.com/index.php/tomatoes/blue-tomatoes/shadow-boxing.html
Hearts, such as Bull's Heart and several hundred other hearts are large at the stem end and then taper down towards the blossom end to one degreer or another, meaning some have blunt tips and others have acute tips.
While Piriforms are the exact opposite in shape, taper at the stem end and have big bottoms, as it were. LOL
Carolyn
Yes, I'v seen it before. It usually happens with store bought fruits that have been stored cool in shipping, so a long time between harvesting fruits and selling them. Note the label on the fruit you show.
And it also is not rare to see it with gold/red bicolors grown at home since the flesh of those is so soft.
Carolyn
FORGET the tomatoes ! $4.99 /lb New England Lobster ?
I used to live in Connecticut. Cheapest I could get them(from the guy who had traps) was about $5/lbs. That was more than 20 years ago. Some Hamburger meat around here cost about that much. Gee, I am moving back East.
They are doing well for a farm down the road - he said he had heirlooms but there weren't many at his stand and I didn't see them on his table at market last week. Johnny's says it's able to tolerate cool and wet conditions, must also be able to tolerate heat if it's done well here this summer. He told me he lost a lot of (heirloom?) tomato plants in June, I'm losing them now, and not a lot of fruit set with the wild temperature swings.
Here is a link that might be useful: Mountain Fresh at Johnny's
Ideally you would want to vary the fertilizer amount and makeup as your growing and fruiting season progresses since plant nutrient needs change and you can find specificic recommendations for tomatoes from various university hort websites. But I also like the idea of a slow release fertilizer for container gardens since research with most flowering plants shows an advantage of using them.
Actually, my 3 containers (Cherokee Purple, Brandywine, and Early Girl) are all healthy and giving good fruit. I am a bit surprised that the height of these only remains around 3-3 1/2 feet...with slow growth now (not complaining). My very un-scientific fertigation program (frequent apps of tomato tone, MG, and Foliage Pro) seems to be acceptable. I bet I could improve...just not sure how. I think the fast-draining mix is key...
Agree with Dave on his answer.
Look at any plant's fruits and you'll see a range of sizes with ripe fruits for a single variety.
Internal distribution of water and nutrients can vary, as he mentioned, and that in turn can be variety related and also impacted by weather conditions.
There's also a bit of biological diversity going on which is why the experts say it's best when saving seeds to save seeds from fruits of different sizes of a single variety.
Just as there is biological diversity with tomatoes, in general, there's also biological diversity for single varieties and that inherent biological diversity is important in terms of variety preservation.
Carolyn
Tomato plant is perhaps the most sensitive garden plant.
I have a soil sensitivity experience with tomatoes:
Years ago i just started a garden right under the canopy of a black walnut tree, Among other things, I also planted tomatoes. A few week later one of them wilted(and died). Somebody suggested that maybe I over fertilized it. But I knew I dad not. Anyway, few days later the other one also wilted and died.
Then I found out that there is a substance, in the roots, leaves , and barks of black walnut(I think called juglanol ?) that acts like herbicide on certain plants, including tomatoes AND its own seedlings.
Of all the things I planted in that garden, ONLY tomatoes wilted and died.
It's a good idea to know how various herbicides act on different plants. In the case with Roundup you need to have the actual herbicide contact the green plant. I spray roundup between tomato rows of hundreds of plants all the time using what I call "Precision spraying" on a calm day and I never killed a plant yet; caused a few leaf tips to turn yellow at most. Some here might argue the residue issue but that's their unfounded view. With many other herbicides the mode of activity varies.
Hudson - How did you get such nice looking BB's this early in Zone 3? Do you have a greenhouse?
John A
Hi John A - Yes, they are GH grown. Tomatoes need protection to grow in Wyoming - at our elevation! This is the first year planting Brandy Boy (for us). We love the plant - lots of tomatoes - vigorous plant - all the things they say about it were true for us!