16,949 Garden Web Discussions | Growing Tomatoes

I am going to check the link out now.

Honestly I'm just beginning to research. Marketing strategy? Honestly I dont know. I dont know if it'd be better to go the organic route, I'm sure you have to get FDA crap to be able to actually claim it so that might be a pain, I also dont know the difficulty of getting rid of the tomatoes. Is it hard to get local grocery stores to take them in the off months?

I'm just vocalizing my initial "no clue" thoughts. This is just a bubble of a hope of an idea right now. Based on what I've read on

In ground beds or containers...Again, I dont know yet. I have experience growing in coco and I dont know the quality of my soil. I'd prefer in the ground if going with organics, and probably pots if not

I'm just sort of wanting to play with it for a few harvests feeling it out really...If I'd be able to pull it off...if I can find buyers for the product etc

If it looks like I can make it work advance from there.

Again, thanks for the informative posts--checking out that link

a local here that grows tomatoes in his green house stated that the best tomato for him is "Geronimo". He has been doing this for some time. His tomatoes are not as good as mine, but are far better than store bought. They are nice looking tomatoes and some grow to be a good enough size to cover my blt with one slice.

hth,

tom

Thanks Farmerdill & Stellabee for you input! Didn't think about the decreasing daylight and the idea of using "early" types for the second growing. Great advice! Guess I will just have to learn by trying...

Paul

rocklandguy,
I am in Charlotte, and yes, my garden looks rough by this time, unless I stagger my crops. I plant tomatoes in early Spring, right after the frost and then at least 8 weeks later. Same with cukes, beans, and squash.

What about DE mixed in water? Anyone try that?

DE is an interesting idea. Seems like it should work like Surround. A poster here called DE an "invaluable weapon against stink bugs", and points to an extraordinary video about how to apply it. This guy in the video says that you don't mix the DE with water to spray it because it clumps. But he's got a way-cool way to apply it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkrK8LvQPa8&feature=youtu.be

I suppose you could do this with Surround, but I believe DE is somewhat cheaper than Surround.

I don't have a leaf blower, but a shop vac running in reverse should do the job, pointed as a handful of the stuff. I gotta try this!

There are 2 kinds of tomatoes:
-High (stake) -cutting necessary
-Bush (like on your pic) need to sprouts keep

Yes we all know that. What you call "high" are indeterminate varieties and bush varieties are determinate. That is common knowledge.

However all the tomato plants in the pictures I posted are indeterminate (high varieties) well over 8 feet tall and still growing. So as I said, we grow tomato plants very differently over here than you do.

And that is your choice as long as you understand that cutting is NOT necessary on indeterminate (high) varieties. It is your choice.

As to your problem in your original post - since we grow them so differently I'm not sure how we can help. It sounds like you have not overfed them. But perhaps they need more feeding since you haven't fed them since planting them. The general recommendation here is to feed every 6 weeks.

You say you are Watering: everyday 2-3l per plant, today much more, since u said, theyre too dry.

We would never recommend daily watering as that leads to shallow rooted, water dependent plants. Deep, less frequent watering is the normal approach. Using the thick layer of straw mulch and watering deeply rather than so often is the only advice I can offer.

Good luck with your plants.

Dave

desann,

When most gardeners are talking about mulch they are referring to compost, straw, hay, rotted leaves, grass clippings, even shredded paper and cardboard, etc. Wood chips are not usually recommended as a mulch because it binds the soil nitrogen as it decomposes and makes the nitrogen less available to your garden plants, however, if you have no other mulch available, wood chips will do. Mulch should be applied heavily, 6 - 8 inches is usually considered a good depth, though even as little as one or two inches is better than no mulch at all.

"I work in tomato greenhouse and we cut off them every week."

As Dave mentioned, sometimes tomatoes that are grown in a greenhouse are trimmed to a single leader (stem) for space reasons. But tomatoes that are grown outdoors are in conditions that are NOTHING like being grown in a greenhouse. (Well, maybe not nothing, but very unlike the conditions of a greenhouse.) Here in the states, when tomatoes are grown outdoors and pruned, most of the time they are pruned to three or four main stems, and occasionally to just two. Personally, I can't recall knowing of anyone who pruned to a single leader and didn't have problems of some sort, especially with sunscald on the fruit.

I don't have any idea of the length of your growing season, but why not let one or two of your tomatoes grow out any new branches they put out and see if that helps with the problem you are experiencing now?

Betsy

Here is a link that might be useful: FAQ on Pruning Tomato Plants

Agree that variants of A. Lincoln have been around for many decades. Most are an ok tomato, just not anything special when compared to hundreds of other varieties. They never developed a devoted fan club of groupies. :)

Dave.

Don't know which Abe variety I have. Link to the seed packed is below. I just picked my first two today and they were both decent size.

Here is a link that might be useful: Ferry Morse Able Lincoln

I'm still waiting for some of mine to set fruit. At this point it's a waiting game. My BK took awhile, but I'm starting to get some fruit. That one is in the ground. My other container plants have varied in how long they either set blossoms or set fruit. I added a solution of vinegar and water because my ph was a bit too high and apparently this could help the absorption of phosphorus. I don't know this is a weird season.

Its been extremely hot and humid in the mid Atlantic states for the last month. Last week was the worst. I think all of my plants took a break during the heat.

Unfortunately, I was away last week and my plants went a week without water. Few flowers or new fruit upon my return. However, the plants were green and healthy.

We have had much better weather the last few days. I think you will see more activity over the next few weeks.

Stupice and Moskvich are two you might try. Also get a Territorial Seed catalog, which has information on heat units required for some varieties of tomatoes.

I grew Cherry Chocolate (Chocolate Cherry?) last year, and it tasted better in cool fall weather than in our hot summer.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tomato microclimates - cool summers

Not clear if the non-gardening boyfriend wants to grow these or if he wants you to grow them.

If he wants you to grow them, make sure he does the grunt work in the garden. I've tried maybe ten heirloom types, and never got more than five toms off any one plant.

Dave, do you do anything with feeding the tomatoes when they start to blush? I like to pick them before the other critters want them for lunch. Thanks neighbor!

No my feeding is primarily steady fertigation. If any boost is needed then it is timed to right after each fruit set episode.

I put a piece of apple in the bag when tomatoes are picked early and placed in a paper bag.

That is ethylene gas ripening just as commercial growers use on a big scale. It is a rushed and artificial process. You might as well buy store tomatoes rather than grow your own.

Dave

Good to know that you don't have to wait for them to get full color on the vine and risk on birds, rats, squirrels and CRACKING.
I don't like it when the birds get it before I can...hahah

They are the size of an XL egg. I thought they would be much bigger than that.

**************************
@GreenThumb
That sound about the normal size for Roma: XL EGG !!
But then fruit size can vary, depending on the plant's health and growing conditions.

I'm having the same problem with my roma's. The plants are strong and healthy with loads of bloom, but so far the tomatoes are thumb sized. They are growing in my greenhouse to protect them from summer hail and I know it got exceedingly hot for a few days, but I would go out during the hottest part of the day and hose down the outside to bring the temp back down. I'm hoping that the first few tomatoes are just "beginners" and that they'll produce bigger later on. Fingers crossed, sigh.

Thanks Dave. I wasn't sure which forum to look to. I think I checked everyone but that one. Thanks neighbor.

Many of my juicier tomatoes get processed along with the firmer ones. I find that freezing them, then thawing, allows a lot of the juice to separate out, so much of it can be poured off quickly instead of cooked down slowly.

Just got back in this photo there are 2 F1's and a "4th of July" that started to blush. I took this 4th off 2 days ago when it glowed from the others, and the middle ramapo I took off yesterday before I left and the other one I think a few days before but unsure when it blushed.

I am afraid to leave them on the vine because of so many birds in my yard. Also to note they were grown in identicle 20 Galon Fabric containers with 5-1-1 and using MG tomato foord (1.5lbs water soluble).

Also to note the middle F1 Ramapo showed some cracking on the top. I also watered them 2x a day during the heatwave last week.

Thanks again all,

- Mr Beno

They look really delicious!

Let us know how they taste when you finally eat a ripe one (grin).

Linda